Chapter One

She felt a steamy hot breath on her face and she wondered who was looking down at her so closely. Employing all the willpower she possessed, Kendall tried to force her eyes open. She tried and tried but all she could see was the darkness which had settled in like an unwelcome guest.

She was on the verge of giving up ever being fully conscious again when a sudden harsh light pierced into her eyes. She screamed but it came out as a muffled squeaky sound. 

She was finally awake! 

She stared at the ceiling of the hospital as she tried to recall the event that got her in this condition. As she tried hard to recall, the memories suddenly began rushing to the surface of her mind. An image of her and Stacy walking into the huge mansion, going from one room to the other, feeling the texture of the luxury couches, carpets, and other furniture in the house while making observations and light conversations came back to her. Then the sudden explosion.

"Hello, Stacy".

The deep baritone voice of a man jolted her from her deep thoughts. She looked up and saw the most handsome man she knew by her bedside, staring her down with a scowl. 

"Hello?" He repeated. "Glad to be back, Stacy?". She didn't miss the sarcastic nature of his question. However she was too surprised and confused to formulate a reply. Why is her boss, Mr David Steele, the CEO of a chain of multimillion technology companies, by her bedside? And more importantly, why is he referring to her as Stacy, his wife?

Stacy. What about Stacy? Did she make it out of the accident alive?

He cleared his throat dramatically, snapping her out of her deep thoughts as he waited for her reply. 

As she opened her mouth to inquire about Stacy's well-being, a petite nurse hurried in with a hundred-watt smile plastered on her face

She directed her bright smile at David as she said, "Congratulations sir. Your wife is stable once again".

Mr Steele replied the cheerful nurse with a non-chalant nod. 

The nurse, redirecting her excitement to Kendall, continued speaking. "Ms Steele, it has been such a pleasure caring for you. I am so glad that you made it! I told Mr Steele that you are a very strong woman and that you'll surely pull through. He was so worried about you".

Kendall was indeed lost for words metaphorically and literally. She looked at David but there was not a single show of emotion on his face. He seemed like there were a million other places he'd rather be than beside his wife's recovery bed.

The nurse rambled on. "Ohh my bad. I should leave you to rest. Or to have alone time with your husband. You know it's been a very trying time for you both since the fire accident…."

The high-pitched voice of the excited nurse suddenly faded into the background at the mention of the fire accident.

Ugly details of the horrendous event began to rear its head back to her consciousness. She remembered how the dark smoke filled her lungs while she watched the fiery fire consume her. Tears rolled down her eyes to the sides of her face, soaking the hospital pillows. She had survived the worst day of her life and she couldn't believe it. 

"Ohh, my love. Wipe your tears. The worst part is over. You are as good as new now. You just need a few burns to heal and you will be discharged. Don't cry, love", the nurse said with a kind smile. Then turning her attention to Mr Steele, she said, "Sir, she needs to rest so please do not engage her in any deep conversation. She might also need gentle reminders of who she was before the accident. But please don't rush it. She'll be fine sir. I'll be back in a few minutes to check her vitals. Until then, congratulations on getting your wife back". 

David simply nodded at the nurse again as she made for the door. As soon as she left, he brought out a handkerchief from the pocket of his suit and wiped the tears off her face. At that moment, he looked almost sympathetic but what he said after that gesture left Kendall in a state of shock.

"I almost wish you had died". He whispered it so softly under his breath that the words were almost not released into the atmosphere. But she heard it. He made sure she had heard it.

She blinked in confusion, still trying to find her voice. 

"I wish you could tell me what I had done to deserve such cruel treatment from you. All I ever did was love you, Stacy. Why did you treat me the way you did?" His voice was cold as ice, his expression, blank.

"I'm not Stacy", she finally squeaked fearfully.

He seemed to get more infuriated by her reply. "Oh, it seems like you have forgotten who you are, after all. Let me remind you. You are a lying, betraying excuse of a woman who manipulates people for her selfish gains!"

What? Why would David Steele address her in that manner? Did he know of the deal? If yes, why then is he addressing her as Stacy instead of ordering her arrest? From what she remembered, Stacy and David Steele were the picture-perfect faces of Vogue's '30 and Married Billionaires'. So why was he being hostile to 'his wife'? What was going on?

The overthinking was beginning to give Kendall a headache. She was tired and was experiencing a fuzzy feeling in her head. She felt like she was going to pass out at any moment but she was channeling all her energy into staying conscious. She still did not understand why her boss, arguably the hottest Billionaire in New York City, was standing in her hospital room and saying nasty words to her. She also wanted to understand why she was being addressed as his wife because the last time she checked, she was a mere secretary who had recently been promoted into becoming his personal assistant who he paid absolutely no attention to. 

"Nothing to say in your defense? I thought as much. You were always sleek." He pointed at her, his nose flaring in anger. He was barely managing to control himself from yelling ballistically. "You managed to masquerade your lies and manipulations effortlessly. What did I expect? That you would admit your fault and apologize? Funny. Very funny of me."

He seemed to be saying the last part to himself and not to her. For a split second, an expression of hurt flashed on his beautifully sculpted face. However, it disappeared as quickly as it came and was replaced by a scowl. He looked like he hated her at that moment. 

She felt the need to clear things up before it got worse. "I'm not Stacy".

Suddenly, his grey eyes lit up again angrily. "Stop with the theatrics, goddammit!! How long do you intend to continue in your manipulative ways? Give up, Stacy! The game is over! Don't you see it?!"

His anger frightened her the more and her eyes began to well up with tears. She swallowed heavily and repeated, " I am not Stacy"

"Repeat that sentence and you will find yourself as an inmate in a New York Correctional Facility paying the price for your offenses! Just repeat it one more time!"

Kendall swallowed anxiously. He was making her very scared at this point and she did not want to further infuriate him. She knew he had all the influence needed to carry out his threat so she kept still. At this point, her headache and fuzziness were over the roof and she had no strength in her to exchange words with her boss. She simply stared at him as he breathed down at her furiously.

"Since you claim to have forgotten the lying bitch that you are, how about you see her for yourself!"

He reached into his pocket and opened his phone's selfie camera. Still furious, he stretched out the phone to her face and she looked into the camera. The image that stared back at her made her gasp for breath, her eyeballs bulging in shock. 

How? How had this happened? What had they done to her face?

Many questions ran through her mind as she abruptly slipped back into the solitude of unconsciousness.