Chapter 1

The night we were supposed to introduce our parents, I waited outside the upscale downtown steakhouse until midnight, but Garrett never showed up.

Instead, I opened Instagram and saw a fresh post from Sadie, his unforgettable first love.

She had shared a picture of their official marriage certificate, complete with a cozy snapshot of them smiling together.

Her caption read, "Mr. Vance, please take care of me for the rest of our lives."

They looked radiantly happy in the photo.

My hands trembled as I typed a comment below it: "Is this a fucking joke?"

A few minutes later, Garrett, who had been unreachable all evening, finally called back.

He did not offer an apology, only a barrage of furious shouts.

"Sadie and her little girl just moved back to the States with no one to rely on! Why do you have to pick a fight right now?"

"It is just a paper marriage so her daughter can get legal residency and enroll in school! We will file for divorce the second the paperwork clears, okay?"

Through the receiver, I heard a little girl whining sweetly in the background, calling out, "Daddy Garrett, hold me!"

Garrett hung up on me without another word.

This time, I did not cry, nor did I scream.

I calmly slid my positive pregnancy test back into my purse, called my parents, and canceled our upcoming wedding.

If this five-year love had reached its bitter end, I refused to settle for scraps.

1

I drove my parents back to the airport alone and brought the untouched takeout containers home.

Just as I stepped through the front door, Garrett walked in right behind me.

He flipped on the living room lights and flinched, visibly startled to see me sitting silently at the dining table.

His brows furrowed in annoyance.

"Why the hell are you sitting there in the dark like a ghost?"

Throughout our five years together, whenever he worked late, I always left the porch light on for him.

I would rush over the moment the door clicked, take his coat, and stand on tiptoe to kiss him.

Tonight, I did none of that.

I simply stared at the cold, greasy food on the table, my heart completely flat.

My parents had taken a six-hour bus ride from our small hometown, terrified of embarrassing me in front of his wealthy family.

My dad had even bought a brand-new suit for hundreds of dollars just for this dinner.

Yet Garrett never showed, and every single call went straight to voicemail.

Before boarding their flight back, my parents kept blaming themselves, wondering if Garrett looked down on our modest background.

Meanwhile, I had waited outside the restaurant in the freezing wind, only to receive his verbal abuse over the phone.

He acted as though getting legally married to another woman was just a minor clerical error that should not disrupt our wedding.

What was I to him, then?

Garrett walked over, pulled a chair beside me, and produced a bouquet of crimson roses from behind his back.

"Stop sulking. I bought these for you on the way home."

The heavy, cloying scent of pollen hit me instantly, and I slapped his arm away before stumbling to my feet.

"Get that away from me!"

My sudden move knocked my wooden chair backward, sending it crashing to the floor with a loud bang.

Garrett's face instantly darkened.

"Clara, are you done throwing your tantrum? I told you it is a sham marriage! Once Zoey gets her paperwork, I will divorce Sadie immediately! It does not change our plans, so why can't you just drop it?"