Chapter 1

Introduction

12 days before my wedding, I was standing outside the fitting room in my wedding dress when I heard Julian Cross talking to a friend about our marriage.

I'd chased him for five whole years. I moved from Boston to Seattle for him. I remembered his coffee order, his schedule, every single time he turned me down. Then he finally agreed to get engaged.

But in the lounge, he said, "Nora's the right choice.

"Camille's pregnant, but my family and the board will never accept her. If I marry Nora first, at least things stay stable for now."

His friend asked, "Aren't you worried Nora will find out someday and go after Camille?"

Julian was perfectly calm.

"She's been chasing me for five years. She's a pushover. She won't."

I didn't open the door.

After I left the bridal shop, I was in a car accident.

When I woke up, I remembered my parents, my friends, college, and my job. But the last five years were lost in a fog. I couldn't make out a thing.

Sophie Cross, my best friend, handed me a thick scrapbook and said it documented the years I'd spent chasing Julian.

I went through it cover to cover and asked her only one question. "How did I ever waste five whole years on a man who kept turning me down?"

The doctor said my memories might come back.

But it suddenly hit me: without the weight of the five years I'd spent chasing him, I could finally look at this man with fresh eyes.

And this time, I wasn't sure I'd still choose him.

I was standing outside the fitting room in my wedding dress when I heard my fiancé say I was nothing more than the board's safest option.

Julian Cross was seven years older than me. He was also my best friend Sophie's uncle.

I was 23 the first time I told him how I felt.

He looked at the roses in my hand as if he were politely rejecting an application that didn't meet the requirements.

"Nora, you're too young."

The second time, he said we weren't right for each other.

The third time, he said he had no plans to get married.

I chased him for five whole years.

I changed cities for work. I went to charity galas he didn't even enjoy. I memorized how he took his coffee. I tagged along with Sophie to every family event where I might run into him.

He turned me down again and again.

Then, six months ago, he suddenly agreed to get engaged.

I thought five years of not giving up had finally paid off.

The wedding was 12 days away.

That afternoon, I went to the bridal studio for my final fitting.

Julian was taking a call in the lounge next door.

The door wasn't closed all the way.

His friend laughed. "You're really going to marry Nora?"

Julian didn't answer right away.

I stood outside the door, one hand still resting on the skirt of my dress.

A few seconds later, he said, "Yes.

"Grandma Helen has never been happy about me and Camille, and the board thinks my private life is a mess.

"Nora's the right choice."

His friend asked, "What about Camille? Isn't she pregnant?"

Julian's voice finally softened. "Camille will have the baby first.

"The wedding's just a formality.

"Nora's a pushover, and she's been chasing me for five years. Even if she finds out the truth later, she won't give Camille a hard time.

"Besides, once Nora marries into the Cross family, she'll help keep my family off Camille's back."

His friend was quiet for a while.

"So you're marrying a woman who's loved you for five years just so another woman can have her baby in peace?"

Julian said quietly, "I'll make it up to her."

Standing outside that door, I suddenly felt how heavy the wedding dress was.

It felt as if someone had stacked the last five years on my shoulders, one page at a time.

I didn't go in and confront him.

I just turned around and went downstairs.

It was raining outside.

My driver hadn't shown up, so I called a car myself.

I was crossing the street when a delivery truck swerved to avoid a sedan that had cut into its lane, then slammed into the guardrail.

All I remember is the scream of brakes.

When I woke up again, I was staring at a hospital ceiling so white it felt cold.

Sophie was slumped over the side of the bed, crying.

"Nora, you're finally awake."

I reached up and touched my forehead.

"Why am I in the hospital?"

She froze.

A doctor came in quickly.

I remembered my name, my parents, college, my job.

I remembered Sophie, too.

But when the doctor asked where I lived, I gave him the address of my Boston apartment from five years ago.

Sophie's face grew paler and paler.

She asked carefully, "Do you remember Julian?"

Of course I did.

"Your uncle?

"What about him?"

Sophie cried even harder.

"You two are... about to get married."

I stared at her for ten full seconds.

Then I asked, "Have I lost my mind?"