Chapter 3

2.

"What did you say?" A flicker of surprise crossed Kieran's face.

I ripped the bridal corsage from my dress and threw it on the floor.

"Do you need me to say it again?"

His face twisted. "Fine, Sierra Monroe. Don't you come crawling back to me like a dog."

"Don't worry. That day will never come."

I gathered the skirt of my wedding dress and turned to go upstairs.

"Sierra, wait!"

Kieran's parents tried to grab me, but my bodyguards stepped in their way.

I found my parents on the second floor.

My dad asked, "Is everything taken care of?"

I nodded.

"Good. Go take care of your guests. They all came here for you."

I took a deep breath, rubbing my temples.

I had embarrassed them, humiliated them, and yet they didn't blame me.

And I used to fight with them constantly over Kieran.

I must have been out of my goddamn mind.

My parents had never approved of this marriage.

They always said Kieran wasn't the kind of man who would settle down.

But I was a terminal case of lovesickness. I was crazy about him. It was him or no one.

They had no choice but to give in, agreeing to the marriage and planning the whole thing themselves.

Ever since we started dating, I had always given in to Kieran.

That included his "platonic soulmate" relationship with Chloe.

I was jealous, I was unhappy, but I still gave him his space, his freedom.

I thought my devotion would earn his.

I never imagined that Kieran Holt simply didn't have a heart.

Or maybe he did, it just never beat for me.

He could kiss another woman at our wedding, in front of everyone, and then turn around and tell me to just "continue."

I'm a person.

I get hurt. I feel pain.

I loved him a hundred percent, and I gave him a hundred and twenty.

I skipped a meeting with a major client, losing my company millions, just to go with him to the Monaco Grand Prix.

I went skydiving with him, even though I have a paralyzing fear of heights.

But his gentle smiles were never for me. They were always for her.

Thinking about the old me... so pathetic, so sad.

...

Just then, my best friend, Talia, pulled me aside.

"Babe, you finally did it. I've been telling you to dump his ass for years, but you were like a horse hell-bent on running straight into a brick wall. You have money, you have looks... what the hell is he? I swear, I wanted to shake you and see if your brain was just rattling around in there."

Seeing she was about to continue, I cut her off.

"Okay, okay, I get it. I was wrong. It's not going to happen again. We're done."

Talia eyed me suspiciously.

"For real?"

I nodded emphatically. "For real, for real."

She gave me a thumbs-up. "That's more like it. Come on, let's pretend today was our wedding."

I couldn't help but laugh. "Alright, my groom. Let's go."

It turns out everyone could see that Kieran didn't love me. I was the only one trapped in the fantasy, and enjoying it. How cheap.

When most of the guests had left, I changed out of my wedding dress. Talia found me, holding a case of red wine.

"Here. Drink."

I drank a lot that day.

Seven years of devotion, poured out day by day, now poured down my throat in the form of wine.

When you're at your lowest, only your parents and your friends are there for you.

Talia and I drank until the hotel bar closed, each of us leaving with a bottle in hand.

As she drank, she wagged a finger at me. "Girl, don't you dare go running back to that scumbag, or I swear we're done."

I won't.

Isn't once in a lifetime enough for an experience like that?

As we stumbled out of the hotel, we ran right into Kieran and Chloe.

They were arm in arm, laughing.

When Kieran saw me, he swaggered over, his chin held high.

"Drowning your sorrows? Regretting it already?"

"Get on your knees and beg me right now. Maybe, if I'm in a good mood, I'll forgive you."