Chapter 1
After Elena Brooks rejected Diane Foster's enormous check for the 88th time, she finally realized that Dummy or her husband had regained his memory.
The last time Sophia Grant, the Grant heiress, came to visit, Marcus hurled a glass at her feet and roared, "Ellie is the only woman I'll ever love. All of you can get out!"
This time, Elena heard only his deep, controlled voice say, "I agree to the marriage alliance."
She froze.
That wasn't the voice she knew. The familiar, slightly goofy warmth was gone, replaced by calm, cold authority.
It was exactly how the Hale heir was supposed to sound.
'Has Marcus regained his memory?'
Richard Hale's excited voice came from inside the room. "Good! Brilliant!"
Marcus continued, "But Elena can't know. I'll keep her around on the side."
Richard sounded displeased. "Son, you should've cut her out a long time ago."
"Enough." Marcus let out a humorless laugh. "Our marriage certificate is fake, and the wedding was nothing but a staged ceremony with actors you hired. Wasn't that enough?"
Outside the door, Elena could barely breathe.
She clutched the doorframe to keep herself from collapsing.
She should have known.
How could the Hale family ever accept a woman of her humble background as Marcus's wife?
She had found Marcus beside a dumpster 3 years earlier.
At the time, the accident had severely affected his brain, and he could barely take care of himself.
Only later, when the Hale family found him, did Elena learn that the man she had rescued was the son of an extraordinarily wealthy family.
By then, Marcus could no longer bear to be separated from her.
The Hales felt indebted to Elena for saving him, so they allowed the two of them to marry.
Elena still remembered Marcus holding up what she had believed was their marriage certificate, his eyes bright with excitement.
"Ellie is mine now!"
So all of that had been fake too.
"Marcus, now that you've got your memory back, think this through carefully," Diane said, patting Sophia's hand in reassurance. "You can't let Sophia be humiliated."
"Mhm." Marcus's voice was eerily calm. "The marriage alliance is settled. As for Elena..." He paused. "I'll just keep her around like a pet."
"Ellie, I'll love you forever."
His old promise echoed in Elena's mind.
A high-pitched ringing filled her ears until it drowned out everything around her.
Moving on autopilot, she pulled out her phone and sent Diane a message.
Elena: I'll take your check and leave.
Then she turned and walked into the night.
She knew no one would ever search high and low for her again, calling, "Ellie!"
