Chapter 1

In the seventh year of my marriage to Zachary Hayes, I overheard our five-year-old son, Leo, asking him an innocent question.

"Daddy, why can't Aunt Jocelyn be my mommy?"

I froze in my tracks.

Aunt Jocelyn―Jocelyn Greer? Zachary's first love?

Before I could even process what I had heard, a speeding car careened straight toward Leo.

Without a second thought, I lunged forward and shoved him out of the way.

*Bang!*

The brutal impact knocked me into total darkness.

When I woke up in the hospital, I felt a wave of relief seeing my husband and son standing by my bedside, completely unharmed.

Just as I was about to tell them I was fine, Leo's question from before the crash echoed in my mind.

On an impulse, I put on a blank stare and looked at them.

"I'm sorry... I can't seem to remember anything. Who are you?"

Both of them stared in shock before Zachary quickly pressed the call button for the doctor.

After a thorough examination, the doctor gave his diagnosis.

"The impact caused minor brain swelling, which can lead to temporary amnesia."

After the doctor left, I kept up my confused act.

"Why was I in a car accident? Who are you two, and what do you have to do with me?"

Zachary frowned and opened his mouth to answer, but an excited, childish voice beat him to it.

"You're our live-in maid!"

...

In an instant, everything I had prepared to say choked in my throat.

I stared in utter disbelief at the child I had carried for nine months.

"A... maid?"

"Yeah," Leo answered without a shred of hesitation. "Why else would Daddy and I be waiting by your hospital bed?"

I said nothing, staring intently at Leo's face, searching for any sign of a joke.

I desperately hoped that in the next second, he would jump onto the bed, grab my hand, and giggle that he knew I was faking it.

To my despair, his little face was dead serious. He even tugged on Zachary's sleeve with solemn authority.

"Daddy, Laurel got hit by a car to save me. You should give her a big bonus."

A suffocating sense of absurdity washed over me.

To the son I had almost died saving, I was only worth the title of a hired maid.

And who was he keeping the position of mommy for? Jocelyn?

A sharp pang stabbed my heart. I bit my lower lip hard to swallow back my tears.

I shifted my gaze to Zachary, who hadn't said a single word.

I wanted to know if I had any place left in the heart of the man I had loved for seven years.

Meeting my eyes, Zachary hesitated for a moment. He said nothing, simply pulling Leo out of the room.

My heart sank into an icy abyss.

His silence was the clearest answer.

Ignoring the throbbing ache across my body, I dragged myself out of bed and crept to the door.

Through the glass window, I saw Zachary crouch down and ask Leo in a suppressed, stern tone.

"Leo, why did you lie and say Mommy is our maid?"

Leo pouted, looking deeply aggrieved.

"I want Aunt Jocelyn to be my mommy. I'm always so happy when I'm with her. Not like with Mommy―she just nags me and bosses me around."

"Besides, Aunt Jocelyn plays the piano so well. Mommy just stays at home as a useless housewife who doesn't know how to do anything."

Hearing my own son say those words drained the remaining strength from my body. I slid helplessly to the cold floor.

So... I hadn't misheard.

Leo loved Jocelyn so much that he wanted to demote his biological mother to a servant just to make room for her.

At the mention of Jocelyn's name, Zachary's anger softened, though his face remained firm.

"Even so, you shouldn't lie."

"Mommy has amnesia right now anyway, so she doesn't know who she is!" Leo pleaded, clinging to his arm. "Please, Daddy! Aunt Jocelyn told me she wants to be my mommy too. Now that we have this chance, just play along with me, okay?"

"You're always so happy around Aunt Jocelyn too. It's a white lie that makes everyone happy! It's only for while Mommy has amnesia. It won't hurt anyone."

Zachary clearly wavered. After a long pause, he finally nodded.

"Fine. But only for one week. After one week, whether Mommy gets her memory back or not, Aunt Jocelyn cannot be your mommy anymore."

Seeing his father agree, Leo jumped for joy.

"Yay! Let's go find Aunt Jocelyn right now and tell her the good news!"

He dragged Zachary away in pure excitement.

Neither of them spared a single thought for me, still battered in the hospital bed.

Listening to their fading footsteps, I let out a dry laugh as hot tears streamed down my cheeks.

A simple test had revealed the ugly truth about my family.

A husband of seven years and a son I had nurtured for five―neither had a shred of love for me.

The happy family I believed I had was nothing more than a pathetic joke.

Suddenly, my phone buzzed.

It was a call from the National Bio-Pharma Research Institute.