Chapter 3

• Noah and I once had a baby.
• When I was three months pregnant, the three of us went skiing in the mountains and got caught in an avalanche.
• Noah and Lina both passed out. I dragged them, one by one, to a safe spot and waited for rescue.
• I’d been frozen too long. I lost the baby.
• Back then, Noah held me and cried. He said we’d have lots of kids in the future, and he’d spend his life making it up to me.
• Now he just tossed out a “that’s a shame” and moved on.
• Did he think I couldn’t even keep my own baby, so I didn’t deserve to be a mom?
• Maybe he realized he’d gone too far. Noah shot me a complicated look.
• “I know you sacrificed a lot for me. Just settle down and be Mrs. Thompson. Lina won’t threaten your place.”
• He took a step towards me. “As long as you behave and don’t bully her or the baby, I’ll make sure you’re taken care of.”
• I almost laughed. I spoke, each word clipped.
• “Noah, the engagement is off. I’m not marrying you.”
• He snorted, dripping with disdain.
• “Playing hard to get again? You just woke up and you’re already throwing a tantrum. Get some rest. Cut the games.”
• He walked out with Lina. The room was just me and my father now.
• Dad sighed and tucked my blanket.
• “Don’t blame Noah. Three years ago the doctor said you’d never wake up. Noah refused to give up and got you the best meds. He loves you too.”
• Too? I smiled and said nothing. My eyes landed on the family portrait on the wall.
• In the picture I stood between my parents, grinning ear to ear.
• Now, all the photos had been swapped out for shots of Lina with my dad.
• In my last life, when I got discharged and went home, I found my bedroom turned into Lina’s closet. All my clothes and things were tossed into the basement.
• Dad said Lina liked sunny rooms, and I might never wake up, so they gave it to her.
• Thinking about it now, it seemed that he’d already written me off back then.
• A week later I was discharged. Noah sent a driver to pick me up and take me back to the Bennett place.
• The moment I walked in, I saw a giant glamour shot of Lina hanging in the living room. The entryway rack was lined with her high heels.
• Dad came out of the kitchen, froze for a second, then gave an awkward smile.
• “Lina’s been living here for three years. She’s used to it. Your room is the guest room on the second floor. I’ve already had it made up.”
• “The master bedroom gets great light, and Lina’s pregnant—she needs more sun," he added. "You’ll have to make do.”
• After all, who would’ve thought someone who’d been a vegetable for three years would wake up?
• I flashed a faint smile.
• “I don’t want a room that’s been used.”
• I turned and went to the basement to get my things. It was dark and damp. My suitcases were piled in a corner, thick with dust.
• While I was digging through, my foot hit a metal box.
• I opened it. Inside were the medals I’d collected over the years, plus the love letters Noah once wrote me.
• The box had been pried open. Everything inside was a mess. The medal that mattered most to me—my gold from the Math Olympiad—had been snapped in two.
• Footsteps creaked on the stairs. Lina came down holding the rail. She saw the medal in my hand and covered her mouth with a laugh.
• “Oh, that? My dog came in the other day and chewed it.”
• “It’s just a crappy medal," she said. "You’re not gonna hold it against me, right?”
• She leaned in, dropped her voice, gloating.
• “Alice, in the three years you were gone? Your room, your fiancé, your dad—they’re all mine now.”
• “While you were out cold, Noah and I went at it by your hospital bed more than once," she even informed me. "Shame you didn’t see how turned on he was.”
• I shook with rage and slapped her.
• “Alice!”
• Noah’s roar hit an instant before he did. He shoved me hard. My back slammed into the cold concrete wall. Pain shot through me, cold and sharp.
• He stared at me, eyes like ice.
• “It’s just a stupid medal. Lina already apologized. What more do you want?”
• “You’re still so selfish and vicious!" he yelled. "I regret ever proposing to you!”
• Looking at his indifferent face, the last bit of feeling I had for him shattered to dust.
• “Noah, the engagement is canceled. Marry whoever you want. It’s got nothing to do with me.”
• I shoved past him, sidestepped Lina, and walked straight out of the basement.
• His face went stiff. He was about to speak when Lina suddenly let out a scream and collapsed to the floor. Noah bolted over like a madman and scooped her up, glaring daggers at me.
• “Did you push her on purpose? If anything happens to her or the baby, I’ll make you pay with your life!”
• Sirens wailed. Paramedics rushed in with a stretcher and carried Lina out.
• Dad hurried over and slapped me so hard my head snapped to the side. Blood welled on my lip.
• “You ungrateful brat! If anything happens to Lina, I’ll act like I never had you for a daughter!”
• Staff passing by pointed and whispered, their voices drilling into my ears.
• “That’s her—slept for three years and woke up crazy.”
• “She lost her own baby and now she wants to hurt Miss Lina’s. Vicious.”
• “Why did someone like her even wake up? All she does is hurt people.”
• Noah stood by the ambulance, eyes cold as he stared me down.
• “You stand right here. When Lina wakes up, you apologize to her.”
• I let out a cold laugh and turned to go.
• He lunged and grabbed my arm, squeezing hard enough to crush bone.
• “Did I say you could leave? You’re not going anywhere until you apologize.”
• He raised his hand to hit me. I shut my eyes. The pain never came.
• A cool voice sounded above me.
• “Since when does anyone think they can lay a finger on Arthur Windsor’s fiancée?”