Chapter 2

I didn't sleep a wink. The explicit messages and that girl’s mocking smile replayed in an endless loop behind my eyelids.

Sometime past 2:00 AM, the sheets rustled beside me.

Julian didn't even glance at me. He slipped quietly into the master bathroom.

I slipped out of bed, creeping silently toward the cracked door.

A low, hushed conversation drifted out.

"Julian, why didn’t you come over tonight? Don't tell me you're still in love with Chloe."

"Tiffany, relax. I lost feelings for her years ago. I'm saving myself for you. She tried to seduce me tonight, and I didn't even lay a finger on her. Wait for me, baby, I'm heading out soon."

The voice on the line purred, "Come on, Chloe used to be gorgeous. You really felt nothing?"

I held my breath, waiting for his answer.

Julian scoffed in disgust. "She's not half as young or tight as you. Watching her throw herself at me in bed made me sick."

"Then when are you divorcing her? I want you all to myself."

Julian’s voice instantly chilled. "I told you, I’m not divorcing her. You’re crossing the line, Tiffany."

What was that supposed to mean? He wanted both?

A sharp pain stabbed through my heart. My bare feet felt frozen against the hardwood floor.

I stealthily retreated to bed and feigned deep sleep.

Minutes later, Julian hung up. He came over, nudged my shoulder, and got no response.

He got dressed in record time, even spritzing his favorite cologne at the vanity.

The click of the front door echoed through the silent house.

Tears spilled over my cheeks, soaking the cold pillow beneath me.

He didn't come home all night. To cover his tracks, he even texted me around 4:00 AM:

“You were sleeping so deeply that I didn’t want to wake you. An emergency patient came into the clinic. Won't make it home tonight, baby.”

Staring at the screen, I let out a dry, bitter laugh.

If I hadn’t heard him with my own ears, I would have fallen for it again.

Early the next morning, Julian returned wearing a fresh shirt. He leaned over the bed, kissing my forehead softly.

"Chloe, wake up, sweetheart. Breakfast is ready."

I rubbed my eyes, pretending I was half-asleep, and muttered for him to hurry to work.

Suspecting nothing, he left.

Once the door shut, I stumbled into the bathroom. The reflection in the mirror was a hollow, sickly ghost of myself.

I pulled myself together, grabbed Julian’s bottle of pills, and drove straight to my best friend Harper’s private medical lab.

When I took off my sunglasses, Harper gasped. "Chloe! Were you out robbing banks last night? What’s with the massive dark circles?"

I didn't joke back. I slammed the prescription bottle onto her desk.

"Harper, test this. I think... I think Julian is drugging me."

Seeing the sheer terror in my eyes, Harper didn't waste a second. She grabbed the bottle and ran down to the lab.

I waited in her office for an hour, cold sweat drenching my clothes.

When Harper finally pushed the door open, her face was grim. She handed me the report with shaking hands.

My fingers trembled so violently I could barely open the folder.

Sleeping pills?

No... Antipsychotics and heavy neural suppressants.

Julian had been feeding me psychiatric-grade sedatives! But I didn't have any mental illness!

My mind went completely blank. Harper shook my shoulders, tears pooling in her eyes.

"Thank God you haven't been on them for too long," she whispered fiercely. "The neural damage can be reversed. Chloe, let me run a few scans. Let’s see if we can trigger your suppressed memories from six months ago."

She spoke carefully. I knew why.

Ever since my miscarriage, I had cut off all my friends. I had clung solely to Julian, letting him isolate me from the world. That was when the brainwashing started.

Tears blurred my vision. "Harper... I'm so sorry. I was blind."

Harper hugged me tight. After a series of neurological tests, she confirmed my worst fear: Julian had used clinical hypnosis combined with neural suppressants to alter and lock away my memories.

Recovering the truth would take time and an emotional trigger.

When I stepped out of the clinic, I clutched a bottle of harmless multivitamins that Harper had swapped in.

I swore to myself: I would expose every single lie he built.