Chapter 1

At the wedding, the emcee suddenly turned to my sister, Lily Bennett, and asked how she was related to the groom.

"I'm his wife."

Before the guests could react, my best friend, Sophie Miller, spoke up proudly.

"I'm his wife too."

Then my fiancé's executive assistant, Fiona Reed, rose to her feet and pointed at Lily and Sophie.

"Those two are his mistresses. I'm his lawful wife."

The room erupted in laughter.

Everyone assumed it was a comedy bit I had arranged in advance.

Only I couldn't laugh.

Because at that very moment, my fiancé, Adrian Carter, raised his hand and lifted the veil from my head.

"Have you all had enough? I think it's perfectly clear who should be standing here as my bride."

The moment he finished speaking, Fiona placed the veil on her own head and gave me a defiant look.

I clutched the fabric of my wedding gown and waited for Adrian to explain himself.

He merely patted my hand.

"I forgot to tell you. I've been married to all three of them, and divorced from all three of them."

"I promised each of them a wedding, so you'll have to make the sacrifice this time."

Then he turned, took Fiona's hand, and began greeting the guests, leaving me standing there alone.

I watched them walk away and headed for the exit of the banquet hall.

If he enjoyed playing husband to different women so much, he could keep doing it.

I was done playing this game.

****

"Where are you going?"

Adrian grabbed my wrist.

"I told you, it's only a symbolic ceremony for them. Once it's over, we'll resume our wedding. You'll still be the bride."

I turned to face him.

"Adrian, you're humiliating me in front of everyone."

He looked at me, a flicker of impatience crossing his face.

"You're making it sound worse than it is. Fiona can stand at the back and take part in the ceremony without appearing in your wedding photos."

Fiona's smile froze for a second, jealousy flashing through her eyes.

"That's fine. Let Claire Bennett stand at the front."

With her head lowered as if she were hurt, she made her way behind me.

As she passed, she deliberately let her ankle buckle and pitched herself into Adrian's arms.

She buried her face against his chest and began to cry softly.

"Adrian, I'm sure Claire didn't mean to push me. Don't blame her."

"I didn't push her."

Adrian's voice was cold.

"Then check the hotel's surveillance footage."

"You were the closest to her, and you already resent her for ruining the wedding. Claire, you don't have to be so petty."

I couldn't stop myself from arguing.

"It wasn't me. What makes you so sure it was?"

While we argued, the massive crystal chandelier overhead swayed once, tore loose, and came crashing down toward me.

I had no time to dodge.

It pinned me beneath its weight.

As consciousness slipped away, memories of my life with Adrian rose to the surface.

To support us, he worked three part-time jobs and survived on the cheapest toast, canned soup, and instant noodles.

To give me a home, he gave up a company-sponsored training opportunity and redirected the entire stipend toward the down payment on our apartment.

Even when someone falsely accused me of cheating on him, he only answered calmly.

"So what?"

"The fact that she went to so much trouble to hide it instead of leaving me means I'm still the person she cares about most."

And now Adrian had secretly married and divorced three women behind my back.

When I woke again the following morning, the only person in the hospital room was a member of Adrian's security team.

I had spent the entire night reviewing the surveillance footage, trying to determine what had caused the chandelier to fall.

I found nothing.

"Claire, your foot was injured by the chandelier. You shouldn't be walking right now."

Ethan Brooks, the private security officer assigned to me, spoke up the moment I tried to get out of bed.

"I'm fine."

There had been a time when even the smallest scrape on my skin would leave Adrian worried for days.

Now I had been in the hospital for three days, and he hadn't visited once.