He stopped paying attention to me.

All his time went to hovering around Joan Fox, reminiscing about every little moment they'd once shared.

The closeness between them was obvious, the air thick with something more.

The villagers watched it all, and the gossip never stopped.

“Nelson's lost his memory, fine, but now an old flame shows up too? Nanette's definitely done this time.”

“I think so too. He doesn't even remember her. It'd be stranger if she didn't leave.”

My face gave nothing away. I could have been watching someone else's life.

But when I turned my head and caught Joan's triumphant gaze, my brows drew together before I could stop them.

She walked toward me, smile fixed in place the whole way.

When she stopped, that smile didn't waver, but the words that came out were pure venom.

“Nanette Simmons, you are the most pathetic woman I've ever met.”

“Nelson told me everything. You schemed your way into marrying him. If he hadn't lost his memory, would you still be clinging to him like this?”

“And what about you?” I stopped what I was doing and let out a quiet laugh.

“The moment you found out Nelson was being sent to the countryside, you broke up with him and cut all ties. Now that he's gotten into Capital University, you come running back to rekindle things. You're quite something yourself, Ms. Fox.”

Joan's body went rigid.

But she held herself together better than I'd expected.

She leaned in close, her lips near my ear, and whispered like she was sharing a secret she was proud of.

“So what? Nelson's heart belongs to me. You'll never compare.”

I nodded.

She was special to him. He'd been abandoned and still forgave her without a second thought. Of course I couldn't compare.

I was about to speak when Nelson's voice exploded behind me.

“Nanette Simmons, what the hell are you doing?!”

He shoved me aside and pulled Joan behind him.

Every line of his body was tense, guarded, as if I were some kind of threat.

“I already told you I lost my memory. I don't remember anything from before. What are you trying to do to Joan?”

The shove sent me stumbling.

The soil underfoot was damp, and mud splattered across my clothes, leaving splotches of brown.

He glanced at me, then looked away.

He didn't notice it was the same outfit he'd complimented before the college entrance exams, told me it looked nice.

All he said was, “So it's dirty. That ugly thing needed to go anyway.”

He guided Joan away with careful hands. Even from a distance, their voices carried back to me.

“Stay away from Nanette Simmons from now on. She had the nerve to trap me into marriage. There's nothing she won't do.”

“You're kind, and you're better than her in every way. Who knows what she might try.”

“A woman that conniving? I'm definitely divorcing her.”

“I don't even know why I was stupid enough to save her in the first place. Two years of my life, wasted on nothing.”

……

The contempt dripping from every word was so thick even a fool could hear it.

I clenched my fists and let out a long, unsteady breath.

Then bent my head and went back to work.

It's fine.

That's what I told myself.

As long as he's willing to sign the divorce.

I can take a little more of this.

Midsummer heat bore down, and the cicadas wouldn't stop screaming.

What came first wasn't the divorce.

It was a chance to go to Harbor City.

Bernice threw her arms around me, words tumbling out about how she'd tracked down the director, how she'd landed us this one shot at a meeting.

Her eyes were shining.

“We made a deal, remember? If Director Ellison says yes, we go to Harbor City. You act, I manage you, and we make something of ourselves there. We have to.”

I nodded hard.

I knew exactly how rare this chance was.

Nelson used to point at my face and tell me I'd used my looks to ruin people's lives.

I'd heard it so many times that confusion had turned to loathing, and I'd started to hate my own face.

Now, for the first time, I was almost grateful for it.

We met the next day at the state-run restaurant in town.

Director Ellison was sitting by the window, easy to spot.

Just as Bernice had said, my face turned out to be a genuine advantage.

He barely pressed me on anything, and was even somewhat enthusiastic.

Once we'd settled on a departure date for Harbor City, he left the restaurant first.

But as I was seeing him off, I ran into Nelson.

Joan was standing beside him.

A young, handsome, educated sent-down student paired with a poised, haughty woman who never put a foot wrong in public. Side by side, they really did look like they belonged together.

I glanced once, then looked away.

I was turning to leave when Nelson seized my arm and yanked me back.

His voice came low and furious at my ear.

“Nanette, who was that man?”

“We're not even divorced yet and you're already this desperate?”

The yank sent me stumbling, and before I could catch my balance those barbed words hit me. Blood rushed to the top of my skull. My face burned.

I didn't think. I just swung and slapped him across the face.

“Nelson, you lost your memory, not your mind. Don't confuse me with yourself.”

He lowered his eyes and touched his cheek, then let out a quiet laugh.

“Who knows. You were capable of scheming your way into my life. Nothing you do now would surprise me.”

“Especially now that I've lost my memory. Makes perfect sense you'd go looking for a new target.”

Bernice lost her temper. “What is wrong with you, Nelson? You didn't give a damn when Nanette was pregnant, and now you want to play gatekeeper?”

Silence.

Until Nelson swept me with that look of disgust, eyes trailing from my head to my feet.

And spat out the words: “Lying again.”

The tension I'd been holding finally drained out of me.

Him not believing it was a good thing.

If he had, he'd latch onto me all over again. Whether out of duty or something else, the bitterness inside him would only keep growing until it towered over everything. And I already knew exactly what he'd say.

I could practically hear it.

“Nanette, you'd even stoop to using a child. Is there anything you won't do?”

First the drowning.

Then the baby.

His resentment would never run dry.

Our marriage was never going to be happy.

I'd endured two years of that life already. There was no reason to keep going.

On the way back, Bernice smacked herself on the mouth, kicking herself, and apologized to me.

“I can't believe it. All he'd have to do is pay the slightest bit of attention, or go to the hospital and ask, and he'd know the truth. Why is he so determined to believe you're lying?”

Why, indeed.

I'd once asked Nelson that same question.

But his stance never wavered, his gaze cold enough to cut, as if even a simple question from me were an unforgivable offense.

I only understood later.

It was resentment.

He resented saving me and being forced to marry me because of it.

He resented that because of me, he and Joan could never be together again.

So when someone floated that one idle suspicion—“Funny how Nanette just happened to be saved by Nelson. You don't think she did it on purpose?”

He believed it.