Fake Love Trap

Pain. That was the first thing I registered as consciousness slowly returned to me. A dull, throbbing ache that seemed to radiate from every inch of my body. The steady beep of a heart monitor somewhere to my left provided a rhythmic backdrop to my suffering.

I tried to open my eyes, but they felt impossibly heavy. The harsh fluorescent lighting filtered through my eyelashes, sending sharp needles of discomfort into my skull. Hospital. I was in a hospital.

Memories flooded back in disjointed fragments. Headlights. Screeching tires. The sickening crunch of metal. My car spinning out of control on the rain-slicked Seattle streets. Then... nothing.

How long had I been here? Hours? Days? The white sterility of the private room offered no clues. An IV drip was attached to my arm, and various monitors hummed softly around me. My body felt like it had been put through a meat grinder—bruised, battered, and utterly exhausted.

Voices drifted in from the hallway outside my door, which had been left slightly ajar. I kept my eyes closed, not yet ready to alert anyone to my consciousness. The pain medication coursing through my veins made everything feel slightly unreal, dreamlike.

"The doctor says she might have amnesia from the trauma." The voice was immediately recognizable—Brandon. My boyfriend of three years. The man I'd given everything to. "This is perfect timing, actually."

Perfect timing? For what? I remained perfectly still, my curiosity overriding the impulse to call out to him.

"I know, right?" A female voice responded—Ashley. My best friend since college. "We couldn't have planned it better ourselves. She won't remember anything."

A cold feeling spread through my chest that had nothing to do with the hospital's air conditioning.

"Blackwood's already agreed to take her," Brandon continued, his voice dropping slightly. "He thinks it's part of some business arrangement with my father. The idiot's been watching her for years—did you know that? Like some creepy stalker."

Ashley's tinkling laugh made my stomach turn. "And she'll have no idea about us. No memory of catching us together. It's like a clean slate."

"Once she's with Blackwood, we can move forward with everything else," Brandon said, his voice taking on that smug tone I'd always ignored before. "My father's already working on the merger paperwork. With Rachel out of the picture and supposedly suffering from amnesia, she won't be able to interfere."

The betrayal hit me like a physical blow. The two people I trusted most in the world—my boyfriend and my best friend—were not only having an affair behind my back but were now conspiring to... what? Pass me off to someone else? Use my accident as an opportunity?

And who was this Blackwood person?

The sound of approaching footsteps silenced their conversation. I kept my eyes firmly shut, my mind racing despite the fog of medication.

"Mr. Blackwood," Brandon's voice took on a falsely cordial tone. "Thank you for coming."

"Sterling." The newcomer's voice was deep, cold, and clipped. "I'm not here for