Chapter 1

Three days before my wedding, I went to check on the venue decorations. What I saw made my blood run cold.

There, on an enormous poster, was my fiancé gazing lovingly at someone—but it wasn't me. It was his first love. And there he stood at the altar, sharing an intimate look with her.

Through my tears, I demanded to know why he would do this to me. He merely looked annoyed.

"I'm just letting Kira experience being a bride. Why are you being so petty? I've been with you for five years. If what we had was real, do you think you'd be the one I'm marrying?"

I raised my hand to slap him, but he shoved me away. I lost my balance and tumbled down the stairs.

At that moment, my heart turned to stone.

This wedding would never happen. Let them have their happily ever after.

I lay at the bottom of the stairs, my ankle throbbing with excruciating pain.

"Jeffrey?" I gasped in disbelief. "Did you just push me?"

Before I could process what had happened, the sound of shattering glass filled the air.

A wine glass exploded beside me, showering me with shards and red wine, ruining my white dress.

I instinctively shielded my face, but not before the glass sliced my arm. If I hadn't protected myself, my face and neck would have been cut. The wine glass—Jeffrey had thrown it.

"You accidentally fell on your own," Jeffrey sneered, his voice thick with anger. "If you hadn't shown up here making a scene, none of this would have happened. Stop the act, Raelyn. Don't tell me you sprained your ankle—that's pathetic!"

I tried to move my ankle, and white-hot pain shot through it. Fighting back tears, I looked up at the man I was supposed to marry in three days, watching as my heart crumbled to dust.

I had left work early specifically to see the "surprise" he'd been keeping from me these past few days. I'd even worn the white dress he once said he loved.

But this was what awaited me at the venue: a massive poster featuring Jeffrey gazing adoringly at Kira Lopez, his first love.

The sight felt surreal. What did that make me?

When I looked down from the poster, I caught them sharing that same look of devotion. The love in his eyes was unmistakable.

When I confronted him through my tears, this was his response. Everything Jeffrey had told me was a lie. His excuse about the decorations not being ready was just a cover for holding a wedding with Kira.

I'd even noticed Kira wearing an identical wedding ring to mine. The matching rings I thought were special to us had become a set of three. It was beyond absurd.

Kira looked down at me with cold eyes, though her voice was honey-sweet as she addressed Jeffrey. "Jeffrey, don't be so harsh. You frightened me."

Jeffrey patted her hand, gazing at her adoringly. "Kira, she tried to hurt you first. Don't worry. She's fine—just an act."

My chest ached with a dull throb. What had these years of devotion meant to him? I wiped my tears and limped away, their mocking laughter following me.

"See? I told you she was fine." Jeffrey's smug voice carried after me, with Kira's agreement. "She was definitely faking. Don't worry, I would never lie to you."

I made my way home in a daze. Sitting on my couch examining my ankle, I saw it had swollen completely—probably because I'd forced myself to walk on it instead of treating it immediately.

As I stared at my ankle, tears began to fall. I silently held an ice pack to it, using ice cubes from the freezer. As they melted, water pooled on the floor, but at least the swelling started to subside.

I had just applied arnica cream when the door opened.

Jeffrey walked in with Kira and immediately frowned at the scene. "Raelyn Mitchell, are you throwing a tantrum again?"