The third year after I got diagnosed with intermittent amnesia, I happened to overhear my husband, Lucien Rook, chatting with his friends.

“Lucien, Anneliese loses her memories every couple of months, and you keep making us impersonate you to live with her. Aren’t you afraid that one of us might take it all the way one day?”

“What’s there to be afraid of?” Lucien laughed uninhibitedly, swishing the alcohol in his glass. “Annie is cold and distant. As long as you guys don’t tempt her, she won’t have any such desires.

“But I’m warning you now. You can act all you want, but you can’t ever sleep with her. Once I’ve had my fun, I will be going home to her.”

For three years, every time I lost my memories, Lucien was not the one who would hold my hand and embrace me, or even sleep with me in the same bed.

In three years, I had lost my memories nine times, and nine men had pretended to be my husband.

What they did not know was that my amnesia had been cured two years ago.

When my ninth “husband” got home, I was daydreaming on the couch.

His cheerful voice disrupted my thoughts. “Annie, I’m home.”

I angled my head to look at the man in the doorway.

“Who are you?” I frowned, feigning confusion. “Are you my husband? I seem to recall my husband’s name being Lucien Rook.”

The man froze for a second before retorting, “No! That’s… I’m your husband’s friend. Anneliese, don’t worry. I’ll call and get your husband to come home right now!”

After speaking, the man dug out his phone and hurriedly strode to the balcony.

“Lucien, Anneliese has amnesia again! Whose turn is it this time? Hurry over and swap shifts with me!”

I hid by the window to eavesdrop and heard Lucien’s friends all start to refuse the job through the speaker.

“Lucien, Anneliese is too needy. It’s impossible to handle her if we have to look after her twenty-four hours a day.”

“That’s right. Anneliese is great, but she’s too controlling. No man on this earth wouldn’t cheat a little.”

“Why don’t you go home yourself, Lucien?”

“No.” Lucien’s voice sounded lazy through the speaker. “I’m not done having fun. I don’t want to go home. Which one of you is taking my place? You’re my friends. Can’t you help me with this little thing? Are you even my friends?”

As they all tried to get out of it, one clear voice rang out. “I’ll go.”

I recognized who had spoken. It was Lucien’s best friend, Seth Kaplan.

Seth was well-known as an unattainable heartthrob. According to gossip, he had supposedly never dated in his thirty years of life.

At the beginning, when Lucien had been looking for someone to pretend to be my husband, Seth had been the first to go against the idea.

So why was he so interested in playing house with me at that point?

Half an hour later, the door opened with a click.

Seth walked in, the light shining behind him so that I could only see his silhouette.

“Annie, I’m home.” Seth’s clear voice was almost magnetic.

I stood up and stared at the handsome man.

“Are you my husband, Lucien Rook?”

“Yes.” Seth covered his mouth and coughed. “I’m sorry. I had to work overtime, so that’s why I’m late.”

After he said that, his phone started ringing.

Seth made an apologetic gesture and went out on the balcony to answer his call.

Through the line came Lucien’s careless voice. “By the way, Seth, I forgot to remind you. At most, just hold her hand and hug her. Don’t you dare sleep with her. No matter what, she’s still my wife.”

“I got it,” answered Seth lowly.

In the past three years, regardless of who was pretending to be Lucien, they were only allowed to hold my hand or hug me at most. No one ever crossed that line.

In three years, our home had no pictures of us, nor did it have anything that could identify the man who was my husband.

I was an orphan. Because of my amnesia, I did not have many friends.

Of course, they were confident that I would remain clueless.

I also continued playing the part. I pretended that I truly did not know a thing.

However, for this particular instance, I felt like doing something else.

I walked over and initiated a hug, snaking my arms around Seth’s waist.

“Honey, although I lost my memories, I could feel an instant connection with you when I first saw you. You’re definitely my husband, there’s no mistaking it.”

I tightened my hold around Seth’s waist. I also took the chance to grope his rock-hard abs.

Seth’s whole body stiffened. He shoved me away in a panic.

“What’s wrong?” I asked in a faux innocent tone. “Honey, do you not like me anymore because I lost my memories?”

“No.” Seth’s gaze darted around. His voice was hoarse as he replied, “I like you.”

I reached out and undid his shirt buttons. I touched his pecs.

“Honey, it’s such a cold day today. Why don’t we warm up in bed?”

Seth gulped. “Alright.”

That night, Seth and I slept together.

We both seemed to be on the same page despite not communicating. We did not say much and allowed our actions to dictate the moment.

The next day, Seth brought me to a bar, claiming that he wanted to reintroduce me to his friends.

When I stepped into the private room, I saw Lucien embracing a woman, kissing her with wanton abandon.

Seth coughed softly and interrupted them.

When Lucien saw us, he was momentarily stunned. Then, he slowly stood up.

“Hello, I’m Lucien’s best friend, Seth Kaplan.” Lucien stuck out his hand and calmly introduced himself. “This is my girlfriend, Holly Saunders.”

“Oh.” I nodded but did not take Lucien’s hand to shake.

Holly, however, I definitely knew.

She was Lucien’s first girlfriend.

Back in the day, they broke up because their families did not approve of their relationship. Later on, they took the chance to get back together when I lost my memories.

Lucien had refused to go home for the past three years because of her.

Many of Lucien’s other friends were in the private room. Quite a few of them had pretended to be my husband before. At that moment, they were all acting as though nothing was wrong and were teasing me.

“Anneliese, have you lost your memories again? Lucien’s such a great guy. No matter how many times you get amnesia, he always sticks by your side!”

“That’s right, Anneliese. You have to cherish such a great man!”

I smiled wryly but did not respond.

With his arm slung around me, Seth led me to sit on the couch.

