After three years, I finally found my husband, who had gone missing during our honeymoon.

However, no matter whether I broke down in despair or became hysterical, he remained completely cold and calm, having suffered from amnesia.

"The heir of the Wingers you keep talking about really isn't me.

"Don't come looking for me again, or Nora will make me sleep on the sofa."

The doting on another woman in his every word pierced my heart with a thousand holes.

Just as I was about to give up, I accidentally overheard his friend asking him.

"Three years ago, just to be with Nora, you faked your death during your honeymoon with Hazel. Now, you want to go back to living the good life as the heir of the Wingers, so you're pretending to have amnesia in front of her.

"Don't you think you're being too hard on her?"

Jeff slammed down a glass of alcohol.

"Nora is already pregnant with my child. I must let her into the family."

I gave up all hope then, turning around to stop my in-laws who were about to rush over.

"Lydia, Daniel, I've seen him in person. This man is not Jeff."

I had just hung up the phone when I ran straight into Jeff Winger as he walked out of the bar.

Seeing me, he froze for a moment, then shook his head helplessly.

"I've already told you many times, stop coming to find me. I really am not your husband."

A trace of pity appeared on his friend's face, and he advised me, "Hazel, you don't look like you've slept well for several days. Go back and rest first."

I shook off his hand and looked at Jeff.

"It's not several days; it's three years.

"From the day you went missing, I haven't slept a full night. I was called a jinx, blamed as the culprit who caused your death.

"Devastated, my mind was hazy, and I fell down the stairs. Even the baby wasn't saved.

"For these past three years, I searched the whole country, tortured by self-blame and guilt. In the end..."

I looked at the plain band worn on his ring finger.

"In the end, my newlywed husband tells me that he fell in love with another woman."

Listening to my slightly trembling voice, Jeff's expression shifted slightly.

He subconsciously touched the plain ring on his hand, where the newlywed ring I personally designed used to be worn.

The moment he touched the plain ring, his eyes suddenly became clear, and he said impatiently, "It's a tragic story, but what does all of this have to do with me?"

Looking at the indifference on his face, my very last bit of wavering completely dissolved.

What did it have to do with him?

Wasn't he the culprit who caused all of this?

Thinking of the eyes of my parents-in-law, full of anticipation before I left the house, hoping I would bring their missing son home, my heart ached.

It turned out that something even harder to accept than Jeff's death was that he had planned all of this.

These past days, I was filled with grief as I told him about our past over and over again, trying to awaken his memory. Had he not felt even a bit moved?

Or rather, was he mocking my pathetic state with Nora Melville?

Meeting my bloodshot eyes, Jeff frowned and subconsciously took a few steps toward me.

He just raised his hand.

Slap!

Nora slapped me right across the face, pointing at my nose and cursing furiously, "What are you pretending to be aggrieved for? Chasing someone else's boyfriend all day and calling him your husband, how pathetic are you?!"

Seeing the bright red finger marks rising on my face, a trace of shock flashed across Jeff's face.

Without even thinking, he immediately pulled Nora behind him.

"Nora just has a blunt personality. Don't mind her."

The look he gave me was full of vigilance and wariness, terrified that I would harm his beloved woman.

A burning pain dulled across my face. Thinking of the conversation I had overheard inside the bar, it felt like a massive hole had been ripped open in my heart.

The amnesia was an act, but his coldness and heartlessness toward me were real.

So I booked a plane ticket home right there and then and looked at Jeff.

"Don't worry, I won't disturb you two again."

Since he liked to pretend to be dead, I would fulfill his wish!

...

Early the next morning, just as I was about to leave, I suddenly received a call from my father-in-law.

"Lydia had a heart attack and hasn't come out of the ICU yet. She keeps muttering Jeff's name.

"He... is he really not Jeff?"

Lydia was my mother-in-law's name. Hearing that she had a heart attack, I couldn't even hold the steering wheel steady.

My father-in-law, Daniel, who was always calm and steady, now had a hint of a sob in his voice.

"I don't know if Lydia will make it through this time. I'm afraid she won't even get to see her son before she leaves."

My heart sank, and I quickly turned the steering wheel around.

"Daniel, don't worry. I will go find him right now."

The moment he opened the door and saw it was me, Jeff’s face turned cold.

I shoved the phone into his hand, not caring about anything else.

"Your mother's had a heart attack, and she just wants to see you one last time. Are you still going to pretend, even at a time like this?"

Hearing that his own mother was in trouble, Jeff’s expression changed drastically.

He gripped the phone tightly, but just as he connected a video call, a finger with acrylics hung up the call.

Nora looked at me with an attitude and slammed the phone right into my face.

"Are you sick? Didn't you say yesterday that you wouldn't come to harass us anymore?"

Anxiety flashed through Jeff’s eyes as he reached back for the phone.

"She said my—"

Under my gaze, he changed his words mid-sentence.

"Her mother-in-law is in trouble and wants me to pose as her husband to comfort her."

Nora snorted.

"What do you mean, 'pose as her husband'? She must be lying, trying to force you to admit you are her husband!

"I've seen plenty of these jealousy tactics. You are not allowed to call! If you dare do it, don't touch me tonight!"

Seeing her angry, Jeff quickly tried to please her.

"Alright, alright, I won't call."

Looking at his submissive behavior, I said in disbelief, "Jeff, this is your mother.

"You've been missing for three years. She missed you so much that her eyes went nearly blind from crying. You can't even bear to make a single phone call to her?

"This might be the last time you two ever see each other!"

Jeff’s body stiffened. Just as his lips moved, Nora tightly grabbed his arm.

She looked entirely pure and innocent.

"As I said, my boyfriend is not your husband. How can you make him tell a lie to deceive people?

"Besides, he's not a doctor. Can making a phone call bring someone back to life? Can you please stop disturbing us?"

