*kAudrey's POV*

Blake stared down at me, shock written all over his face.

He grabbed my wrist before I could react. "No, this isn't right."

I tried pulling away, keeping my expression cold.

"Audrey," he said, his voice shaking slightly. "Hate me all you want. Hit me again if that helps. But don't pretend you don't know me."

His grip tightened as he leaned closer."Five years together. Five years.You can't just erase that."

I tugged harder, my voice icy. "Let go of me. I don't know you, and I'm not this Audrey person."

"I'll call security if you don't back off right now," I added.

Blake wouldn't budge. "Stop this. We both know there's no way two people could look exactly alike. You're my wife."

Just as things were escalating, a deep voice cut through. "Take your hands off my wife."

Adrian stepped between us, firmly removing Blake's hand from my wrist.

Blake's eyes darkened. "What did you just say?"

"I said she's my wife, Evelyn Knox," Adrian replied coolly.

With a smirk, Adrian pulled me against him. I stiffened for a split second-we'd practiced our public appearances, but this felt different. I quickly

adjusted,leaning into him and resting my head on his shoulder.

"Honey, this man won't leave me alone," I said, looking at Blake cautiously."I've told him he's got the wrong person."

Adrian patted my back reassuringly. "Don't worry about it." He turned to Blake. "I've heard about you, Mr. Parker. Driving your ex-wife to her death has taken a toll, hasn't it?"

The air went still. I nestled against Adrian's chest, hiding my frown. This wasn't what I'd expected. We'd only just arrived, and Adrian was already pushing Blake's buttons.

I hadn't prepared for such a direct confrontation. Though I'd cut ties with Blake,hearing Adrian mock him using my "death" felt wrong. Too personal.

Blake's face hardened. "What did you just say about my business?

"Touched a nerve?" Adrian's smile widened. "Just stating facts."

Feeling my discomfort, Adrian changed tactics. "Though I suppose it might not have been intentional. Regardless, we're here for Dr. Clarke's birthday,not to cause trouble."

He looked Blake straight in the eye. "Stop harassing my wife. Unless you want everyone here knowing that the great Blake Parker is already chasing other men's wives while the flowers on his ex-wife's grave are still fresh."

Adrian glanced down at me. "You okay?"

I pursed my lips and shook my head.

"Let's go," he said,guiding me toward our car.

He helped me inside and closed the door.

**Blake's POV**

Just as the woman sat inside, I clearly heard a childish voice from the back seat: "Mommy, did that strange man hurt you?"

The woman turned and said something to the back seat, but because the car door closed, I couldn't hear what she said.

Adrian gave me one last cold look. "Mr. Parker, I understand the resemblance is striking, but my wife isn't your dead ex. Her name is Evelyn Knox. Look her up if you don't believe me."

Without waiting for my response, he got in and drove away.

I stood frozen, watching the car disappear. My mind raced. That woman had Audrey's face -exactly Audrey's face - but everything else felt wrong.Her voice, her eyes, and especially that little girl calling her "Mommy."

I knew every person in Audrey's life. There's no way such dramatic changes could have happened in seven months. No feelings for me,married to someone else, with a child who looked about four years old.The timeline made no sense.

Yet that little girl looked just like her.

Rachel approached cautiously when the car was gone. She touched my sleeve gently. "Blake? You okay?"

I kept staring at the empty road. "Rachel, could two people really look that Identical?"

Rachel síghed, "I know this is hard. I miss Audrey too - probably more

than you realize. But..."

She patted my shoulder and pulled out her phone. "I looked up this Knox woman." She handed me her phone. "Her name is Evelyn Knox.She really isn't Audrey."

The entire drive to our hotel, I couldn't stop scrolling through Evelyn Knox's background on my phone. Her digital footprint was extensive.

As the dauaghter of Australia's Parker family dynasty, her life was an open book. Every birthday, school achievement, and social appearance had been documented since her parents took her from New York to Australia.

I zeroed in on the last five years. The timeline was damning.

When Audrey was nursing me back to health in that coastal clinic.Evelyn was getting married to Adrian Knox and announcing her pregnancy.

When Audrey became my grandfather's caretaker after our separation,Evelyn was already a mother dealing with serious heart complications.

Nothing matched up. Not a single overlap.

I scrolled through photo after photo, article after article, each one hammering the same point: this woman couldn't be Audrey. The evidence was overwhelming, irrefutable.

Audrey was gone. Dead because of me. Never coming back.

And Evelyn Knox? Just some stranger with my wife's face.

"Blake,"

Rachel's voice pulled me back. She reached for my hand. "You need to stop torturing yourself."

I stared out the window, the city blurring past.

"She wouldn't want this, you know," Rachel said softly. "Audrey wouldn't want you falling apart over someone who just happens to look like her."

I closed my eyes, feeling the weight of the past ten months. The drinking.The smoking. The handful of pills I'd swallowed that night at her grave.

Every breakdown, every moment at rock bottom, Rachel had been there.Picking me up. Keeping me alive.

I gently pulled my hand away from hers.

"Rachel, thank you." My voice sounded hollow even to me. "But I think we need some space from now on."

**Audrey's POV**

"You handled that well."

Adrian leaned back in his seat as we parked in the hotel garage. He glanced over with that cold stare I'd grown used to. "Thought you might crack when you saw him."

"Funny how he was the one who lost it."

I checked the backseat. Emma was out cold in her car seat, breathing softly.totally dead to the world.

"I told you I was over him," I said once I was sure she couldn't hear us."Said I'd act like I didn't know him, and I did."

I took a breath. "But what was that about him causing my death? Why bring that up? Even if I'm not Audrey anymore, hearing you throw that in his face felt wrong,"

Adrian looked genuinely surprised. After a moment, he frowned. "Didn't you notice what happened after I said it? He backed off. Immediately."

"That guilt is his Achilles' heel. I used it because it works. Without it,we'd still be standing there with him grabbing at you."

He had a point. Didn't mean I liked it.

"Just drop it going forward," I said, staring at the dashboard. "I don't care if he's responsible for what happened seven months ago."

"I don't need his guilt trip. Don't want it. He doesn't deserve that much of me."

Adrian watched me for a long moment before looking away. "Fine. Won't mention Audrey Sinclair around Parker again."

He turned back, his voice dropping. "Just remember who you are now,Evelyn Knox."

He got out, lifted Emma from her seat, and headed toward the hotel without waiting.

I followed with our bags, keeping quiet.

I knew exactly what he meant. He thought I still had feelings for Blake.

Truth was, it was because I didn't love Blake anymore that I wanted my name kept away from his. But explaining that to Adrian was pointless. His mind was already made up.