Chapter 1

The night before my wedding, at the rehearsal party, we started a round of Never Have I Ever.

Mia—my fiancé Adrian's childhood friend—smiled and raised her hand. "Never have I ever been someone's mistress."

I didn't move.

The next second, she grabbed my hand and forced one of my fingers down.

"Claire, you have."

Adrian laughed and chimed in.

"She's right. You were the one who came between us. Mia and I signed our marriage license at City Hall last year."

"She didn't want to hurt you, so she gave you tomorrow's public wedding. You should thank her."

The smile froze on my face.

The next round started. One of Adrian's groomsmen said, grinning ear to ear, "Never have I ever slept with two women in the same night!"

Adrian was the only one in the room who put a finger down.

Then he turned to me and said, "The night of our seventh anniversary—remember? I left halfway through sex. It was because Mia texted me. She said she missed me."

The room exploded into whistles and shrieks.

Finally, one of Adrian's old friends looked over at him. "Nobody here's ever run out on their own wedding, right? Adrian—if you walk out tonight and skip tomorrow, you take this round, huh?"

The next second, Adrian just grabbed Mia's hand and walked out.

I didn't chase after him.

Just as he wanted. Tomorrow's wedding was off.

…

The moment Adrian left, the screams and jeering started up again.

"Told you—Adrian's always been in love with Mia!"

"Losers, pay up!"

That's when I finally understood. There'd been another bet going on all night.

They'd been betting on whether Adrian would take Mia and bail on our wedding.

I stood up to leave—and ran straight into Adrian and Mia coming back in.

The private room went dead silent.

Everyone stared at Adrian, stunned. "Weren't you running out on the wedding? What are you doing back?"

Adrian turned to look at me, his eyes as gentle as they'd always been. "If I just walked out like that, Claire would be heartbroken. I don't want to hurt her."

My head snapped up. A tiny flicker of hope rose in my chest.

Maybe he did love me.

The next second, Mia let out a shriek.

"Adrian's back! You all lost! Venmo me, now!"

The room erupted in groans.

"You two are unbelievable! You played us!"

When Adrian heard the word "you two"—as in a married couple—he grinned, delighted.

I stood there, my fingers clutching the hem of my dress, going white, trembling.

Adrian had come back to help Mia win the bet. Not for me. Never for me.

One of the guys couldn't resist teasing him. "Adrian, seriously? You're gonna marry a woman you don't love just so Mia can win a bet? Worth it?"

Adrian looked at Mia, who was laughing with the others, and smiled.

"She wants to win. So I let her win."

I dropped my head, humiliated, and tried to leave—but Adrian caught my wrist.

"Claire, you're leaving now? Come on. Do you have to make things this awkward?"

Then Mia took my other hand.

"Claire, don't be like this. Nobody outside this room knows Adrian already married me. You can still stand beside him tomorrow—isn't that what you've always wanted?"

She looked like a wounded little thing. A few of the guests shot me disapproving looks.

"Mia's the real Mrs. Hayes. If she hadn't given the okay, there wouldn't even be a wedding for you."

"She's loved Adrian for years and never once fought you for him. What more do you want?"

Adrian was standing across from me too.

"Claire, don't be dramatic."

His brows were furrowed, his voice full of impatience.

"It's just a joke. Why are you being so petty—getting worked up over a joke?"

I almost thought I'd misheard him.

The man who was supposed to marry me tomorrow had just told me, in front of everyone, that he'd already slept with another woman, signed a marriage license with her, that his legal wife wasn't me.

He had grabbed that woman's hand in front of everyone and threatened to walk out on our wedding.

And now he was telling me it was all just a joke.

I couldn't help myself. "So tomorrow's wedding—is that just because Mia told you to do it? Just some stupid joke too?"

Adrian's face went cold instantly.

"Enough, Claire Bennett. Can you stop being crazy?"

He'd barely finished when Mia dropped to her knees in front of me.

"Claire, the wedding dress you're wearing tomorrow is mine. I wore it to City Hall last year when Adrian and I got married."

"But I gave it to you. Just like I gave Adrian to you. He's my husband, but I still let him go back to you, sleep next to you, marry you in front of everyone."

"I've stepped aside this far. What else do you want from me?"