Pretend Amnesia, Get a New Fiancée

Janet Emery brought me back to her place.

I looked around at a house that felt totally unfamiliar, with no sign that I had ever lived there. I kept my head down and fiddled with my phone.

"Do you want to get some rest first?" Janet asked softly.

She really looked like someone who cared about me.

"Okay."

I nodded and used the amnesia excuse to have her take me to the bedroom.

When Janet saw me settle in, she finally relaxed.

I closed my eyes. The air was filled with her scent—unfamiliar but pleasant. After a while, I heard a voice I knew.

"Jan, you're my best friend. Can you pretend to be his fiancee for now?"

When I heard Tiffany Swain's voice, I sat up and looked toward the bedroom door that wasn't fully closed.

"Aren't you worried that he might get his memory back someday?" Janet asked.

I could tell that she thought I was already asleep. The two of them were openly talking on speakerphone.

"Oh, come on. If he gets his memory back, I'll just sweet-talk him, kiss him, hug him a bit, and he'll be fine. He loves me too much to ever leave."

Tiffany sounded all sugary, but it cut straight through me.

So that was it. I never really mattered to her. I loved her too much, and that made me something she could toss away.

"I've just been with him for a long time, and I'm bored. I need something new and a little room to breathe. It'll pass soon. I know you can't stand Chester, but just do me this favor, okay?"

I didn't hear Janet's answer. She kept moving farther away with her phone in hand.

I straightened up, opened the door, and slowly walked toward her on the balcony. I wondered if popping up out of nowhere would freak her out. That thought crossed my mind with a mean little thrill.

But Janet seemed to sense something and turned right into my gaze. She hung up fast, walked over, and wrapped her arms around my waist.

"Didn't you say you wanted to rest? So how are you awake already?"

She nuzzled into my chest, like we were a loving, engaged couple who'd been together forever.

"I'm kinda hungry," I said, and I smiled, but my eyes didn't.

Janet didn't seem to notice and asked, "So what do you want to eat? Scrambled eggs on toast?"

That caught me off guard.

I liked scrambled eggs on toast, and even Tiffany didn't know that.

"Okay."

I nodded, then awkwardly pulled her hand away and sat at the table.

Janet turned and went into the kitchen without uttering a single word. Watching her tie on an apron and cook as if it were second nature made everything feel unreal.

Wasn't this exactly what I'd pictured married life looking like? I never thought I'd see that coming from my actual fiancee's friend.

Before long, a plate of scrambled eggs on toast was set in front of me. Janet propped her chin on her hand and smiled at me.

My heart skipped a beat. I lowered my head and took a bite right away. I didn't expect it to taste that good.

"Does it taste good?"

I didn't answer, but my body did.

Seeing me rush through it, Janet leaned closer and brushed a bit of egg off the corner of my mouth with her fingertip.

"No one's gonna steal your food, so slow down, or people will think I'm starving you."

That sudden intimacy made me purse my lips without thinking. When our eyes met, I could hear a heart pounding hard. I didn't know whose it was.

I looked away and tipped my head back, stiff and awkward.

Seeing I was still pulling back, Janet smiled and brushed a light kiss on my forehead.

"It's okay. I know you don't remember me yet, but we can take it slow, okay?"

I looked into her kind eyes and nodded without really knowing why.

What I couldn't understand was that, after all these years together, Janet had never shown any romantic interest in me. If anything, everything she did made it look like she hated me, just like Tiffany said.

I stared straight at Janet.

So which one of her was real?