Chapter 1

On our wedding day, Corinna's ex-boyfriend sent over his critical condition notice from the hospital.

He claimed his dying wish was to wear a tuxedo at a wedding just once before he passed.

To fulfill his pathetic fantasy, Corinna handed him the high-end designer tux I had spent a fortune customizing. She even prepared to walk down the aisle with him instead of me.

I laughed in utter fury and slapped her across the face.

"Why the rush? If he wants a tux so badly, it's simple. Once he's six feet under, I'll burn a dozen suits for him to wear in hell!"

There was only an hour left before the ceremony was scheduled to begin.

I sat in front of the vanity mirror, staring at the photo Corinna's ex had just sent to my phone.

In the picture, he wore my custom-tailored tuxedo, smiling smugly with his arm wrapped around Corinna's waist.

Corinna tilted her head, gazing up at him with eyes full of tenderness.

His text read: "She says I look way hotter in this suit than you ever could."

He followed it with another text: "If you want your wedding to happen today, beg me."

I locked my phone screen and looked up at the stylist. "When you told me earlier that my tux couldn't be worn because of a sizing error, was that really the truth?"

I had booked this entire studio for the suit, makeup, and photography.

I had spent top dollar and spent months planning every detail to ensure everything would be flawless today.

Now, the makeup artist couldn't even look me in the eye.

The truth hit me like a splash of ice water.

I remembered how distracted Corinna had been when I accompanied her to her bridal gown fittings. I remembered how dismissively she glanced at my tuxedo fittings, constantly claiming she was swamped with work.

She wasn't actually busy. She just couldn't be bothered to care about me.

Yet look at her now, smiling like a smitten teenager beside her ex.

I gripped my phone tightly, taking a deep breath. "Please go get Corinna for me."

I needed an explanation.

The assistant quickly ran out to find her.

I looked at the ill-fitting backup suit in the mirror, feeling an unbearable tightness in my chest.

Perhaps clothes that don't fit were never meant to be worn in the first place.

Before Corinna showed up, the wedding officiant walked in with a guilty, apologetic expression.

"I'm really sorry, Mr. Barrett. You won't need to walk out there today."

"I won't need to attend?" I scoffed in disbelief. "Are you telling me that at my own wedding, the groom isn't allowed to show his face?"

Before the officiant could stumble over an excuse, Corinna pushed the door open and stepped in.

"It was my decision," she said flatly.

Corinna wore the bridal gown I had painstakingly customized for her, perfectly matching my original tuxedo. But the veil resting on her head was not the one I had chosen.

Noticing my gaze lingering on her veil, she looked away uncomfortably and cleared her throat.

"Darren is having major surgery in a few days, and the hospital issued a critical condition notice. His only wish before going under the knife was to wear a wedding tux just once."

I sneered coldly. "At our wedding?"

I knew all about Darren.

It wasn't until our third year of dating that I discovered she had an ex who lost all his hair to chemotherapy.

They were childhood sweethearts whose families were deeply intertwined, making a clean break impossible even after their breakup.

Because he was receiving treatment in our city away from his parents, his family had begged Corinna to look after him.

At first, I felt sympathy and respect for him, feeling sorry that a young man had to endure such terrible agony.

However, after he started demanding that Corinna deliver him homemade hot soup late at night right after our dates, my sympathy vanished.

Yet I held back my anger time and time again because he was a sick patient.

Corinna had always drawn clear boundaries in the past, putting my feelings first.

Whatever Darren asked for, she would report it to me and only visited him during genuine emergencies, often bringing me along.

Until today.

When did she take him to try on my suit? And when did she decide to give him my custom tuxedo so he could take my place at the altar?