Chapter 1

I received news that my husband had been hospitalized due to food poisoning. I ignored the pain shooting up my sprained ankle and hobbled to the hospital as fast as I could.

As soon as I pushed open the door to his hospital ward, he shot past me swiftly and embraced a young woman behind me.

"Honey, you're finally here! I missed you so much!"

The woman shot me a provocative glance, then wrapped her arms around his neck before kissing him with flushed cheeks.

The two of them were completely immersed in their own world.

Only after that did he seem to notice my presence. Then, he scratched his head sheepishly. "Honey, Mom takes such good care of herself. She doesn't look 50 at all!"

An eerie silence filled the hospital room from his unexpected reaction.

I stared at him in utter disbelief. Did I look 50?

The woman beside him quickly shook him. "You've got the wrong person! She's not my mom!"

Hearing this, he froze for a moment. "Then who is she?"

I took a deep breath, trying to stay calm, but I couldn't stop my voice from trembling. "Sebastian Smith, I'm your wife! What's wrong with you? Why don't you recognize me?"

He reacted as if he had just heard a ridiculous joke. "Are you kidding me? My wife's name is Roseline Carter—she's fair-skinned and beautiful. You look like an ugly freak with that scar on your face. How dare you claim to be my wife?"

Matthias Ziegler quickly stepped forward to interrupt Sebastian while scratching his head awkwardly. His gaze flickered as he explained, "Alexis, please don't misunderstand. Seb is just talking nonsense.

"He accidentally took some mushrooms called Psilocybe at lunch and passed out after hallucinating. He only just woke up and hasn't come to his senses yet.

"This is Roseline Carter, she's an intern at the office. You know that Seb is completely devoted to you. You're the only person he has ever truly loved."

The faint scar at the corner of my eye, which had long since healed, suddenly began to ache. It hurt so much that my eyes turned red.

I had gotten the scar while rescuing Sebastian from falling into a trap during a camping trip back in college. I accidentally scratched my face on a tree branch.

And now, Sebastian was calling me an ugly freak because of it…

I suddenly remembered a time when I had been curled up on the couch, watching a drama. In the show, the male lead lost his memory after a car accident and mistakenly identified another woman as the love of his life. I had cried my heart out for the suffering female lead.

At that time, Sebastian had held me close and was heartbroken to see my tears. He had comforted me, saying that I was his most precious treasure and that he would never mistake me for anyone else. Even if he grew old and senile, he would still know who I was.

Everyone always said that he loved me deeply. I had always believed that too. But what was this now?

He had forgotten me—yet could effortlessly name Roseline, a newly hired intern.

Was this really because of the Psilocybe that clouded his mind?

Or had he already erased me from his heart little by little without me knowing?

I asked Matthias, "I made Sebastian's lunch myself and personally delivered it to him. I know exactly what was in it—there was no Psilocybe. So how was he poisoned?"

"Seb wanted something else and ordered takeout—"

I cut him off. "Sebastian never eats takeout."

Matthias rubbed his nose, looking guilty and at a loss for words.

Some things didn't need to be spelled out. I had seen enough to understand.

"He ate the food that Roseline brought him, didn't he?" As soon as I said it, a chill ran down my spine.

Suddenly, all those mornings I had spent waking up early, going to the market to buy the freshest ingredients, carefully preparing his lunch, and personally delivering it to his office—

All of it seemed so laughable.

I was so utterly foolish.

Sebastian frowned, looking impatient. "Matthias, why are you still talking to this ugly freak? Get her out of here already."

Matthias looked at me with difficulty. "Alexis, maybe you should go home for now? Once Seb recovers, I'll let you know."

Roseline chimed in as well. "That's right. Sebastian doesn't even recognize you right now. If you stay here, it'll only make things worse for his recovery."

"Shut up! Who the hell do you think you are? What right do you have to speak to me like that?" I snapped, unable to hold back my fury any longer as I glared at her smug face.

"And who do you think you are?" Sebastian sneered, shielding Roseline protectively behind him and stroking her hair reassuringly. He turned his icy gaze toward me.

"Have you thought about the consequences of insulting my wife?"