Chapter 1

After Hayden left, I sat on the couch for a long time.

A dark blue passport lay on the coffee table. The photo was mine, but the name printed inside was Willa Dawson.

According to my new identity, I was 32 years old, single, and had no living parents. I even owned a seaside villa in the South of Fenris.

The moment news of the yacht explosion reached Jinton, I would be officially dead. From then on, I wouldn't be allowed to contact my family, return to the country, or let anyone who knew me find out I was still alive.

Rachel Young, who had been my assistant for three years, held the passport in her hands. Her eyes were red with tears. "Ms. Lawson, Mr. Prescott even went so far as to choose your new name for you."

I took the passport from her and put it away in a drawer. "Well, at least that saves me the trouble of coming up with one myself, doesn't it?"

"But your name is Winifred Lawson."

"Not after the yacht explodes."

Three years ago, everyone had been convinced that I'd shamelessly schemed my way into Hayden's bed. Reporters had swarmed the hotel entrance, practically shoving their cameras into my face. They called me a gold digger and accused me of having no shame, willing to do anything for money.

Hayden had been the only one to take off his suit jacket, wrap it tightly around me, and shield me in his arms. Right there in front of everyone, he declared, "I was the one who wanted her."

After that, he'd paid off my family's debts and brought me to live in his penthouse.

Everyone thought I'd played my cards perfectly. But I knew better. In all three years we'd been together, I'd never truly found a place in his heart.

Whenever he fell into a deep sleep, he'd murmur "Winnie" over and over, his voice filled with tenderness. Back then, I'd always thought he loved me so deeply that he dreamed about me even in his sleep.

Only now did I understand. The Winnie he'd been calling for wasn't me. It was Winona. I'd mistaken his love for her for love for me.

I'd been nothing more than a convenient shield he'd kept by his side to keep other women at bay. Now that I'd served my purpose, it was only natural that I should disappear.

Suddenly, I heard the electronic lock beep at the front door.

Winona walked in, accompanied by several staff members. She wore a white coat, and although her face was still a little pale, her attention quickly settled on the enormous photograph hanging in the center of the living room.

In the photograph, I stood beneath a pine tree at a ski resort while Hayden leaned down to wrap a scarf around my neck. It had been taken the previous winter.

I'd casually mentioned one day that I'd never seen a proper snowfall in my entire life. The very next day, Hayden'd canceled all his work commitments and flown me to Somerby on his private jet.

When the framed photograph arrived, I'd hidden away in my bedroom and spent ages admiring it. Back then, I'd been naive enough to believe that the way Hayden looked at me in that photograph held at least a little genuine affection.

Winona let out a soft laugh. "Beautiful scenery. Shame it's the wrong woman in the photograph."

The photographer immediately instructed his crew to set up their equipment.

I watched as they took the photograph off the wall. "What are you doing?"

Winona answered in a gentle voice, "Hayden bought me that ski resort for my birthday when I was 18. He promised we'd have our wedding photos taken there after we got married. But then we lost touch, and you ended up taking my place in the photograph."

So, even that snowfall, the scarf, and the entire ski resort he'd reserved just to make me happy had never really been meant for me.

The photographer opened his laptop and began erasing me from the image, bit by bit.

Rachel was trembling with anger. "If you want wedding photos, why can't you just have new ones taken? Why do you have to ruin Ms. Lawson's photograph?"

"Because Winona doesn't like it."

Hayden's voice came from the doorway. He walked over to Winona. When he noticed that the air conditioning had blown a few strands of hair across her face, he instinctively reached up and tucked them behind her ear. As he raised his hand, a silver crescent-moon cufflink peeked out from his sleeve.

I'd spent three months designing those cufflinks. I'd even had the letter "W", my initial, specially engraved on them. The first time he'd worn them to a board meeting, I'd been so happy that I hadn't slept a wink that night.

Only now did it dawn on me that Winona's name started with W too. The initial I'd thought represented me could just as easily have stood for hers.

Winona leaned against his shoulder. "But Ms. Lawson seems too attached to it to let it go."

Hayden followed my gaze to the laptop screen. "It's just a photograph. You've taken Winona's place for three years. Now she just wants back what's rightfully hers. What gives you the right to complain?"

I lowered my eyes. "I'm not complaining."

His expression softened. "I know this is hard for you to accept right now. But over the past three years, I've paid off your family's debts and made everyone who ever mistreated you apologize publicly.

"And once you're overseas, you'll have the house, the bank accounts, and the trust fund. I'm not taking any of that away."

He paused before adding, "Winnie, don't be greedy."

I watched as the last traces of me disappeared from the screen. Using AI, the photographer replaced my face with Winona's. Now Winona stood in the snow, with Hayden leaning down to wrap the scarf around her neck.

The photograph looked so real. So real that it was almost as if the past three years had been nothing more than a dream.

And now, it was time to wake up.