Chapter 1

When my ninth “husband” got home, I was daydreaming on the couch.

His cheerful voice disrupted my thoughts. “Annie, I’m home.”

I angled my head to look at the man in the doorway.

“Who are you?” I frowned, feigning confusion. “Are you my husband? I seem to recall my husband’s name being Lucien Rook.”

The man froze for a second before retorting, “No! That’s… I’m your husband’s friend. Anneliese, don’t worry. I’ll call and get your husband to come home right now!”

After speaking, the man dug out his phone and hurriedly strode to the balcony.

“Lucien, Anneliese has amnesia again! Whose turn is it this time? Hurry over and swap shifts with me!”

I hid by the window to eavesdrop and heard Lucien’s friends all start to refuse the job through the speaker.

“Lucien, Anneliese is too needy. It’s impossible to handle her if we have to look after her twenty-four hours a day.”

“That’s right. Anneliese is great, but she’s too controlling. No man on this earth wouldn’t cheat a little.”

“Why don’t you go home yourself, Lucien?”

“No.” Lucien’s voice sounded lazy through the speaker. “I’m not done having fun. I don’t want to go home. Which one of you is taking my place? You’re my friends. Can’t you help me with this little thing? Are you even my friends?”

As they all tried to get out of it, one clear voice rang out. “I’ll go.”

I recognized who had spoken. It was Lucien’s best friend, Seth Kaplan.

Seth was well-known as an unattainable hottie. According to gossip, he had supposedly never dated in his thirty years of life.

At the beginning, when Lucien had been looking for someone to pretend to be my husband, Seth had been the first to go against the idea.

So why was he so interested in playing house with me at that point?

Half an hour later, the door opened with a click.

Seth walked in, the light shining behind him so that I could only see his silhouette.

“Annie, I’m home.” Seth’s clear voice was almost magnetic.

I stood up and stared at the handsome man.

“Are you my husband, Lucien Rook?”

“Yes.” Seth covered his mouth and coughed. “I’m sorry. I had to work overtime, so that’s why I’m late.”

After he said that, his phone started ringing.

Seth made an apologetic gesture and went out on the balcony to answer his call.

Through the line came Lucien’s careless voice. “By the way, Seth, I forgot to remind you. At most, just hold her hand and hug her. Don’t you dare sleep with her. No matter what, she’s still my wife.”

“I got it,” answered Seth lowly.

In the past three years, regardless of who was pretending to be Lucien, they were only allowed to hold my hand or hug me at most. No one ever crossed that line.

In three years, our home had no pictures of us, nor did it have anything that could identify the man who was my husband.

I was an orphan. Because of my amnesia, I did not have many friends.

Of course, they were confident that I would remain clueless.

I also continued playing the part. I pretended that I truly did not know a thing.

However, for this particular instance, I felt like doing something else.

I walked over and initiated a hug, snaking my arms around Seth’s waist.

“Hubby, although I lost my memories, I could feel an instant connection with you when I first saw you. You’re definitely my husband, there’s no mistaking it.”

I tightened my hold around Seth’s waist. I also took the chance to grope his rock-hard abs.

Seth’s whole body stiffened. He shoved me away in a panic.

“What’s wrong?” I asked in a faux innocent tone. “Hubby, do you not like me anymore because I lost my memories?”

“No.” Seth’s gaze darted around. His voice was hoarse as he replied, “I like you.”

I reached out and undid his shirt buttons. I touched his pecs.

“Hubby, it’s such a cold day today. Why don’t we warm up in bed?”

Seth gulped. “Alright.”

That night, Seth and I slept together.

We both seemed to be on the same page despite not communicating. We did not say much and allowed our actions to dictate the moment.