Chapter 1
Two days after my surgery, Leo Maxwell finally showed up.
I was sitting on my hospital bed, chatting and laughing with Chloe, the nurse. The moment I saw him walk in, my face froze.
“What are you doing here?”
Leo’s gaze lingered on my forehead for a moment.
He scoffed, “Felicity has been worried about you for two days. Are you just faking it here?”
Before I could even process his words, Leo strode forward.
He reached out, yanking hard on my IV tube.
The needle was pulled out unexpectedly, and I gasped in pain.
Blood splattered, and the nurse beside me screamed, rushing to stop the bleeding.
But I reacted faster, slapping Leo hard across the face.
“Seriously, what’s your deal? You’re practically radiating bad karma from a past life.”
“Are you blind? Can’t you see the bandage on the back of my head?”
When I first joined the company, it was the worst year for me and Leo.
He’d call me stiff and boring. I’d curse him, saying he was worse than a dog.
The first thing we’d do when meeting was tear into each other’s families.
Leo turned his head from the blow, looking utterly shocked.
He was speechless for a long time, but I wasn’t done with him.
Once the bleeding on my hand stopped, I glared at Leo.
I was about to call someone to kick him out.
But a nurse rushing over stopped me dead in my tracks.
“Mr. Maxwell, please sign here under Ms. Anya’s family member section.”
The words had barely left her mouth when, before Leo could react, I snatched the form from her.
“Sign what? What kind of family member is he?”
I froze, staring at the form before I could finish my sentence.
In the spouse section, Leo Maxwell’s name was starkly there.
Seeing my reaction, Leo rubbed his temples.
“I know you’re mad at Felicity, but her mother is sick, and her last wish is to see her get married.”
“Felicity and I are childhood sweethearts. I was the most suitable person. Later, I’ll divorce her.”
My movements were stiff, and it took me a while to react and open my phone.
The top contact, labeled ‘Husband,’ was Leo Maxwell’s eternally unchanging profile picture.
And in the company SnapChat group, Felicity Reed, the intern who had just spoken, had matching profile pictures with him.
[Getting married next month, everyone’s welcome to our wedding!]
The picture below was deleted within seconds, but I was quick as lightning and saved it.
It was a wedding photo, with Leo looking at her, his eyes full of tenderness.
The group chat was already buzzing with shocked messages, but I had no desire to keep reading.
My photo album? There wasn’t a single picture of me and Leo.
The doctor told me that the severe impact had left me with after-effects.
That’s why I lost five years of my memory.
Now, I hadn’t even processed the fact that I was possibly married to my arch-nemesis.
And here I was, seeing his wedding photo with someone else.
Just then, a message popped up.
It was from Maya, my friend who worked at the County Clerk’s Office.
“You asked me to look up Leo Maxwell last time, he registered his marriage a year ago.”
“In the spouse column, it’s Felicity Reed.”
“That fake certificate you brought in didn’t have a stamp, so it’s not legally recognized.”
Reading that last sentence, my heart felt like it was pierced by a knife.
My head spun, throbbing faintly.
All those lingering emotions surged up, stinging my eyes.
I stayed silent for a long time, and Leo probably took it as my silent agreement.
He frowned, stepping closer, wanting to touch me.
“You…”
Leo looked confused, unsure how to explain himself to me.
Right, we’d argued for so long, always clashing whenever we met.
So the idea that I would fall for him was utterly absurd.
I let out a breath, and when I looked up again, my face was calm.
“Don’t you know office romances aren’t allowed?”