Chapter 2

Ten minutes later, the three of us sat in Liam's silver Bentley.

Through the rearview mirror, I caught Vivian and Cayden clinging to each other like inseparable twins.

They stole glances at me now and then. Cayden looked suspicious, while Vivian wore a faint smirk of triumph.

When the scent of cedar brushed past me, I snapped awake, warily eyeing Liam as he leaned close.

His expression stayed calm. He fastened my seatbelt without a word and sat back.

As he started the car, his glance held a hint of teasing. "Isn't it normal to buckle my fiancée's seatbelt? Haven't I done this for you before?"

I forced down the panic in my chest and looked away. "I don't remember."

He reached out, patting the back of my hand. "No worries. It'll come back to you."

Something in his words must have struck a nerve with Cayden. His face darkened, and he pulled his arm away from Vivian. "Liam, don't say I didn't warn you. The Hewitt family values propriety. Until the wedding's official, keep your hands off Julia."

Liam let out a scoff.

Though his eyes stayed fixed on the road, I sensed mockery in them.

"Cayden, you're overstepping. This is between me and my fiancée." He emphasized the word "fiancée," each syllable deliberate and heavy.

Vivian's face soured. She leaned forward from the back seat. "Julia, do you really not remember anything?"

She had asked me this several times since the hospital room.

When I confirmed again, her expression finally eased.

She grew chatty, as if eager to fill in my "memories."

She said we had been best friends from high school to college, so close that after my family fell apart, she took care of me.

That much was true.

But hearing it from her now felt like each word stabbed my heart.

She held the arm of the man I had loved for three years, her eyes smiling as she spoke of our past. "My parents treated you better than they treated me. If I had a brother, I'd have kept you in the family as my sister-in-law."

She paused, glancing quickly at Liam. "But now you've found your happiness, Julia. I truly wish you joy forever."

Her words sounded heartfelt, but my eyes burned, and I turned to stare out the window.

"Wait, where are we going?" Cayden noticed the route was off and sat up, urgency in his voice.

He hesitated, stumbling over his words. "Liam, you're going the wrong way. Vivian's place is in that direction."

Liam glanced at me, unfazed, one hand on the wheel. "Wrong? I'm taking my fiancée to our home, of course."

I stared at him, stunned.

I had been so caught up in the sting of betrayal from those two that I nearly forgot the man in front of me was far more dangerous.

Liam was likely the one person in the world who wanted me to lose my memory most.