Chapter 1

At the wedding, Lyra held a jagged piece of a broken wine glass against her throat. A deep crimson liquid dripped down between her fingers, staining her white dress.

"Zander, do you choose her, or do you choose me?" she cried out, her voice trembling.

I reached up, ripped off my bridal veil, and tossed it onto the floor. Then, I glanced at my watch.

It was 8:17 PM. We were exactly three minutes past the scheduled time for the ring exchange.

Zander's tuxedo sleeve was already stained with her blood. His grip on my wrist tightened as he looked at her with panic. "Lyra, put it down first. Let's just talk."

"Talk about what? About how you two got married behind my back?" Lyra started to laugh hysterically. "Zander, we grew up together! You promised you would marry me!"

Gasps rippled through the ballroom. The judgmental stares of the guests felt like needles stabbing into my back.

I pried Zander's fingers off me and stepped forward. My heels clicked across the carpet, stepping right through the bloodstains until I stood in front of Lyra.

"If you're going to cut, cut deeper," I said, tugging at my skirt where her blood had splattered. "Let everyone see how you use self-harm to ruin other people's lives."

Lyra's face went pale instantly. The hand holding the glass began to shake. Zander suddenly rushed over and shoved me aside, roaring, "Scarlett, have you lost your mind? Why are you provoking her!"

"I've lost my mind?" I brushed my thumb over the red marks his grip had left on my wrist. "Zander, today was supposed to be our wedding."

The ambulance arrived shortly after. Zander ran out after the stretcher without looking back at me once.

I stood alone in the middle of the trashed ballroom. Behind me, Zander's mother started wailing. "What a tragedy... Scarlett, couldn't you just be the bigger person for Lyra? She's been dependent on Zander since they were kids."

"Dependent enough to use her life to steal someone else's fiancé?" I turned to look at her. "By the way, what's the Wi-Fi password? I want to post a status update to celebrate my wedding turning into an emergency room scene."

01

The red light of the operating room stayed on for three hours.

I sat on the plastic hallway bench, taking off the diamond earrings Zander had given me. I fiddled with them, watching the light bounce off the facets. It was so bright it made my eyes ache.

When Zander's mother came over for the third time to lecture me, I was busy Googling "how to quickly dissolve a domestic partnership."

"Scarlett, I know this is hard on you," she said, trying to shove a granola bar into my hand. "But Lyra really can't live without Zander. You saw how far she went today..."

"Ma'am," I said, taking a bite of the bar. "Do you know how many times she has tried to end it all?"

Her hand froze in mid-air.

"Three times with pills, twice jumping into the lake, plus today's little neck performance," I counted on my fingers, smiling. "Every single time happened right when Zander and I were on a date. Isn't that a crazy coincidence?"

Zander's father walked over from the ER doors, his face like stone. "Scarlett, watch your tone! Lyra is still in there fighting for her life!"

"Oh? And what should I say?" I tossed the wrapper into the trash. "Should I say, 'It's fine, feel free to steal my man, if you die, it's on me'?"

Zander walked out of the room just then. His face twisted when he heard me. "Scarlett!"

"I'm right here," I looked up at him. The blood on his white shirt hadn't dried yet. "Zander, we need to talk."

He rubbed his temples, looking exhausted. "Wait until Lyra is stable."

"No, we're talking now." I grabbed his arm and pressed the earrings into his palm. "The engagement is off. I'll have my lawyer send the ring back to you tomorrow."

Zander's hand snapped shut around the jewelry. His knuckles turned white. "Scarlett, do you have to be like this?"

"You're the one who made it like this." I shook his hand off. "From college until now, every time she pulled a stunt, you ran to her. I endured it for three years. Today, she brought a knife to my wedding. How much more do you expect me to take?"

His throat bobbed as he swallowed hard. "Lyra didn't mean it. she just loves me too much."

"Loves you enough to drag us both down?" I laughed. "I can't afford that kind of love. Zander, go be with her. I hope you stay together forever."

I turned to leave, but Zander grabbed my wrist. His grip was so hard I thought he might break the bone. "I don't agree! Scarlett, we've been together for seven years. You're just going to throw it all away?"

"Seven years?" I wrenched my hand back, leaving red welts on my skin. "The amount of time you spent at the hospital for her adds up to another seven years on its own. Zander, your love is too cheap. I don't want it anymore."