After we got settled, I brought a piece of fruit to his mouth. “Here, honey, have some more fruit.”

In the dim room, I could see Lucien looking over at us.

I leaned close to bite the lobe of Seth’s ear. “Honey, you were so rough with me last night. I’m all sore now!”

Seth’s expression froze. Awkwardly, he pinched my hand. “Baby, don’t mess around.”

Lucien’s grip on his beer glass tightened. He was obviously unhappy.

Sitting next to him, Holly spoke up sarcastically. “Annie, you’re really something. You’ve got the infamously unattainable heartthrob in our group wrapped around your little finger.”

When Holly said that, Lucien’s friends all got worried that I would realize something fishy was going on. So, they awkwardly laughed and tried to wave it off.

“Hey, that proves just how strong Anneliese’s relationship with Lucien is!”

“That’s right! Even though you’ve lost your memories, it never got in the way of your love for one another!”

From the corner of my eye, I watched Lucien raise his glass and sip his beer. His expression was thunderous.

A flash of delight spread through me at that.

I went up to use the restroom. When I came out, Holly was walking my way.

When we passed each other by, the red wine in her glass splashed all over me.

“Oh no! I’m so sorry. My hand slipped.”

I raised my hand and slapped her viciously.

“I’m sorry, my hand slipped, too.”

After I said that, a stern voice came from behind me. “Anneliese Cantrell, what are you doing?”

Lucien strode over.

Holly immediately threw herself into his arms and started to sob delicately. “Honey, I only accidentally spilled my wine on Annie, but she lost her temper and hit me. I feel so dizzy now.”

Lucien’s expression was dark and displeased. “Apologize to Holly!”

I scoffed. “Who are you to demand things of me?”

“Anneliese!” Lucien’s eyes gleamed menacingly, and his face was so dark that it was honestly scary. “How could you be so arrogant after losing your memories?”

“What does what I’ve become have anything to do with you?”

I could not be bothered to say anything more.

Just as I turned around, Lucien kicked my knee, sending me sprawling to a kneeling position.

“Don’t think you can wilfully do as you please just because you lost your memories. Hurry up and apologize to Holly!”

Seeing the thunderous man before me, I could only find the situation tragic but hilarious.

I was an orphan. In this huge city, Lucien was the only person I could rely on.

We had started dating in university and had been together for a decade.

When he proposed to me, he had sworn that he would always protect me and love me, that he would never betray me.

Yet, he was not only betraying our marriage at that point, but he had also attacked me because of another woman.

His sweet words and promises from the beginning were just cruel jokes.

Through the haze of rage, Seth’s voice cut through. “Don’t touch her!”

Biting back the pain in my knee, I stood up and slapped Lucien. Then, I hid in Seth’s arms and tattled, “Honey, your friend’s so mean. He’s bullying me!”

Seth looked angry. There was a hint of viciousness in his eyes as he looked at Lucien in warning. “Don’t bully Annie.”

Lucien gritted his teeth, his expression getting darker.

Holly snuggled into Lucien’s hold and scoffed. “Don’t think you’re all that. You’re just a loose woman and a man who likes collecting other people’s trash.”

“Shut up!” Lucien and Seth snapped at her in unison.

“Holly, Annie is at fault, but you shouldn’t insult her that way,” Lucien said coldly.

Seth frowned as he looked at Holly. The look in his gaze was frigid. “Don’t ever let me hear any insults about Annie from you from now on.”

After saying that, he threw an arm around me and led us away.

We went straight home.

The second we were through the door, I held Seth close by the waist, a hand caressing his abs.

“Honey, you were so cool when you were defending me. I love it!”

Seth’s ears turned red. He coughed softly. “That’s great.”

I reached out to undo his belt.

“Honey, it’s so cold. Let’s get in bed and do something vigorous to warm up, shall we?”

“It’s still early.”

“Who ever said there’s a strict hour to go to bed?” I kissed his Adam’s apple and lowered my voice to a sultry purr. “Honey, I lost my memories. I forgot what sleeping with someone is like. Won’t you help me get those memories back?”

Seth swallowed. When he spoke again, his voice was husky. “Annie, stop messing around.”

I simply went ahead and pounced on him. He fell back onto the couch.

Seth struggled for a couple of seconds before flipping us over, putting me on my back beneath him.

From that evening until deep in the night, Seth was like a starving wolf, acting on his hunger again and again without ever having his fill.

I was so tired that I practically fainted.

Through my bleariness, I could hear Seth rasp out in my ear, “Annie, have you really lost your memories?”

I opened my mouth, but no words came out.

Did it matter if I had?

I also wanted to ask Seth something else.

If he had always been against this game of pretend, why did he volunteer at that point?

…

The next day, Seth brought me to the hospital to check on my neurological condition.

Coincidentally, we bumped into Lucien and Holly in the hospital lobby.

Holly was the one who called out to us.

“Annie, Se—Lucien, what a coincidence.” She touched her lower abdomen and said brightly, “I’m pregnant, and we’re here for a prenatal check-up. What about you?”

Seth gave her a sideways glance. His tone was icy as he said, “Just bringing Annie here for a check-up.”

Lucien was silent. His gaze was glued on Seth’s hand, tightly entwined with mine.

Suddenly, he looked up and saw the hickeys on my neck.

“What happened to your neck?” His voice was nearly shrill.

I feigned embarrassment as I looked at Seth. “You’ll have to ask my husband that.”

Lucien turned to look at Seth, his gaze suddenly gaining a hint of a threat.

I tried to take the opportunity to move away. “I need to do a CT scan. You guys talk.”

After I left, Holly also went in to get an ultrasound.

In the silence left behind, Lucien glared at Seth and asked him coldly, “Did you touch her, Seth?”