My boyfriend, Zach, woke up from a car accident with temporary amnesia. The catch? He mistook my best friend, Chloe, for his fiancée. To keep him from suffering any more brain trauma, the doctor suggested I play along. So, I had to swap identities with my best friend. We agreed to only act the part. No intimacy. No real relationship. We were just supposed to wait until Zach got his memory back, and then everything would return to normal. But six months passed. Zach showed absolutely no signs of getting better. Until today, when I was mindlessly scrolling through Reddit and stumbled upon a trending advice post. [I got into a car crash, lost my memory, and mistook my girlfriend's best friend for my actual girlfriend. Now that I have my memory back, I realized I've actually fallen in love with the best friend. How do I explain this to my original girlfriend?] The top comment, which had thousands of upvotes, offered a piece of advice: [Keep faking the amnesia, obviously! It's the perfect chess move. If things go well, you get the best friend. If you regret it later, you can just pretend you "just" got your memory back.] The poster had liked that comment. And the username of the poster belonged to Zach. I looked up just as Zach and Chloe walked through the front door. He was carrying several grocery bags, following closely behind Chloe. When he looked at her, the adoration in his eyes was so thick it practically spilled onto the floor. As it turned out, Zach had stopped acting a long time ago. He had made the lie his reality.
"Nora! You're home so early from work today." "Zach and I just went to the grocery store. I was thinking of making some chicken noodle soup. You love that, right?" Zach stood behind her. He gave me a polite, distant nod, then turned and walked into the kitchen. Ever since Zach "lost his memory," in order to not be separated from him, I had been forced to live here as a "guest" in their house. I was the actual, legal girlfriend. Yet, every single day, I had to choke down my jealousy and watch him pour his heart and soul into loving another woman. Every time I saw them holding hands or hugging in front of me, my heart felt like it was being shredded by a dull knife. I could only comfort myself over and over again in my head. Just wait until Zach gets his memory back. Everything will go back to how it was. I had endured this torture for six months. I didn't get his recovery. Instead, I got the devastating news that he had actually fallen in love with Chloe. Chloe followed my gaze into the kitchen, looking at Zach's busy back. She lowered her voice and whispered in my ear, "I'm so sorry, Nora." "I'm so useless. Zach still hasn't remembered anything." I looked down and let out a bitter laugh. She didn't know. You can never wake up someone who is pretending to be asleep. "But don't worry," Chloe whispered, squeezing my arm. "I'm keeping an eye on him for you. I won't let him do anything out of line." "Yeah," I mumbled, my mouth tasting like ash. "I actually just came back to grab something. I have to go out again in a bit." Just then, Zach called Chloe from the kitchen to help him. She immediately perked up and said, "Go do what you need to do, Nora! By the time you get back, dinner will be ready." I stood frozen in the hallway. I watched Chloe walk into the kitchen, put her hands—which she had just used to peel garlic—right up to Zach's nose. "Smell it. Do my hands stink?" Zach lovingly kissed her fingers and smiled. "Not at all. You smell perfect." They laughed and teased each other, looking exactly like a real, deeply-in-love couple. Everything before my eyes was the exact married life I had dreamed of for years. Except the female lead wasn't me. Maybe they thought I had already walked out the door. Zach suddenly asked, "Has Nora been living in our guest room for six months now? Hasn't she found her own apartment yet?" Chloe was taken aback. She stammered, "Well... no." "It's not safe for a girl to live alone. Plus, rent in this city is so expensive." "Living with us makes her commute easier, and I feel better having her around. Why are you suddenly bringing this up?" Zach kept chopping vegetables, his voice firm and unwavering. "Tell her to move out. It's not convenient with the three of us living together." "Every time I want to be intimate with you, I have to worry about a roommate being in the next room." "Besides, I don't want you feeling uncomfortable in your own home." "I was going to make that homemade pizza you love tonight." "But the second you saw her, you changed it to soup because of her tastes. You're acting like a guest in your own house, Chloe." Chloe went quiet for a few seconds. Then, she leaned in and kissed his cheek.
