She awoke to silk.
The sheets beneath her skin were smooth, expensive. The faint scent of lavender drifted through the air, woven into the warmth of sunlight spilling through tall windows. Pale curtains billowed with the breeze. Somewhere, classical music played softly — too perfect, too curated, like the soundtrack of a life she didn't recognize.
She blinked slowly. Her body felt heavy, like it had been asleep far longer than it should. Her head throbbed with a dull ache, but it was the emptiness in her mind that scared her.
She sat up.
The bedroom around her was enormous — high ceilings with intricate molding, walls the color of soft cream, a chandelier glinting overhead like frozen stars. A velvet armchair sat near the window. There were vases filled with fresh white roses. On the dresser, a framed photo of her… smiling next to a man she didn't know.
Her heart kicked in her chest.
Footsteps echoed down the hallway — slow, steady, deliberate. She froze as the door opened, and in stepped the man from the photo.
Tall. Impeccably dressed in a charcoal suit. His dark eyes locked onto hers like he'd been waiting for this moment.
"You're awake," he said gently. There was a softness in his voice, but it felt rehearsed, too careful. "Evelyn… I was so worried."
Evelyn.
The name slid into her ears like a foreign language. Her own name — or so he claimed. But it stirred nothing in her. No flicker of recognition. No warmth.
She didn't answer.
He moved closer, taking her hand. It felt wrong. Familiar, maybe, but only in the way a dream might feel familiar before you forget it entirely. "I'm your husband," he said, watching her reaction. "Don't worry. The doctor said the memory loss might be temporary. You've been through a lot. But I'm here now. I'll help you remember. Everything."
She nodded slowly. What else could she do?
She had no memory. No facts to fight him with. No clues, except the name — Evelyn — and the weight of suspicion pressing against her chest.
She didn't trust him.
But she smiled.
Because for now, she had to.