She rolled her eyes at me and signaled Jeff to close the door.

Jeff was still hesitating, but Nora’s hand had already restlessly slipped under his clothes.

With that, he couldn't care about me anymore, hurriedly leaving behind a single sentence.

"I can't manage that much. You guys find a good doctor."

The absolute heartlessness and coldness in his words left me in a daze.

The door wasn't closed tightly, and the hurried gasps pierced into my ears like needles.

His mother's life and death were uncertain, yet he could enjoy intimate moments of pleasure with another woman.

For the first time in all these years, I truly saw the person in front of me clearly.

After three years of searching for my husband, I finally had the answer.

...

When I arrived at the airport, I was notified that my plane ticket had been canceled.

While I was feeling confused, Jeff's friend, Randall, dragged me into a car.

"Didn't you come to find Jeff? Why are you going back alone?"

Looking at the anxiety hidden in his eyes, I said calmly, "Didn't he say it himself? He isn't Jeff."

Randall froze for a moment, quickly trying to fix it.

"You know he has amnesia, which is why he can't remember who he is.

"You can't be this cruel and just abandon him and leave!"

I sneered.

Who abandoned whom?

Who was the one who faked his death the moment I found out I was pregnant?

Who abandoned his family and ignored them for three years?

Before I even had a chance to question him, I happened to run into Jeff and Nora out shopping.

Looking at the large and small gift boxes in their hands, I froze.

Nora grabbed a handful of cheap wedding candies and shoved them into my hands, the smugness in her eyes completely impossible to hide.

"Jeff and I are getting married this Saturday. You should come.

"It'll be official then, and someone will finally give up."

Jeff looked at her tenderly, his tone full of doting.

"We are having a shotgun wedding. In another seven months, our baby will come into this world."

…

Hearing his tone full of anticipation, my heart ached.

Once, Jeff and I were also expecting a baby.

A week before our honeymoon, I found out I was pregnant, and the entire family was overjoyed.

However, while I was eagerly anticipating the arrival of the fruit of our love, he was busy plotting how to fake his death and fly away with his mistress.

Even though I was carrying his own flesh and blood in my belly, it didn't cause him to waver even half a bit!

If he truly didn't love me, he could have just refused this marriage.

Why did he have to pretend to love me, only to deceive me until I was broken?

The hard shells of the wedding candies dug into my palm, and the smug smile on Nora's face was the greatest mockery toward me.

I knew clear as day that Jeff was doing this to solidify his relationship with Nora before returning to the Wingers.

That way, he would have a completely justifiable reason to bring Nora back to the Wingers in the future.

Meeting my gaze, Jeff did not look guilty at all.

"If you have time, come."

I stayed silent for two seconds, then nodded.

"Alright, I'll come."

Perhaps some things had to be seen with your own eyes before you could truly give up.

This wedding was far less grand than the one Jeff and I had back then, but it still cost a considerable amount of money.

I heard from others that Jeff even borrowed quite a lot.

In the past, he was the sole heir of the Wingers. He never worried about food or clothing, never lacked money in his hands, and never worked a proper job.

After faking his death and living in seclusion here with Nora, he basically relied on borrowing money to survive.

No wonder he was in such a rush to return to the Wingers.

After all, to the Wingers, the money he borrowed was nothing but a drop in the bucket.

However, Jeff didn't know that he could never go back to the Wingers.

I took a light sip of wine and watched as Jeff excitedly slipped the wedding ring onto Nora's finger.

That wedding ring officially put a complete end to the past twenty years of my youth.

Looking at the two of them beaming with joy, I spoke calmly.

"I have already attended the wedding. You'll let me go home now, right?"

Jeff froze, a trace of panic flashing across his eyes.

He thought I would cry and make a massive scene like before, but to his surprise, I looked as if I had completely accepted my fate.

As if I believed he was not Jeff.

If I left, though, what would he do about restoring his identity?

"Wait! Have we met somewhere before?"

Jeff hastily called out to stop me, clutching his head and pretending to have a flashback.

Looking at his completely atrocious acting, a trace of mockery flashed across my eyes.

"You must be remembering wrong. We've never met before. You simply look like my husband, that's all."

I returned every single word he had said to me back then.

Jeff's face darkened slightly, but he kept up his amnesia persona and didn't dare to lose his temper.

"Then why are so many images suddenly popping into my head? Did you and I have a wedding?"

He pointed at the venue and spoke with hesitation.

"I remember... lilies of the valley placed here, and you were wearing a mermaid-style wedding dress."

Listening to him recall our original wedding, the hatred in my heart only grew deeper and deeper.

Having been childhood sweethearts for twenty years, I had long decided that I would marry Jeff.

For that wedding back then, I prepared a full year in advance. Every single detail was filled with my beautiful hopes for love.

However, Jeff had delivered me a crushing blow.

He said we were going to Macondo for our honeymoon, but on the second day after going abroad, he vanished without a trace.

Back then, the one who cried until she nearly went blind wasn't just my mother-in-law, but also me.

At the time, I was so consumed by heartbreak that I suffered a miscarriage, all while having to face accusations from his family.

Meanwhile, Jeff was probably holding his little lover and rolling around in the sheets, right?

Looking up, Jeff was staring at me with a face full of guilt.

"I will try hard to remember those things. Why don't you take me home to see my parents first? Maybe I could..."

I smiled and interrupted him.

"I already told you all these things before, but didn't you have zero impression of them at the time?"

Not only did he have zero impression, but he also looked entirely impatient and tried to chase me away.

I smiled and continued.

"Did you drink too much and mistake these things as your own memories?

"I wouldn't fail to recognize my own husband. You really aren't Jeff."

Hearing those words, before Jeff could even panic, Nora did first.