That kiss felt like a poisoned needle stabbing directly into my chest. Back when this all started, Chloe had sworn to God that she would keep her distance from Zach. In front of me, she used to avoid him as much as possible. But I didn't know when it started—she had become so comfortable, so natural, with being physical with my boyfriend. "I know you care about me," Chloe said softly. "But let's talk about this later. It's not that easy to find a good apartment right now." Zach was already prepared. "I had a friend look at two places last week." "They're close to our place, and very close to her office." Chloe had no choice but to agree. "Fine. I'll talk to Nora when she gets back." My eyes burned with tears. I forced them back and looked around the apartment. I looked at every corner of this condo—a home I had designed and decorated piece by piece for our future wedding. After Zach's accident, my status changed from the owner of this house to a mere guest. All of my belongings had been packed up and shoved into the tiny guest room. In just six months, Chloe had completely erased every trace of my life here. And now, Zach wanted me to pack my bags and get out. The sound of their laughter drifting from the kitchen made my ears ache. I took a deep breath, turned around, and quietly slipped out the front door. I didn't go back to the office. Instead, holding onto the absolute last shred of hope, I went to the hospital. What if that Reddit post wasn't Zach? What if he really hadn't recovered his memory? What if his feelings for Chloe were just a mistake because his brain confused her with me? "Zach Miller?" Dr. Carter finally found his name in a thick stack of medical files. "Oh, yes. I called him three months ago for a follow-up. He told me he had completely recovered his memory." "I remember it was right around Thanksgiving." "I even congratulated him on getting his memory back just in time for the holidays." I froze. On Thanksgiving, Chloe's parents came to visit. Zach had personally driven to the airport, picked them up, and played the most polite, welcoming host. That exact same day, my parents flew into the city with heavy bags, excited to see us. But Zach claimed he didn't recognize them. He literally had the building security kick my parents out of the lobby. It was only then, when I couldn't hide it anymore, that I had to tell my parents that Zach had lost his memory in a car crash. My mom had sighed and comforted me: "As long as he's alive, that's what matters. The doctor said it's just a matter of time." But back then, Zach already had his memory. He knew he wasn't Chloe's boyfriend. He knew damn well that I was the woman who had loved him for four years, the woman he was supposed to marry. Yet, he still chose to welcome Chloe's parents and throw mine out onto the street. He was fully prepared to play the "amnesia" card for the rest of his life. Seeing me spacing out, Dr. Carter asked with concern, "Is something wrong? Is he having complications?" I shook my head, my voice hollow. "No. I was just checking. I was worried the blood clot in his brain hadn't fully dissolved." Dr. Carter smiled. "Don't worry. His scan was completely clear." "He is 100% recovered. It won't affect your wedding plans at all." "And it certainly won't affect your love life." Six months ago, Zach was in a coma for a week. I took a leave of absence from work and stayed by his bedside for seven days straight without sleeping. But the one time I went downstairs to pay the medical bills and asked Chloe to watch him for just ten minutes... Zach woke up. No matter how much I explained, he insisted Chloe was his girlfriend. Back then, Dr. Carter had told me that because of the trauma, his brain couldn't handle any sudden shock. "I know you love him, and I know you guys are getting married," the doctor had told me then. "But give it three months. He will recover. It won't ruin your wedding." Who would have thought that life could be this cruel? Our wedding was never going to happen.
As I took the elevator down, my mind was on overdrive, replaying everything Zach had done over the last three months. Now that I thought about it, his acting was actually terrible. I was just too blind, constantly using "amnesia" as an excuse to justify his behavior. Because I was so lost in my thoughts, I followed the crowd and accidentally got off at the OB-GYN floor. By the time I realized my mistake, I had already walked quite a distance from the elevator. Just as I was about to turn back, I saw a familiar figure. Zach. Why was he here? Shouldn't he be at home making dinner with Chloe? I instinctively stopped outside one of the consultation rooms. The door was slightly ajar. Inside, the doctor's voice drifted out. "You're pregnant. Eight weeks." "Are you keeping the baby?" Before Chloe could even answer, Zach burst out eagerly. "Yes! Yes, we are keeping it!" Zach was holding the ultrasound scan in his hand. He couldn't wait another second. He pulled Chloe into his arms and hugged her tightly. "Did you hear the doctor, Chloe? We're having a baby!" He was already starting to plan. "Before you start showing, we need to go to city hall and get married. We need a wedding." "I'll call my parents tomorrow. It's a bit rushed, and I'm sorry if it feels sudden." "But I promise you, I will give you everything. You won't miss out on a single thing." Zach had his back to the door. But Chloe was facing it. Her eyes locked right onto mine. Seeing my expressionless face, she went deathly pale. She shoved Zach away. Zach followed her gaze and turned around. The moment he saw me, a flash of panic crossed his eyes. "Nora? Aren't you supposed to be at work?" "Why are you at the OB-GYN?" I didn't answer his question. My eyes were glued to Chloe. I asked the obvious. "You're pregnant?" Chloe lowered her head guiltily, not daring to look at me. Zach stepped in front of her, shielding her. "We're engaged, Nora. Things got passionate in bed and we didn't use protection. It's perfectly normal to get pregnant." I let out a self-deprecating laugh. I didn't know if I was answering him or just talking to myself. "Right. You two are the engaged couple now." On the drive back, Chloe sat next to me in the back seat, staring at her feet without saying a single word. Zach, in the driver's seat, was on high alert. He kept checking the rearview mirror to watch me. It was as if he was terrified I would do something to his precious Chloe. But I just looked down at my phone and replied to the HR manager at my company. [I accept the transfer. I will go to the Italy branch as the lead engineer.] During the mid-year meeting, the corporate headquarters had decided to expand into the European market, selecting engineers from local branches to support the launch. Coincidentally, I was the only engineer in my branch who had minored in Italian in college. Before, even when I thought Zach had amnesia, I couldn't bear the thought of a long-distance relationship. But between my career and Zach, I had chosen him once. From now on, I was only making decisions for myself. When we got back to the condo, I realized why they had gone to the hospital in the first place. Chloe had started vomiting violently while making dinner. Zach was worried it was a stomach issue, so he rushed her to the ER. Because he was worried the smell of grease would trigger her morning sickness again, Zach turned to me. "Nora, why don't you go into the kitchen and finish up dinner?" Chloe looked at me with a conflicted expression. "But Zach... Nora doesn't even know how to cook." Zach helped her sit down on the sofa. "She can learn. We can't have a pregnant woman doing physical labor." The word pregnant pierced my ears. I turned around and went into the kitchen to wash the vegetables. Zach followed me in. The moment he entered, he locked the kitchen door behind him. "If anything happens to Chloe or the baby, I will make your life a living hell."
