CHAPTER TWO: His Wife or a Liar?

“I said,” Elias repeated, voice hoarse but filled with disgust, “who the hell are you lying to?”

Sera stood still, barely breathing. The man in the hospital bed didn’t sound like the one she remembered. His voice was colder, angrier and suspicious.

“I’m not lying,” she said quietly. “Your name is Elias Knight. I’m your wife.”

He stared at her like she’d just spoken in another language.

“No,” he said flatly. “No, that’s not right. I don’t…” His hand twitched against the blanket. “I don’t remember you.”

Her chest tightened. Of course he didn’t. It had been a deal. A secret wedding, no one else even knew.

Victor stepped forward smoothly, like a lawyer walking into a courtroom.

“Elias, listen to me. You were in a plane crash. Your brain suffered trauma. You’ve been unconscious for weeks.”

Elias didn’t look at his father. His eyes stayed locked on Sera. Searching her face for answers. Maybe for a memory that wasn’t there.

Victor continued, “Sera Moore is your legal wife. You married her three years ago in a private ceremony. Everything was filed and discreet as you requested.”

“I wouldn’t marry someone I don’t even know,” Elias growled.

Sera flinched.

Victor ignored him. “Until the doctors clear you, you’ll remain here. The press hasn’t been informed of your survival. You have enemies, Elias. People who would kill for a second chance at you. The fewer who know, the better.”

“Why the hell would I marry a woman in secret and not tell anyone?” Elias asked, his voice rising. “What kind of life was I living?”

Victor’s jaw tightened, but he didn’t answer.

Because the truth was ugly. Because even Elias, with all his wealth and brilliance, had once needed to lie to get something done.

Sera finally spoke again, softer this time. “You were desperate. I was too.”

Elias turned back to her. “And now you’re what? Playing nurse until I die again?”

“That’s not fair.”

“I don’t remember anything. Why would I trust you?”

“You don’t have to,” she whispered.

He blinked, surprised by the honesty in her tone.

Sera stepped back from the bed, pressing her hands together to hide the tremble. This was too much.

Seeing him alive, breathing and staring at her like she was the liar, when he was the one who had walked out on her before dawn, never even saying goodbye.

She had buried the version of him she’d once known. And now he was back, stripped of memories and even colder than before.

Victor’s voice broke the silence. “We’ll give you both a moment.”

Elias didn’t protest this time.

Victor nodded once and left, the door clicking shut behind him.

Now it was just the two of them. The man she once married. The father of her child. And yet, he looked at her like she was a stranger wearing someone else’s skin.

“Let’s make this simple,” Elias said, his tone clipped. “You say we’re married. Prove it.”

Sera swallowed. “We had a private wedding. No photos. No guests. Just a lawyer and your assistant, Evan. It was your idea. You didn’t want it on record anywhere that could be traced.”

“Why?”

“You were trying to get access to your mother’s inheritance. Her will required you to be married. You said you needed someone who wouldn’t get in your way.”

He blinked. The crease between his brows deepened.

“I agreed to keep quiet,” she added. “We signed a contract. It was supposed to end after the inheritance was settled.”

“Then why are we still married?”

“Because you vanished the morning after.”

He didn’t say anything for a long time. The machines beside him beeped steadily, mocking the silence.

Finally, he looked up again. “Where have you been for the past three years?”

The question burned. She thought of all the nights Lily had cried herself to sleep. All the days she’d worked double shifts, praying she’d have enough for daycare and dinner. The moments she’d stood in front of the bathroom mirror, trying to convince herself it was all worth it.

“I was told you died,” she said carefully. “There was nothing left of the plane you were on. Your father sent word that it was over.”

“You didn’t come looking.”

“And you didn’t care enough to say goodbye.”

That stunned him for a second. Then his face hardened again.

“You say we were married. You say we had a deal. So what now?” he asked, his voice low. “You come back to collect your reward? You want access to the estate? Money? Power?”

Her lips parted in disbelief. “You think I want money from you?”

Elias shrugged stiffly. “People always want something.”

She stared at him, not with hurt but disappointment.

“You want to know what I want?” she said finally.

“I’m listening.”

“I want you to stop looking at me like I’m the one who broke something.”

Elias didn’t flinch. But he didn’t look away, either.

“You think I planned this? That I wanted to be dragged back into this nightmare?” Sera said, voice trembling. “I had a life, a simple one at that. And then you showed up, Alive, with no memory. And now suddenly everyone expects me to pretend I’m still your wife.”

“You said you are.”

“I am. On paper.” She stepped closer, her eyes fierce now. “But I’m not the same woman you left behind.”

He leaned forward slightly, despite the pain. “Then why are you here?”

Sera looked him dead in the eye, her voice calm.

“Because I’m hiding something.”

Elias stilled. “What?”

She held his gaze without blinking.

“If you want to find out what it is,” she said, voice like ice, “you’ll have to stay alive.”