Chapter 5

The silence on the line was heavy, filled with the static of an ocean between them. Diandra held the phone away from her ear for a moment, staring at the screen as if she could see the woman on the other end.

"Well?" Tegan's voice was sharp, edged with a bitterness that hadn't faded over the years. "What is it? Did Holt finally throw you out? Did he finally realize what a doormat you are?"

Diandra closed her eyes, the words cutting deep, even though she didn't understand their full context. She took a slow, ragged breath, trying to steady her voice.

"Tegan," she said, her voice barely a whisper. "I need your help."

"Help?" Tegan let out a short, humorless laugh. "You made it very clear two years ago that you didn't need my help. You told me I was jealous. You told me to get out of your life."

"I know," Diandra said, a tear slipping down her cheek. "I know I did. But Tegan, something happened. I... I don't remember."

There was a long pause. The hostility on the other end seemed to waver, replaced by a cautious suspicion. "What do you mean, you don't remember?"

"I was in an accident," Diandra explained, her voice gaining strength. "A skiing accident in Aspen. I was in a coma for three weeks. When I woke up... I didn't remember anything. Not Holt. Not the marriage. Not... not you."

Another silence, this one stretching so long that Diandra checked the screen to make sure the call hadn't dropped.

"Amnesia," Tegan finally said, her tone flat. "That's your new excuse? You threw away our friendship, you cut off everyone who actually cared about you, and now you're claiming you don't remember? That's convenient, Diandra."

"I'm not lying," Diandra said, her voice firm despite the tremor in her hands. "I don't expect you to believe me. I wouldn't believe me either. But I need to know. I need to know who I was. I need to know why everyone looks at me like I'm something they scraped off their shoe."

She heard a sigh on the other end, a sound of defeat and reluctant empathy. "You really don't remember?"

"Nothing."

"God, Diandra," Tegan muttered, her voice softening. "If this is an act, it's your best one yet. But if it's real... if it's real, then maybe it's a blessing."

"A blessing?" Diandra asked, confused.

"You were the smartest person I knew," Tegan said, her voice taking on a wistful, sad quality. "You were getting your master's in art history at NYU. You had a full ride. You were going to change the world. We were going to share a tiny apartment in the Village and eat ramen and be happy."

Diandra tried to picture it. Books, canvases, the smell of coffee and old paper. But the images wouldn't come. "What happened?"

"Holt Farmer happened," Tegan said, the bitterness creeping back into her voice. "You met him at some gallery opening. It was like you were bewitched. You dropped everything. You gave up your career, your friends, your entire identity, just to be his arm candy."

"I wouldn't do that," Diandra whispered, but even as she said it, she knew it was a lie. The evidence was right there in her phone, in the red heart next to a monster's name.

"You did," Tegan said harshly. "You changed everything about yourself. You learned to ride horses, to play golf, to wear those ridiculous designer dresses. You became a Stepford wife. And when I tried to talk some sense into you, when I told you he was isolating you, you accused me of being jealous."

"I'm sorry," Diandra said, the words feeling inadequate. "I'm so sorry, Tegan."

"Sorry doesn't change the past," Tegan said, though her voice lacked its earlier bite. "The last time we spoke, you were about to sign that god-awful prenup. I begged you not to. I told you it was financial suicide. You told me I didn't understand your love. You told me to get out and never come back."

Diandra felt a hot flush of shame. The woman Tegan was describing was a stranger, a weak, pathetic creature she couldn't even recognize, but she knew it was the truth. The truth was in the empty contacts list, in the coldness of her husband, in the pity of the nurses.

"What about my family?" Diandra asked, dreading the answer. "Why haven't they come?"

Tegan snorted. "Your family? Nathan and the rest of the Riley clan? They're the ones who pushed you into it. They saw the Farmer name and the Farmer money and they sold you off like a prized mare. Don't expect any help from them."

A chill ran down Diandra's spine. "Nathan? My brother?"

"Brother?" Tegan scoffed. "He's your warden. He's the one who convinced your parents that marrying Holt was a 'strategic necessity.' He doesn't see you as a sister, Diandra. He sees you as a business asset."

Diandra closed her eyes, the pieces of her shattered life starting to form a grim picture. "Why is he so desperate to keep me in line now?"

"Because the Riley Group is in trouble," Tegan said, her voice dropping. "They're trying to finalize a massive energy merger with a company that Chelsi Vaughan is connected to. If you cause a scandal, if you rock the boat, the deal falls through. Nathan is more scared of losing that deal than he ever was of losing you."

The name hit Diandra like a physical blow. Chelsi. The woman she was supposed to apologize to. The woman her husband loved. The woman at the center of the storm.

"Be careful, Diandra," Tegan warned, her voice serious. "If you're really starting over, if you really don't remember the woman you used to be, then use that. Don't let them drag you back into the mud."

"I won't," Diandra said, a new resolve hardening in her chest. "Thank you, Tegan."

"Don't thank me yet," Tegan said softly. "Listen, if you're serious about this, you're going to need a shark, not a lawyer. I'm texting you a number right now. Her name is Evelyn Vance. She's my cousin. Don't lose it. And Diandra... just try not to call me crying when it all falls apart again."

The line went dead. Diandra lowered the phone, her hand trembling. She stared at the blank screen, her mind racing. She had been a fool. She had been a pawn. She had given up everything for a man who didn't love her, for a family who only saw her worth in dollars and cents.

But that woman was gone. She had died on the mountain, or in the coma, or somewhere in the vast emptiness of her lost memories. The woman lying in this hospital bed was someone new. Someone who had felt the devil's touch and survived. Someone who was done being a victim.

She wouldn't sign the apology. She wouldn't accept the prenup. She would fight. And she would start by getting as far away from Holt Farmer as the law allowed.