It felt like someone had taken a rusty knife and carved a giant hole in my chest. The cold wind was howling right through me. I didn't dare look up, terrified he would see the tears in my eyes. I forced my voice to sound as flat as possible. "You're overthinking." "Chloe is my best friend. I'm happy she's pregnant." "Why would you think I'd hurt her?" Zach's eyes lingered on me for a moment. He was probably trying to figure out if I knew he had regained his memory. After a few seconds, his tense posture relaxed slightly. "I just mean, since you two are best friends, you should help take care of her more." I didn't say another word. A few minutes later, Chloe used the excuse of wanting ice cream to call me out of the kitchen. She looked at me, tears welling up in her eyes. I looked back at her, completely calm. "When did it start?" Her face was a mask of guilt, and she began to sob. "It was that one night... we both got too drunk. I swear I took the Plan B pill the next morning!" "Maybe it was expired. I don't know how I still got pregnant." She hadn't mentioned a single word of this to me when it happened. And I had been living like a complete fool. I thought Zach was just a poor, tragic victim of amnesia who got the wrong girl. I thought Chloe was my loyal best friend who would never betray me. But now I saw the truth. I was the only one romanticizing the past. They had crossed the line long ago, right under my nose. Suddenly, Chloe dropped to her knees right in front of me. She raised her hand and slapped herself hard across the face. "I'm a terrible person. I betrayed you." "I lost my mind. I made a mistake." "Just say the word, Nora. If you want me to, I'll go to the clinic and get an abortion tomorrow!" "There's no need," I said. She froze, looking up at me in disbelief. "No, I'll do it. I'll go right now... wait, what did you say?" I pulled my skirt out of her tight grip. "The baby is innocent." Chloe's eyes widened. "But what about you? What are you going to do, Nora?" Just then, Zach walked out of the kitchen with a plate of food. He walked right into the scene of Chloe kneeling at my feet. Chloe scrambled to her feet instantly, trying to cover. "Zach! It's not what it looks like!" "I just slipped and fell, and Nora was about to help me up." Zach's temper flared instantly. He grabbed Chloe by the arm, pulling her behind him, and glared at me. "Did you not hear a single word of what I said in the kitchen?!" "Chloe was nice enough to let you stay in our home, and this is how you repay her?" Chloe grabbed his arm, crying hysterically. "It's not Nora's fault! Don't yell at her!" Zach tried to control his breathing, his voice dropping to a cold whisper. "Fine. I won't argue about what just happened." "But you are moving out of my apartment today." "Chloe is pregnant. It's not suitable for an outsider to live here anymore." Chloe's body went rigid. She turned her head slowly, looking at me to see my reaction. "Okay," I said. Without a single second of hesitation, I went into the guest room and started packing my things. As I dragged my suitcase to the front door, Chloe held onto my hand, whispering, "Don't worry, Nora. I'll convince Zach to let you move back in tonight." "No need," I said, pulling my hand away. The moment I stepped out of the apartment building, I dialed my real estate agent. "I want to sell my condo. Cash buyer preferred. As fast as possible." Zach had played the amnesia card for so long, he seemed to have forgotten something very important. This condo was bought in full by my parents as my wedding gift.
? Continue the story here ?? ? Download the "NovelMaster" app ? search for "449632", and watch the full series ✨! #NovelMaster