My husband, Gavin Chapman, is giving his secretary, Natasha Gardner, exactly what she wants. He's making her his wife. To pull it off, he fakes a lab accident, pretends to have amnesia, and brings her home.

In his office, Gavin wraps his arms around Natasha and murmurs indulgently, "Not just Mrs. Chapman. Even if you want to pretend to be the vice president for a week, I'll let you."

My eyes dim, but I let the lie go on.

The next day, at a press conference, Gavin holds Natasha's hand and tells the world she's his real wife. He even threatens to kick me out of the company and take over all my research data.

Dozens of cameras swivel toward me, waiting for my outburst. But I stay silent and simply sign the termination papers.

Gavin doesn't know that the pharmaceutical project he believes will be done in seven days isn't quite finished. There's still one final step, and I'm the only one who knows how to do it.

Three years into our marriage, Gavin brought his mistress home. He claimed he had lost his memory, then flaunted their affair right in front of me. And once he had taken credit for all my research findings, he kicked me out of Chapman Pharmaceuticals.

While I was packing up my things in the office, Natasha stormed in, knocked the files from my hands, and sent them flying across the floor.

She jabbed a finger at me and shouted, "Rhea, how dare you try to steal the company's drug formulation and experimental protocol? Who knows? Maybe you're planning to sell them to our competitors!"

But those files contained a protocol I had developed based on years of experimentation since my college years. They were the result of everything I'd poured my life into. How could anyone say I didn't have the right to take what was mine?

I turned to Gavin. "So, that's what you think, too?"

His cold gaze barely met mine before he gave the slightest nod.

My mind went to the pharmaceutical project, which was just one step from the finish line. If I ripped up those papers now, there'd be no turning back. But he must've known I wouldn't dare. That was why he stood his ground so confidently. He knew my research was my soft spot.

Since college, I'd shown a rare passion and talent for pharmaceutical development. Prestigious companies had come calling, but I turned them all down. Instead, I stood by Gavin and helped build his struggling startup from the ground up.

Day in and day out, I threw myself into my experimental project, working from dawn to dusk. Every detail was deliberate because real lives depended on it. It was my work that had contributed most to the company's growth.

But just last week, during a meeting, Gavin announced he was handing my project over to Natasha. Most of the employees didn't dare speak up. They just nodded along, offering half-hearted praise for her.

But I refused to play along. After everything I'd sacrificed, I wasn't about to let Natasha tear it all apart. So, I stood my ground and said no without hesitation.

Gavin knew damn well I'd never give up my study without a fight. So, to break me and to hand Natasha what she wanted, he staged this ridiculous amnesia act.

With his arm around her, he declared, "The love of my life is my wife. And whatever she says, goes."

A few colleagues watching the scene smiled at me. "See? Mr. Chapman still loves you! He's just confused and thinks Natasha is you now."

Gavin had always kept up the act of a devoted husband in front of others. I was the only one who knew it was all a lie.

He and I started dating in college. Right after graduation, I spent three brutal months landing a job at a major firm, only to quit without a second thought when he said he wanted to start his own company. I gave it all up to work at his tiny startup instead.

It was my first relationship, and I held on like it was everything. Back then, Gavin had nothing. But he had drive, grit, and the kind of determination that made me believe in him.

We had our fair share of fights. And every single time, I was the one who caved first, swallowing my pride to make things right.

Gavin got so used to it that he started believing he could do whatever he wanted, and I'd still take him back. But this time, I felt nothing but cold disappointment. I was done.

Natasha's high heels came crashing down on my lab documentation. She jabbed a finger in my face, hurling insults like I was the one who wrecked their marriage.

"You shameless woman, Rhea! Gavin is my husband! What gives you the right to even talk to him?"

And Gavin? He just stood there, silent and stone-faced. He didn't say a word for my sake. Instead, he wrapped his arms around Natasha's shoulders, standing tall as her strongest support.

I pursed my lips. "Fine. I'll burn them, then."

I yanked the remaining lab documentation from my briefcase and reached for the lighter on my desk, fully ready to set it on fire.

That was when Gavin realized I wasn't bluffing. Panicked, he reached out to stop me.

"Forget it. Just take it. Call it a parting gift for your years at the company."

The whole office let out a breath of relief, but Natasha wasn't about to let me off that easily.

She clung to Gavin and whined, "Babe, you said I was the vice president, so how come I don't even have the authority to make a basic decision like this?"

Gavin, who normally indulged her without hesitation, gave her a firm nudge this time and warned her not to stir up trouble.

Then, he stepped toward me, his voice cool and distant. "Go to finance and pick up your final paycheck. Don't worry. You'll get every cent you're owed. The rest of your severance will be in your account within seven days."

I rolled my eyes on the inside.

Without a doubt, he thought that in seven days, he'd blow me off with some excuse about his memory loss, throw in a few sweet nothings, and everything would go back to normal like none of this ever happened.

But Gavin, who knew absolutely nothing about pharmaceutical research, had no idea that the batch of drugs he was about to submit was still missing one final and most critical experimental step.

If anything went wrong and those drugs hit the market, the consequences would be disastrous. And he'd be held legally accountable for distributing counterfeit drugs.

