Chapter 1

The day after Jocelyn and I got our marriage license was supposed to be the start of everything.

Instead, it was the end.

I was in my studio, the one Andrew and I built with our own money and sweat, trying to perfect a track. My phone rang. It was Jocelyn.

"Ethan," her voice was strange, distant.

"Hey, what's up? I'm just finishing up here."

"I... I had a fall," she said, her tone flat. "I hit my head. The doctor says I have amnesia."

My heart stopped.

"What? Are you okay? Where are you?"

"I'm fine," she said, but it didn't sound fine. "But Ethan... I don't know who you are."

The words didn't make sense. I laughed, a nervous, confused sound.

"Jocelyn, what are you talking about? We just got our marriage license yesterday."

"I don't remember that," she insisted, her voice turning sharp. "I don't remember you. My lawyer is here. You need to meet me back at the Travis County Courthouse. We have to sign annulment papers."

"Annulment? Jocelyn, this is insane. Let me come to you, we can talk-"

"There's nothing to talk about," she cut me off, her voice like ice. "Just be at the courthouse in an hour. Or my father's lawyers will handle it for you."

The line went dead.

I stared at my phone, the silence in the studio suddenly deafening. This had to be a joke, one of Jocelyn's twisted, dramatic games. But the coldness in her voice felt real. It felt final.

I grabbed my keys and ran out the door.

When I got to the courthouse, I saw her immediately. She wasn't alone.

She was clinging to Caleb Hughes, her high-school sweetheart, the one she always told me was "just a friend" from her past. He had his arm wrapped tightly around her waist, a protective gesture that made my stomach clench.

"Jocelyn?" I said, my voice barely a whisper.

She looked at me, her eyes wide and empty, as if I were a complete stranger. "Who are you?"

Caleb stepped forward, a fake, apologetic smile on his face. "Hey, man. Sorry about this. She had a nasty fall. The doctors said it could be temporary, or... not." He gave a little shrug, a subtle taunt.

"This is crazy," I said, looking at Jocelyn. "Jocelyn, it's me. Ethan."

She flinched and pressed closer to Caleb. "He's scaring me, Caleb."

"He's my boyfriend," she declared, her voice loud enough for the people nearby to turn and stare. She pointed a perfectly manicured finger at me. "I don't know who you are, but you need to leave me alone."

Her words hit me harder than a physical blow.

A man in a crisp suit, obviously one of her family's lawyers, stepped forward with a clipboard. "Mr. Lester? If you'll just sign here. Given Ms. Chadwick's medical condition, we've been able to expedite the annulment of the license. It's for the best."

I looked from the lawyer's smug face to Caleb's triumphant smirk, and finally to Jocelyn's cold, blank stare. There was no recognition, no flicker of the woman I thought I was going to spend my life with.

My hand was shaking as I took the pen. I felt numb, disconnected from my own body. I signed the paper.

The clerk behind the counter looked at me with a hint of pity. "That's a new record," she muttered to her colleague. "License issued yesterday, annulled today. Must be some story."

I just nodded, unable to speak.

As I turned to leave, I heard Caleb whisper in Jocelyn's ear, "See? I told you I'd take care of it."

She giggled, a sound that was once music to my ears, and kissed him.

I walked out of the courthouse and into the blinding Texas sun, feeling like the biggest fool in the world.