FAZER LOGINSOPHIA'S POV "You heard about the accident." "Of course I heard, the whole city heard. My son was in a coma." "How is he?" "Recovering, memory loss from the accident. He doesn't remember the past several months." "I know,I went to see him this morning." Catherine's voice went cold. "You did what?" "I went to check on him. To see if he was okay, but he doesn't remember me, Catherine. Doesn't remember us together of recent. He only remembers the wedding day when I left." "Good." I blinked. "What?" "I said good. You shouldn't have gone to see him, you shouldn't be contacting him at all." "But I thought...you wanted us together, you said Eve was wrong for him..." "I was wrong." Catherine's voice was firm, edged with something sharper than anger. "I was very, very wrong. And I will never forgive myself for it. I regret the day I allowed you back into my son's life, I regret every conversation where I encouraged him to choose you, where I told him Eve wasn't right for him. Tha
SOPHIA'S POV I sat in my car outside Damon's building for twenty minutes after he kicked me out. My hands were shaking on the steering wheel. That hadn't gone how I'd planned. Not even close. I'd expected confusion, maybe. Questions. The Damon I knew...the one before the accident... would have at least listened. Would have let me explain, he would have been conflicted about Eve and remembered what we'd had together. But this Damon... This Damon looked at me like I was a stranger, worse than a stranger. Like I was an unwelcome intruder in his life. He didn't remember. He didn't remember me coming back to New York, he didn't remember the months we'd spent together. He didn't remember choosing me, believing me, divorcing Eve for me.I pulled out my phone and called Amanda, my lawyer. "It's done?" she answered. "No, It's a disaster." "What happened?" "He doesn't remember me. I mean, he remembers me from before, from when we were engaged. But everything from the past year? Th
DAMON'S POV My head was killing me again. Not the normal ache from the surgery, this was different. Like someone was inside my skull with a crowbar, trying to pry memories loose that didn’t want to come out. I’d been sitting on the couch for the last hour, eyes closed, trying to force it. Trying to remember. Nothing. Just fragments and pieces that didn’t fit together. I saw Sophia’s face, clear as day. She was smiling at me, but it felt wrong. Then the image shifted and she was crying. Then she was yelling, then she was gone. I couldn’t tell if these were real memories or my brain making shit up. I pressed my fingers to my temples and tried harder. “Damon?” Eve’s voice pulled me out of it, she was standing in the doorway to the kitchen, one hand on her belly, looking worried. “You okay? You’ve been sitting there like a statue for twenty minutes.” I opened my eyes. The room tilted for a second before settling. “Yeah. Just… trying to remember.” She walked over and sat on the
EVE'S POV I was still sitting on the couch when my phone buzzed. Jessica. Jessica: You home? I heard Sophia showed up. You okay? Me: Yeah. I’m home, Sophia came, tried to start shit with Damon, I kicked her out. I’m fine. She replied almost instantly. Jessica: I’m coming over, don’t argue. I’m already in the Uber. I didn’t argue. I needed someone to talk to who actually knew the full story. Damon was asleep in the master bedroom. The doctor had him on some new pain meds that knocked him out for a couple hours in the afternoon, which was good. He needed the rest. And I needed to breathe without him looking at me like I was the answer to everything. I got up, made myself a cup of ginger tea, and waited. Twenty minutes later the intercom buzzed. I let Jessica up. She walked in wearing jeans, a hoodie, and that worried best-friend face I’d seen too many times in the last year. She hugged me the second the door closed. “You look like hell,” she said. “Thanks. I feel like it too.
EVE'S POV I was in the kitchen making tea when the doorbell rang. Damon was on the couch, half-asleep with a book on his chest. The doctor said he still needed lots of rest, so I told him not to move. “I’ll get it,” I said. I wiped my hands on a towel and walked to the door. When I opened it, my stomach dropped. Sophia. My sister stood there in tight jeans and a leather jacket, looking like she owned the place. Her eyes flicked past me straight into the apartment like she was checking if Damon was home. “What are you doing here?” I asked, keeping my voice low. She smiled, but it wasn’t friendly. “I heard my favorite brother-in-law got out of the hospital. Thought I’d come check on him.” “You’re not welcome here, Sophia.” She laughed, short and sharp. “Come on, Eve. We’re family. And Damon and I have lots of history. He’d want to see me.” Before I could stop her, she pushed past me and walked straight into the living room. Damon sat up slowly when he saw her. “Sophia?” “He
EVE Saturday afternoon came too fast. I’d spent the morning trying to tidy the penthouse even though the doctor had ordered strict bed rest. Damon helped, moving slow, straightening pillows and clearing the pill bottles off the coffee table. We kept circling each other like polite strangers. “You should be resting,” he said when he caught me organizing the kitchen. “So should you.” “I’m fine.” “You had brain surgery a week ago. You’re not fine.” “Neither are you. The doctor said bed rest, Eve. That means in bed.” “I can’t just lie there while your parents are coming over. The place needs to look decent...” “My parents don’t care what the place looks like. They’re here to check on us, not do a home inspection.” He took the dish towel from my hands and steered me toward the couch. “Sit. I’ll finish.” “Damon...” “Please. Let me help. It’s one of the few things I can actually do right now.” I sat down. He was right. I was supposed to be resting, keeping stress low, taking ca
Eve knew something was up.Damon had been acting strange for weeks, sneaking phone calls, leaving early, coming home late with weak excuses about work meetings that didn't make sense.Part of her wondered if he was having second thoughts. If the whole Sophia thing had messed with his head more than
The house wasn't a house. It was a compound.Glass walls. Ocean views. So much space I could probably get lost trying to find the bathroom."This is where you vacation?" I asked."Sometimes. Haven't been here in a while.""How long is a while?""Two years? Maybe three?""You own a beach house you h
The ballroom was everything I'd imagined and worse.Crystal chandeliers. Marble floors. People in clothes that cost more than my yearly salary. Everyone looking like they'd been born holding champagne flutes.I wanted to turn around and leave."Breathe," Damon said quietly."I am breathing.""No, y
Monday morning I woke up to the doorbell ringing.Repeatedly."Someone's dead," Damon muttered into his pillow."It's seven AM.""Still dead. Whoever's at the door."I dragged myself up and grabbed his shirt off the floor. Pulled it on and shuffled to the door.The doorman was standing there with a







