Chapter 2

The hospital room door swung open,and Mike walked toward me,his voice cold.

"I paid the surgery fee and filed insurance for the car damage.It really was Aileen's fault,all of it,but don't blame her.She's been abroad so long she's not used to the traffic here."

I didn't look at him.I gazed calmly out the window.

"Mike,is that all you came to say?Nothing else?"

He pulled out the chair beside me and sat down,his eyes cold,without a trace of warmth in them.

"Aileen was in a car crash abroad two years ago and lost her memory.Both her parents are dead,she has no close friends.I'm the only one who can take care of her."

"Being her husband,taking care of her,it's all fake.Everything I've done is just to help her recover,to get her memory back sooner."

He said it plainly,laying out his betrayal as if it were simply the way things ought to be.

"So you betrayed me for your ex-girlfriend."

I turned back to look at him.Something flickered in him at the sight of my devastated eyes,and he took my hand.

"Zoey,this isn't a betrayal.I still love you.Once she gets her memory back,I'll cut off all contact with her."

I slid my hand free without a word,and spoke with one last thread of hope.

"Fine.Then let's get married publicly tomorrow,and I'll believe there's nothing between you and her."

The words had barely left me when,like a reflex,he dug two slips of paper out of his pocket.My heart seized with pain,the words caught in my throat.

"Zoey,marriage isn't a decision to make lightly.You know my advisor won't let me start a family early and derail my experiments.But if you draw the one with writing,I'll explain it to him,okay?"

With effort,I pushed myself upright,grabbed both slips,and unfolded them.

His expression turned frantic.Before he could speak,I tore them apart with all my strength.

I thought I'd be like some hysterical madwoman,screaming and demanding answers.

But I wasn't.Instead,I only spoke calmly.

"Mike,you and I are just like these two fake slips.The writing was a lie,and so was your love for me."

"So let's break up."

At that,shock flashed in his eyes,then quickly faded into a light laugh.

"Zoey,you wouldn't break up over something this small.You love me so much,how could you bear to leave?"

"Stop it.I've been gone too long.Aileen must be looking for me.I'm leaving.Rest and get better."He glanced at his watch,and as he spoke he tucked the blanket in around me.

I watched his back grow smaller and smaller,and felt nothing in my heart.

But he was wrong.Love can let go too.

I didn't choose to stay at First General for treatment.I checked out,packed my things,and got ready to leave.

Mike didn't come looking for me again.I went home,packed,and contacted an agent to sell the house.

The agent hurried over,looked at me,and asked,puzzled,"Zoey,Mr.Sanchez transferred this house to someone else a long time ago.You didn't know?"

My brow knotted tight,and a wave of panic rose in me.

The agent dug a document out of her folder and handed it to me."See,it was transferred to Miss Swanson two years ago.I thought you knew."

I clenched my fist,my nails biting deep into the flesh,but that pain didn't come close to what I felt inside.

Mike had given her this house too!

"Zoey,this is our first home.I bought it for you here in San Francisco,so that no matter how far you go,you'll always have somewhere to come back to."

Those tender words of his still echoed in my ears,and now they were nothing but a cruel joke.

I took the document from the agent,photographed it,and found the lawyer on my list.

"Lawyer Jonathan Walker,I want to file suit.Mike illegally transferred my property and is covering for the driver who caused the crash."

After sending the message,I bit down hard on my lip,fury burning inside me.

All these years I'd had nothing,Mike,nothing but the house you gave me.But you betrayed me,and then you took it back too.I will never yield.