"Sandwich King?" Nick looked around the shop that I brought him to, just a five minute walk from my lab.

I grabbed a tray and started picking out a beef and cheese sub. I did the same for him, pushing the tray to his hands.

"I know you're rich and all, but you can't possibly be eating good food all day and night, right? Sometimes you need to enjoy the simple pleasures in life." I said, tossing another chicken salad one into my tray. I shamelessly ate twice the portions when it came to quality food like that.

He took a bucket of criss-cut fries himself. Good choice. "I wasn't judging. I agree with you, I don't eat good food all day and night too. If I did, I would never have discovered the wonders of Shake Shack and In-and-Out."

I laughed. "Now we're talking."

At the cashier, I instinctively pulled out my wallet and proceeded to pay for the both of us. Nick watched me, confused.

"What are you doing?"

"Come on, you're my guest here. This is the least I can do." I thought of that fancy dinner we went to previously, when he thought I was Zara. "What? Just because you're rich and you're the "guy in the relationship" you have to pay?"

"What did you just say?"

I skimmed over my words. Shit. I just said, "guy in the relationship" as if we were a thing.

"No, I didn't mean that literally. Obviously we're not actually in —"

"Well, this could be a date." Nick grabbed both our trays as we sat at a table.

A date. With someone other than Zara. I thought he would only hang around with heiresses and the upper class — unless, he was just fooling around with me.

That made a lot more sense.

However, I was curious. He couldn't even recognize my face, so why would he be interested in talking that much to me?

"I don't recall agreeing to that." I mumbled as I devoured my sandwiches. "But if we are, I'm sure you'd find me even more attractive once you see me devour three of these."

He laughed, and it made me remember how good-looking he was when his eyes were cutely crinkled like that. There were even slight dimples that emerged. Did I ever mention I had a thing for those?

Stop it. I immediately coughed the thought away.

A buzz came from under the table. Nick glanced at it furtively. "Right."

My phone buzzed too, and I opened Cleo's message. It made me realize that both of us must have gotten the same message. I had to go back to acting as Zara tonight, because there was a dinner.

"Not again." He muttered.

What? Was he tired of seeing Zara? I felt kind of affected — that probably meant he was tired of me, since I was acting as her.

I asked curiously, "What is it?"

"My secretary arranged another dinner for me and my ex."

I thought he liked hanging out with Zara. Why else would I be hired to pretend to be her?

"Wow. That's awkward, isn't it?"

"Truthfully? Way better than it used to be." He replied honestly. "I just wish I could grab sandwiches with her for dinner, instead of having to treat her to some refined cuisine all the time. I don't hate her, it's just that — she broke my heart. She wasn't a very nice person, though she's becoming a lot better recently. We're starting to have genuine conversations, and at least she isn't demanding all over again."

I didn't foresee that kind of emotion from him. I empathized, "A bad relationship, huh? I understand."

He recalled sadly, "Back when we were together, she was always making me... do things. Buying her things she didn't need, and when I got her flowers she'd show the dead stalks to me, laughing that I was too cheesy. Then when I stopped giving her gifts, she'd pester me saying I was heartless. It was so clear that she wasn't interested, she was just playing."

My heart went out to him. I asked quietly, "Then why would you willingly see her again?"

"I'm going through a tough time, and having someone familiar can be really comforting, I guess. Like I said, she's much better now, so I'm hanging on."

"That girl's Zara Abigail, isn't she? I saw on the news." I spoke as carefully as I could. "If you don't mind me asking, didn't you guys break up because you cheated? Sorry, it's just that I heard the rumors..."

I half-expected Nick to flare up, but he didn't. He spoke calmly, "Well, we met because of our connections. The sad thing is, I think a lot of us get together because we're of the same class. Back then, I used to be okay with that. I fooled around often like the others too. When I met Zara and started liking her and realized what being in a true relationship meant, I got freaked out that I suddenly cared so much, because in the past... it was more of my style to play."

That was the truth. I heard that much about him too.

"I tried to prove that she didn't mean that much to me, so when we were at that stage when we were drifting apart, I befriended this girl. Zara caught me, and suddenly twisted the story. We were just watching a movie, but she told all our mutual friends that she caught me sleeping with someone else. But truthfully, I wasn't even that girl's type, if you know what I mean. I knew it was just an excuse to break up, so I would seem like the bad guy." His voice dropped low. "I know she was the one who was really sleeping around. I heard."

There was something so raw about the emotions he had when he told the story. My heart went out to him instantly. I reached out a hand and touched his briefly. This was a lot, coming from someone who despised skin contact.

"I'm sorry for believing those rumors, then. It seems that I really got the wrong impression of you."

"No, I should be thanking you. Thank you for letting me speak like that. It's just that, I don't ever have someone to tell my story to, and there's something about you that seems... comforting.

Familiar."

Familiar? What did that mean? I tried to ignore that — he probably just meant he had a friend in the past who was just as comforting.

I used to think he was an obnoxious guy with everything. But now I saw that he was just lonely. He must be, especially with his prosopagnosia now.

He stood up. "Alright, I should get going. People have been staring at me because I'm not wearing a lab coat like everyone else."

I followed suit. "Trust me, they're not staring because of that." That guy was like a greek god, a natural magnet for attention. Even though he was wearing a regular grey shirt and not his usual formal button-up (which hugged him well and was dashing), he still stood out.

"I'll see you next week." He said.

"I won't be here next week, but I'll see you around."

Tonight, if I'm being honest.

"Wait." He called after me, touching my arm briefly. Then, he retracted it, as if he knew I didn't like it. "Emma, how can I be sure you'll find me again?"

I gave him a soft smile. "Do you trust me?"

What he should have said was, "I just met you".

Instead, he nodded.

"Nicholas, can I ask you something?" I asked on hindsight.

After he nodded, I went on. "I'm a doctor-in-training, which means I know of your... condition. Do you — do you ever get worried that someone will trick you into thinking they're not who they are?"

I bit my lip down, awaiting his answer. He barely gave it a thought. "Why would they do that?"

Because I was on the mission. And I'll stay on my mission because I think I —

Another one of his smiles erupted across his face. "Emma, it's okay. That's okay."

What's okay?

Something sounded off. I knew I had to tell him who I was, tonight.