Chapter 1

Just seconds before the car crash, my best friend threw herself over me.

When she woke up, she had amnesia.

She mistook my fiancé as her own boyfriend.

To help her recover, our group of five friends decided to play along with the lie.

The first month, the pre-wedding trip that was supposed to be mine was given to her.

She held Ethan Sterling's hand, kissing him to the cheers of our friends, leaving me behind to carry all four of their bags.

The second month, my best friend moved into the house Ethan and I had bought for our marriage.

My name was erased from the deed and replaced with hers.

My sister, Clara, comforted me.

"Chloe, Natalie only lost her memory because she saved your life. We are just playing along to help her recover. It's temporary."

I believed her. I forced a smile and played my part in their endless, ridiculous drama, scene after scene.

Until the ninth month.

I finished my bridal makeup and rushed to the wedding venue.

Only to find Natalie Davis already wearing my wedding dress, smiling brightly as she leaned on Ethan's arm to greet the guests.

Clara patted my shoulder and tried to soothe me.

"Natalie accidentally found your dress last night. We couldn't bear to break her heart and tell her the truth, so we decided to let her have this wedding first."

Ethan's best friend, Tyler, chimed in with a grin.

"Yeah, Chloe. You've stepped back eight times already. What's one more?"

My heart ached, and my engagement ring suddenly felt suffocatingly tight on my finger.

I looked up and saw Natalie wearing my backup wedding band.

It fit her finger perfectly.

That's when I realized that the wedding dress—the one that had felt a size too small on me—

fit her like a glove.

All the guests knew the truth, yet they still cheered and loudly called her "Mrs. Sterling."

It turned out that the only one who actually took this "temporary lie" seriously...

was me.

I let out a bitter laugh and slipped off the tight wedding ring.

If that's how they wanted it.

Then I would let them have their ninth and final piece of theater.