Chapter 1

On my fifth wedding day, the ceremony was about to begin, and my groom and maid of honor were still nowhere to be found.

In our group chat, a message from my best friend Olivia popped up first.

"Sorry, Emma. Something came up at the firm last minute. I can't be your maid of honor today. I'll make it up to you next time, I promise!"

Right after, Daniel Shaw sent a reply too.

"Sorry, got called away on business. Let's reschedule this wedding too. If it really can't wait, you can just walk through the ceremony yourself."

I clenched the fabric of my wedding dress, my fingertips going white. Something lodged in my chest, and I could barely breathe.

I scrolled up through the chat history.

The last conversation was the two of them in a heated debate over a case. I'd asked about the wedding arrangements several times, and not a single person had answered.

Between the three of us, I always seemed to be the one who could be ignored.

A notification popped up on my phone. Olivia had just updated her private blog.

"Sunrise at dawn, and you. Everything is just right. We really are the most in-sync romantic lunatics."

In the photo, she and Daniel stood on a mountaintop in matching hiking gear. Sunlight fell behind them like a wedding meant only for the two of them.

I turned off my phone. My heart ached.

Seven years of love. Ten years of friendship. Four previously postponed weddings.

I'd made excuses for their busy schedules countless times.

Missing my birthday was fine. Missing the funeral was fine. Even skipping four weddings was fine.

It wasn't until I found that account that I realized every single time they'd stood me up, they'd been traveling together, going to concerts together, watching the snow together, going to the beach together.

I couldn't lie to myself anymore.

I left a comment under that post.

"Since you two are such a perfect match, why don't I just hand over the wedding and the groom?"

The moment my comment went through, the post was deleted. The entire account was wiped clean.

Messages from Olivia came flooding in, one after another.

"Emma, I can explain. It's really not what you think..."

"Can you please not be angry?"

"We're just friends."

I swiped the messages away. All that was left inside me was numbness.

Explanations didn't matter anymore.

Because I was leaving soon.

I opened another contact and sent Ethan Cole a text.

"In seven days, I'll arrive in Northbridge with the research results you've been wanting. I'm joining RQ."

After I sent it, I removed my veil and stood in the empty bridal suite, staring at myself in the mirror.

Flawless makeup. An expensive wedding dress.

But I looked like a joke.

Once, Olivia had laughed beside me as I tried on wedding dresses, helped me decorate the house, linked her arm through mine and said, "Daniel really lucked out, getting to marry someone as beautiful as you. If I were a man, there's no way I'd let him have you."

In the end, the person who kept me from completing my wedding five times was still her.

The phone rang. It was someone from the wedding planning company.

"Ms. Reed, the ceremony time has passed. Would you like to reschedule, same as before?"

I dug my nails into my palm, but my voice came out perfectly calm.

"No rescheduling. There won't be a next time."

The person paused, their tone turning careful.

"Ms. Reed, are you sure you don't want to reconsider? You and Mr. Shaw have been together so many years. Whatever the problem is, it can be worked out."

I looked down at the cheap ring on my right ring finger.

Daniel had given it to me when he was seventeen. He'd said, "Emma, I don't have much money right now. But someday when I do, I'll buy you the most expensive diamond ring."

I'd taken that promise as a vow for life.

But two weeks ago, I'd seen the diamond ring that should have been mine on Olivia's blog.

Cartier. Two hundred thousand dollars.

Daniel had never given me anything that expensive.

What I got was always a knockoff bracelet, discount perfume that wouldn't sell, and one promise after another of "I'll make it up to you later."

I'd spent eight years for this.

I wrenched the ring off my finger and tossed it into the trash can at my feet.

After hanging up, I sank into the sofa, my body slowly caving in. My chest ached terribly, but I couldn't cry.

At three in the morning, the door was shoved open.

Daniel walked in, windswept and dusty, still wearing the same matching hiking gear as Olivia.

I'd once stupidly asked Olivia, "When you bought the hiking gear, why wasn't there one for me?"

She'd laughed and put her arm around my shoulders.

"You're not healthy enough for hiking. Besides, the store had a buy-two deal, that's the only reason I got them. Daniel has the stamina, so he can hike with me."

I checked later.

That hiking gear had never been on sale.

Two thousand a piece. A well-known couples' brand.

Daniel saw me sitting there and frowned, his voice cold as ice.

"Why did you leave that comment on her post? Olivia was so upset she made me cancel work and come back to find you. Emma, can you stop making us worry all the time?"

I stood up, my heart clenching like a fist was squeezing it.

"You were on a business trip... on a mountaintop?"

I looked at him.

"Or do you think I'm actually stupid enough to see ninety-nine flirtatious posts and keep pretending I don't notice?"

Daniel looked away, his voice dropping. He reached out and grabbed my wrist.

"Emma, I went hiking with her because I was worried she wouldn't be safe alone. The business trip was real. Stop being so unreasonable."

I pulled my hand free, staring into the unfamiliar coldness in his eyes, my throat tight.

"Daniel, that year I was chased by a drunk man for three blocks and nearly died in an alley, you were working overtime. You told me to stop making a scene."

I laughed once, though my eyes burned red.

"And now you're telling me you were worried she wouldn't be safe hiking alone."

He said nothing.

I took a deep breath.

"Daniel Shaw, let's break up."

The words hung in the air. Something like disbelief flickered in his eyes, and then he let out a quiet scoff.