Chapter 1

My husband fell into a coma after a terrible accident, and I stayed by his side, nursing him day and night for three agonizing years.

Yet the moment he opened his eyes, he lost his damn mind. He claimed I wasn't his wife.

"Who the hell are you?! Give me back my Olivia!"

He seized me by the hair and shoved my head down into the sink, trying to drown me. If his parents hadn't burst in at that exact second, I would have suffocated right there.

After tearing me from his grip, his mother broke down in tears, screaming at her son, Ethan.

"You were in a coma! The doctors told us you might never wake up again! Olivia could have walked away and filed for divorce, but she broke her back at that hospital for three straight years! She took on crippling debt, ruined her own health, and gave up everything just to bring you back! You ungrateful bastard, how could you lay your hands on her?!"

Ethan glared at them, his voice raw and stubborn. "She played you! Both of you! She's not my wife! I've been with Olivia for ten years—how could I possibly not recognize my own damn wife?!"

His father couldn't take it anymore and raised a fist toward Ethan. I rushed forward, throwing myself between them.

"Dad, don't! Stop!"

I choked out a sob. "Fine! I admit it! I'm not Olivia! I'm not Ethan's wife!"

The room fell dead silent. Everyone froze, staring at me in complete shock.

A cold, manic sneer broke across Ethan's face. "I told you! I told you she was an imposter! Confess, damn it! Who are you, and where is my wife?!"

His father looked utterly bewildered, shaking his head in disbelief. "Olivia... honey, did he drive you insane? What are you saying?"

His mother reached out, her eyes brimming with worry. "Sweetheart, Ethan's been out of his mind ever since he woke up. You went through thirty separate hospital screenings, and every single record proved you're our daughter-in-law. If you're not Olivia, who else could you be?"

Hearing her words, I rubbed my eyes and wiped away the stream of tears.

Ever since Ethan came to, he insisted I was a fake. The neurologist said it could be a psychological trauma response or a rare neurological complication from his prolonged coma. But Ethan refused to get his brain scanned, and none of us could force him.

To earn back his trust and soothe his paranoia, I endured every ounce of his cruelty. Even when my body was covered in bruises, I never called the cops, never fought back, and never once thought of giving up on him.

Taking a deep, trembling breath, I looked Ethan straight in the eye. "You're right. I'm not your wife, Olivia."

"Ethan, does hearing me say that make you feel better? Can you please stop torturing yourself now? If it helps you heal, I can be anyone you want me to be."

"Tell me... who do you want me to become?"

His parents let out collective sighs of relief, their hearts breaking for me.

"Ethan, look at what you've pushed this poor girl to!"

"Where on earth could you ever find a woman who loves you this much?!"

Instead of calming down, Ethan lost what little control he had left. He clawed at his own face in a frenzy, leaving bloody gouges across his pale skin.

My chest ached seeing him self-destruct. I rushed over to grab his wrists and stop him.

The second I touched him, his fingers clamped around my hand with bone-crushing force.

His bloodshot eyes bored into mine with pure venom. "You're such a brilliant little actress, aren't you?!" he snarled, his voice cracking. "You think playing the sweet, pitiful martyr will fool me like it fools my parents? In your dreams! You are not my Olivia, and you will never replace her!"

His grip dug right into the fresh bruises he had left on my wrist earlier. The searing pain made tears spill uncontrollably down my cheeks.

"Ethan, what's wrong with you? What do I have to do to make you trust me?"

His parents couldn't bear to watch any longer. They pried Ethan's fingers off me and tried to drag him toward the door.

"Son, you're coming with us to see a specialist right now! If you keep this up, you're going to drive Olivia away forever!"

"For the past three years, she sold your company, sold the house, sold the car, and hocked every piece of jewelry she owned just to pay your medical bills! How could she possibly be an imposter?!"

Seeing Ethan thrashing violently against his parents, I wiped my tears and gently intervened. "Mom, Dad, please don't force him if he doesn't want to go to the hospital. He just woke up; maybe his brain is still adjusting. Give him some time, and he might come back to his senses."

Ethan's glare felt like an ice pick plunging straight into my chest. "There's nothing wrong with me! You two are blind—she's the problem!"

"Did you all lose your minds? The real Olivia was bright, sunny, and full of life! Look at this manipulative bitch standing in front of you—how could this ever be my Olivia? She's wearing a mask, and God only knows where she hid the real one!"

His teeth ground together audibly, fresh blood dripping down his gouged cheeks.

Seeing their own flesh and blood completely unhinged, his parents couldn't bring themselves to use force anymore. They let him go, their voices trembling with grief. "Ethan... the doctors and the authorities ran background checks, medical checks, everything! All the records say she's Olivia. Why won't you just accept reality?"

"She gave up her career, gave up her youth, and lived like an invalid beside your bed for three years! Is it any wonder she's changed a little?"

"Please, son... I'm begging you. Stop hurting her."

Under his mother's tearful pleas, Ethan slowly went quiet, dropping his hands.

Fearing for my safety, his parents decided to move into our cramped apartment until Ethan stabilized.

Over the days that followed, Ethan stopped hitting me and stopped clawing at his own skin.

Yet the look in his eyes remained just as sick, suspicious, and full of hate.

"Just you wait," he would whisper whenever we were alone. "I will expose you. And I will find my real Olivia."