Chapter 2

"Mrs. Avery, may I check your wound now?"

Samantha pressed her hand against her racing heart, lifted her leg slightly, and exposed the side of her thigh.

Noah glanced at it without saying a word. His long fingers lightly brushed against her skin—

Samantha jolted. Her whole body went stiff.

"It's not too bad. I'll prescribe you some ointment. Just apply it at home, that should be enough."

He spoke casually, but her face instantly turned red like a cooked shrimp.

Without lingering, Noah walked out, leaving her to get dressed on her own.

When she finally stepped out, he was already sitting at his desk, typing out the prescription. "Make sure to use it every day. If it's hard to reach, I can help—"

"I got it! I can do it myself!" Samantha cut him off quickly.

Sure, they were married, but she still wasn't ready for him to help her apply medicine there.

Picking up the meds from the desk, she bolted out without even looking back.

As soon as she walked out, Lila Smith rushed over, eyes lit with gossip. "So? How was he? That expert doctor guy—he totally amazing or what?"

Samantha shot her a glare, dying from embarrassment.

She never would've run into Noah if Lila hadn't insisted on getting her an appointment with some top-tier specialist. And now? She'd made a total fool of herself.

"Come on, spill it! What's it like getting checked by a total dreamboat of a doctor?"

Rolling her eyes, Samantha muttered, "Can you not be so gross for once?"

The memory alone made her skin crawl slightly with goosebumps. That was her first brush... kind of intimate, and it was with her new husband, of all people.

"Oh wait! Did you have to take your pants off for the exam? If my brother finds out you stripped in front of a hot doctor, he'll go nuclear."

At the mention of Evan Smith, Samantha's face went cold almost instantly.

If she hadn't walked in on him with another woman, she wouldn't have impulsively married some other guy just to get back at him.

With that thought burning in her chest, she didn't say another word on the way home. Lila figured she was tired and didn't push it.

Once back at the Smith house, Lila filled in their grandma on Samantha's injury. Grace Smith let out a breath of relief. "As long as it won't delay the wedding. Have Evan take you to pick out your dress this afternoon. Let's get it settled so I can relax."

A wedding?

Just yesterday, Samantha had still been dreaming about it, looking forward to every little detail.

Then she'd brought the wedding plans to Evan, hoping to go over them together—and walked in on the one thing she never expected.

There, in the bedroom she'd decorated so carefully. On the brand-new mattress they bought just the day before, Evan and Monica Taylor were entangled.

He didn't even look sorry. Instead, he pointed right at her and said it was her fault—she couldn't satisfy him, so he went to find someone who could.

He claimed she'd never find someone better after leaving him.

Said he married her out of pity.

Told her to stop making a fuss, to just endure, and even be grateful for marrying him.

Samantha wanted none of that. She wasn't gonna accept charity, let alone betrayal.

Evan insisted no man out there could beat him? Fine, she'd find someone hotter.

Didn't matter who he was or what he did, as long as he looked better than Evan, she'd marry the guy.

So when she spotted Noah at the park, first thing out of her mouth was: "Let's get married."

She thought he'd just treat her like a lunatic and walk off.

Instead, Noah glanced at his watch and said, "Still time to make it to the church."

And that was it. No questions about jobs, age, or families—they were married.

For the past three years, Grace had taken care of Samantha after she lost her memory.

She gave her a place to lean on, never judged her for not knowing her past, and even tried to match her with Evan out of kindness.

Samantha had truly appreciated her. She once thought, if it made Grace happy, she'd go through with the wedding, even stay by her side forever.

But she really had no way of accepting a guy who cheated before the wedding bells even rang.

That's why she didn't sleep all night. In the early morning, while watering the plants, she slipped and fell, injuring a, well, awkward spot.

And that's how she ran into Noah.

Just thinking about what happened in the exam room was enough to make her cheeks burn.

Grace, however, totally got the wrong idea and chuckled, "Blushing just from talking about dresses. What're you gonna do on the wedding night? Hide under the covers?"

"Grandma..." Samantha took a deep breath and just ripped the Band-Aid off. "I'm already married. Got the license yesterday."

Right then, Evan walked through the door. Grace lit up and said, "What? You two got married? Evan, why didn't you tell us anything?"

Evan adjusted his gold-rimmed glasses, voice full of disdain. "When did I marry her?"

Was she that desperate to announce she was marrying him to the world?

Grace froze. If Samantha and Evan weren't married, then what wedding license?

Samantha saw the confusion and calmly pulled out the crisp marriage certificate from her bag and handed it over.

Grace opened it, even more shocked. "Noah? Who's that?"

Lila leaned in too—wasn't this the doctor she'd booked for Samantha earlier that day?

"You've lost your mind! The wedding with my brother's already in motion and you pull a stunt like this?"

Samantha's expression didn't waver. "I'm not kidding. The man on that marriage license is my husband."

Evan snatched it out of her hands. In the photo, Samantha leaned on that man's shoulder. They looked frustratingly perfect.

She really got married. And not to him.

No way. That marriage certificate had to be fake.

She used to love him so much—how could she have married someone else?