Back then, I would've swallowed my anger for him, for the sake of my research findings, and for all those sleepless nights I'd poured into those experiments. But now? I was just done. I no longer wanted the company or him.

As I packed up my things, Gavin instinctively reached for my bag, then froze, remembering he was still playing the amnesia card. His hand hovered in the air for a second before he let it drop, pretending he didn't care.

I pulled out my phone and deleted every last trace of him. Then, I took a deep breath and looked at him flatly. "Let's get a divorce, Gavin."

He froze, then blurted out, "Are you out of your mind, Rhea? You actually want a divorce?"

The moment the words left his mouth, he realized his slip. He quickly cleared his throat and backtracked. "Don't be ridiculous. Who do you think you are? My wife is Natasha. How could I have ever married you?"

His awkward act was almost laughable, but I didn't bother calling him out. Instead, I went along with it. "Back then, you were drunk and out of it. I tricked you into marrying me. So now, I'll just undo it."

Natasha's eyes lit up as she grabbed Gavin's sleeve, her voice bubbling with excitement. "Yes! Yes, babe. Divorce her! Then you can finally marry me!"

Gavin's brows knitted tightly. It was obvious that he didn't actually want a divorce. Caught between our demands, all he could do was stall.

"Let's not rush into anything. Divorce is a big deal. We should think it through before making any final decisions."

I was baffled. If Gavin truly loved Natasha, why wouldn't he leap at the chance to end things with me? With me out of the picture, he could flaunt their affair without the need for those pathetic, exhausting excuses to keep me at a distance.

But I didn't have the energy to untangle his motives anymore. I just wanted out.

I shot him a sideways glance, my voice light but needling. "What's the hesitation? Don't tell me you've caught feelings for me? Need I remind you? You're already married."

The moment Natasha heard that, her expression snapped into a wounded pout as she latched onto Gavin. "Babe, you have me. I'm your real wife! How could you even think of marrying someone else?"

I seized the moment and pressed harder. "If our marriage was a mistake from the start, then don't make the woman you actually love pay the price for it."

Backed into a corner, Gavin had no choice but to grit his teeth and give in.

Gavin, Natasha, and I headed to the courthouse to finalize the divorce.

We had barely reached the steps when Gavin suddenly froze. Then, right on cue, he grabbed his head like he'd been hit with some dramatic wave of memory. He staggered a little, then lurched toward me.

"This place… It feels so familiar. I think it's coming back to me. We got married here, right after college. You wore a white dress. You held my hand and said we'd be together forever. God, you were beautiful back then."

He knew exactly what he was doing. That day had been the happiest of my life.

He thought a few sentimental lines would stir up my best memories, make me go soft, and maybe even back out of the divorce. That move had always worked on me before.

But this time, he didn't know I had heard everything the night he and Natasha were tangled up in that room.

"Rhea was a genius researcher back in college. The only reason I married her right after graduation was to lock her down. That way, every discovery she made would be community property. I married her for what she could give me. I couldn't risk someone else scooping her up. And I made sacrifices for it, too—no more screwing around in the open. Now, I have to sneak out just to see you.

"But you're better anyway—younger, sexier, and way more creative in bed."

Their cuddling and cooing in the room made me sick.

I used to think he married me for love. Apparently, I was just a means to an end.

He once swore he'd build me a cutting-edge lab. But the moment his company took off, built on the back of my pharmaceutical research, he started chipping away at me, blocking me at every turn. All along, he'd been guarding against me, treating me like a threat.

I was still lost in that thought when Gavin suddenly grabbed my hand and asked if I remembered everything.

He was warning me with his eyes. He had offered me a way out, and I'd be smart to take it before I pushed my luck too far. I turned my face away, pretending not to notice.

"You must be thinking of Natasha. You're confused, but I can't blame you, though. That lab explosion did a number on your brain," I said.

Gavin's fists clenched, slow and tight. He hadn't expected me to brush him off so easily. His little performance had fallen flat, and the rejection hit him right where it hurt.

Just then, the media swarmed in like vultures, having caught wind of the divorce. Flashbulbs popped in my face, relentlessly.

"Mr. Chapman, is it true you're divorcing Ms. Lanner?"

"Are you leaving Ms. Lanner for the woman in your arms right now?"

I instinctively recoiled from the cameras, while Natasha leaned in as if it were her moment on the red carpet. She was proud to play the homewrecker for all the world to see.

And Gavin? His convenient "amnesia" made him bulletproof against the media.

In a week, he'd just claim his memory had come back, and every damning thing he had said would be waved off as the ramblings of someone with amnesia.

He grabbed Natasha's hand and raised it for the flash of the cameras. It was a cheap performance meant to make me squirm.

"That's right. Natasha's the only woman I'll ever call my wife. We're getting married once Rhea and I are divorced."

As Gavin finished speaking, he shot me a sideways glance. But when he saw I wasn't even fazed, a flicker of fury pulsed beneath his skin.

He pulled Natasha in by the waist and kissed her cheek right there in front of the flashing cameras. The reporters gasped.

He thought the stunt would make me mad and jealous, that I'd crumble and beg him to take me back. But I was done. And I wasn't about to lose my dignity over a man who had turned into a walking circus act.