Chapter 2

"Nora! You're home so early from work today."

"Zach and I just went to the grocery store. I was thinking of making some chicken noodle soup. You love that, right?"

Zach stood behind her.

He gave me a polite, distant nod, then turned and walked into the kitchen.

Ever since Zach "lost his memory," in order to not be separated from him, I had been forced to live here as a "guest" in their house.

I was the actual, legal girlfriend.

Yet, every single day, I had to choke down my jealousy and watch him pour his heart and soul into loving another woman.

Every time I saw them holding hands or hugging in front of me, my heart felt like it was being shredded by a dull knife.

I could only comfort myself over and over again in my head.

Just wait until Zach gets his memory back.

Everything will go back to how it was.

I had endured this torture for six months.

I didn't get his recovery.

Instead, I got the devastating news that he had actually fallen in love with Chloe.

Chloe followed my gaze into the kitchen, looking at Zach's busy back.

She lowered her voice and whispered in my ear, "I'm so sorry, Nora."

"I'm so useless. Zach still hasn't remembered anything."

I looked down and let out a bitter laugh.

She didn't know.

You can never wake up someone who is pretending to be asleep.

"But don't worry," Chloe whispered, squeezing my arm. "I'm keeping an eye on him for you. I won't let him do anything out of line."

"Yeah," I mumbled, my mouth tasting like ash. "I actually just came back to grab something. I have to go out again in a bit."

Just then, Zach called Chloe from the kitchen to help him.

She immediately perked up and said, "Go do what you need to do, Nora! By the time you get back, dinner will be ready."

I stood frozen in the hallway.

I watched Chloe walk into the kitchen, put her hands—which she had just used to peel garlic—right up to Zach's nose.

"Smell it. Do my hands stink?"

Zach lovingly kissed her fingers and smiled.

"Not at all. You smell perfect."

They laughed and teased each other, looking exactly like a real, deeply-in-love couple.

Everything before my eyes was the exact married life I had dreamed of for years.

Except the female lead wasn't me.

Maybe they thought I had already walked out the door.

Zach suddenly asked, "Has Nora been living in our guest room for six months now? Hasn't she found her own apartment yet?"

Chloe was taken aback. She stammered, "Well... no."

"It's not safe for a girl to live alone. Plus, rent in this city is so expensive."

"Living with us makes her commute easier, and I feel better having her around. Why are you suddenly bringing this up?"

Zach kept chopping vegetables, his voice firm and unwavering.

"Tell her to move out. It's not convenient with the three of us living together."

"Every time I want to be intimate with you, I have to worry about a roommate being in the next room."

"Besides, I don't want you feeling uncomfortable in your own home."

"I was going to make that homemade pizza you love tonight."

"But the second you saw her, you changed it to soup because of her tastes. You're acting like a guest in your own house, Chloe."

Chloe went quiet for a few seconds.

Then, she leaned in and kissed his cheek.