Aurora sat on a cold plastic chair outside the emergency operating room, the blood on her coat long since dried. The hospital lights were a sterile, unforgiving white, and the smell of antiseptic made her stomach churn.

The red light above the door had been glowing for three agonizing hours. Every passing second felt like torture. The journal lay forgotten on the floor beside her, abandoned in the chaos of the moment.

Finally, the doors swung open. A tired-looking surgeon in green scrubs emerged.

Aurora shot to her feet. "Doctor, how is he?"

The surgeon pulled down his mask, his face grim. "Are you Mr. Carlisle's family?"

"I'm his wife," she said, her voice a raw whisper.

Dr. Miller sighed, his expression heavy. "We've stabilized his vital signs for now, but he suffered severe head trauma. The intracranial bleeding was extensive. We did everything we could, but the chances of him waking up are very slim."

The floor seemed to drop out from under her. She grabbed the wall to keep from collapsing.

"What does 'very slim' mean?" she pressed, dreading the answer.

"Best case scenario, he remains in a vegetative state," the doctor's words were brutal, direct. "Worst case... you should prepare yourself, Mrs. Carlisle."

The news was a lightning strike that shattered her. Hate, anger, love, regret... the emotions warred within her until all that was left was a vast, terrifying emptiness.

Julian was moved to the ICU. Through the thick glass, she watched him, his head wrapped in bandages, tubes running in and out of his still body. He looked like he could vanish at any moment.

A week later, a small miracle occurred. Julian's condition stabilized. He was moved from the ICU to a private room. But he remained unconscious.

Two more weeks passed. On a sunny afternoon, as a nurse was checking his vitals, Julian's fingers twitched.

Then, slowly, he opened his eyes.

When Aurora rushed to the hospital, she found him staring blankly at the ceiling. The ice-blue eyes that had once held such sharp intelligence were now clear and confused, like a teenager's.

He turned his head and looked at her as she burst into the room.

"Who are you?" he asked, his voice weak and raspy.

Aurora's heart stopped. He had forgotten her.

The doctors rushed in. After a series of tests, Dr. Miller called her into his office.

"His body is recovering, but a blood clot is pressing on his memory center, causing severe amnesia. What's more unusual is that his cognitive and mental state appears to have regressed to that of a sixteen or seventeen-year-old."

Aurora stared at him, stunned. A sixteen-year-old Julian? They hadn't even met then.

"This kind of traumatic amnesia might be temporary, or it could be permanent," Dr. Miller added. "For now, he needs rest and a stress-free environment."

She walked back to the room in a daze. The man who had been her tormentor and her savior was now fidgeting with the bedsheets like a nervous boy, his eyes filled with fear and a strange, budding dependence as he looked at her.

The journal. The betrayal. His cruel words before the crash. His body shielding hers. The images swirled in her mind.

A wild, audacious, vengeful plan began to form.

Before entering the hospital room, Aurora had contacted a lawyer and had a debt repayment contract drafted on an urgent basis. She made sure every detail was in order before stepping inside.

She took a deep breath and walked to his bedside, forcing a smile she hoped was gentle and convincing.

"You don't remember me?" she asked softly.

He shook his head, his eyes wide and uncertain.

"My name is Aurora Morgan," she said, her heart pounding as she uttered the first lie. "I'm your... boss."

She paused, letting it sink in before weaving the rest of the fabrication. "Your name is Julian. You're my assistant. Your father owed me a great deal of money, so you signed a contract to work off the debt. The accident happened while you were driving me. That's why your memory is gone."

The boy who was her husband stared at her, his clear eyes wide with shock and disbelief. He looked at this beautiful woman, who looked like she belonged in movies, and opened his mouth, but no words came out.