Chapter 1

Ava’s pov

The key stuck in the lock. Again.

I exhaled through my nose, jiggled it twice before it finally gave in. I walked into my cramped apartment dropping my bag by the wall, I kicked off my worn shoes as I let them land wherever they wanted.

Tired and sore from the late night shift waiting tables, my back ached and I could hardly feel my legs. I dragged myself towards my drawers to get pain killers, glancing through my empty fridge and my mother’s latest hospital bill unopened on the counter. I already knew what would be in the fridge would be disappointing so I just grabbed water and nuked a packet of instant noodles I didn’t want but couldn’t afford to skip.

I let out a sigh as I slumped down on my old beat couch, reaching out for the remote and turning on the television. I stared blankly.

BREAKING NEWS scrolled across the bottom.

And there it was. A yacht. On fire.

Flames roared across the screen like something out of a movie. A helicopter buzzed overhead while paramedics surrounded a stretcher, someone was being pulled from the wreckage, soaked in blood, wrapped in panic.

“… billionaire Liam Vance, CEO of Vance Holdings was found unconscious after an explosion which occurred on his private yacht..” The reporter said.

I stopped chewing. I stared at the name, the name that ruined my family.

“He is currently in a critical condition, suffering from several injuries. Sources close to the investigation says there may be signs of memory loss but it’s yet to be fully confirmed till Liam regains consciousness again”

I stared at the face they showed next. Handsome, even with soot across his skin and a gash on his temple.

I had never met him.

But I knew who he was.

Everyone did.

The man who had never spared a second thought for the families left in his dust.

And now? He might not even remember who he was.

A strange calm settled over me. Not joy. Not relief. Something else.

A thought.

A temptation.

I leaned forward, resting my elbows on my knees, watching them wheel his broken body away.

“Looks like karma finally showed up” I whispered to myself.

But karma could use a little help. And maybe… a wife.

I sat there on the couch, ramen gone cold beside me, and let the thought bloom fully in my mind.

What if I said I was his wife?

No one would question the woman at his bedside. Not if I had a ring. A story. And if he couldn’t remember who could tell him otherwise?

Now he is unconscious should be the best time to unravel everything before he wakes up.

My heart thudded, hard enough that I felt it in my throat. I grabbed my phone before I could talk myself out of it, scrolling to the name I hadn’t dialed in months.

Ari Maddox.

Lawyer. Old college friend. One of the few people left in my life who still picked up when I called.

The phone rang twice before I heard her voice.

“Ava? Hey—”

“I need a legal question answered,” I said cutting her off. “Hypothetically”.

“Jesus, okay. No hello?”

“Sorry. Hello. I’m desperate.”

That made her pause.

“Alright, shoot. Hypothetically”

I took a breath, eyes still on the news.

“If someone were to… claim to be the spouse of a man who just lost his memory—what happens? Legally, I mean. Say he’s rich. Powerful. No recollection of his past. What kind of proof would the court ask for?”

Silence.

Then Ari’s voice came back, slow and wary.

“That depends. Are we talking about filing paper work? Medical decisions? Public claims? Because if someone’s unconscious and memory is compromised and you claim to be their next of kin, yeah. You will have to present an ID. A story and also a marriage certificate I guess. Why?”

“What about a fake marriage certificate?” I asked.

“Is this for some crazy story you are writing Ava?”

“Something like that”

“Ava” she sighed “You are playing with fire. Whoever he is, if he is rich and dangerous? There will be people watching. Waiting. If anyone in his camp, let’s say family, lawyers, security catches wind of it and smells something off? It could get really ugly”

“Ugly how?”

Fraud. Impersonation. Jail, Ava.”

I looked back at the screen.

They weren’t watching now.

Not for me.

But maybe they would be.

Maybe I could be the one person they wouldn’t question—because I would be exactly where they expected his wife to be. By his side. Holding his hand. Smiling like I knew all his secrets.

Even if I was the one keeping them.

Ari exhaled on the other end, long and sharp.

“Thanks Ari, That’s all I needed.”

“You scare me sometimes,” she muttered. “Please don’t do anything stupid”

But it was already too late. She hung up and I stood up to get my laptop.

I stared at the blank marriage certificate template on my laptop screen knowing fully well I was about to ruin my life.

Groom’s name: Liam Christopher Vance.

Seeing his name there, right above mine felt so strange and foreign.

Bride’s name: Ava Lynn Quinn.

I felt sick. But also… strangely steady. Like something inside me had finally clicked into place.

“You wanted a war,” I whispered, “Now you’re getting one.”

The rest of the form came easier than I expected. Date of marriage: six months ago. Location: Reno, Nevada. I had never been, but it didn’t matter. The courthouse I picked from a defunct government website had burned its records in a server crash last year. I made sure to do my research well.

I made sure I did everything with a sprinkle of flaws. A slight typo in the witness line, one signature a little messier than the other. I even switched ink halfway through, from blue to black. It had to look real, not perfect. Perfect was suspicious.

I practiced Liam’s signature three times on a notepad before daring to sign it on the certificate. My hand trembled the first time. But by the third attempt, I got it — sharp and clean, just like how he signed it on the press releases.

I stared at the paper.

Just like that… we were married.

Fake married, but still. This one piece of paper changed everything. It made me his wife in the eyes of a system that wouldn’t ask too many questions, especially with him unconscious, unable to say otherwise.

I felt the nausea crawl up my throat.

This was insane.

What if someone looked closer? What if Liam Vance woke up and blew this entire thing apart in one breath?

But he wouldn’t. Not yet. it was said on the news that the doctor said he will be out for a while. And by the time he remembered who he was, if he ever did, I would already be on the inside. Already pulling the strings.

Already uncovering the truth.

I picked up the paper carefully, sliding it into a plastic folder. My reflection in the laptop screen stared back at me. Tired eyes, tangled hair, lips pressed into a hard line.

No one would believe it. Me, Ava Quinn, waitress and former small-town nobody… married to Liam Vance?

But that was the beauty of it.

No one would believe it and that’s exactly why it would work.

I just need the perfect story to go with it.