Chapter 1

On my wedding day, I pulled open the door of the bridal car and found my fiancé, Ethan Prescott, sitting in the back seat with my sister, Natalie Whitmore.

There wasn't a single empty seat left in the car.

Ethan glanced at me, his tone casual. “Forgot to tell you. Nattie brought a few friends to the wedding last minute, and there aren't enough cars, so Nattie has to take your seat. Just call another car for yourself.”

I gripped the door handle, unable to believe it. “But this is the bridal car. I'm the bride.”

He frowned. “That's why I'm telling you to call a ride. It's not like I'm stopping you from coming to the wedding.”

Natalie leaned out, smiling at me with her eyes curved into crescents. “Sorry, sis! My friends showed up out of nowhere, and I didn't think the car wouldn't fit everyone. You're not mad, are you?”

Ethan laughed and ruffled her hair. “What's there to be mad about? You're our little sister. Of course everyone lets you have your way.”

Before I could say a word, the car door slammed shut, and the car pulled away without the slightest hesitation.

I took out my phone and sent a message to the family group chat, asking my parents and my brother to pick me up on their way.

But my plea for help went unanswered.

While I stood there stunned, my brother's car and my parents' car drove right past me without even slowing down.

A second later, my phone chimed.

I opened it, only to see that Natalie had posted a photo of herself and Ethan in the group chat. Below it came teasing replies from my parents and my brother.

[Our Nattie looks so pretty! Dressed up like a little princess today!]

It was as if my message didn't exist at all.

In that moment, it suddenly struck me that this wedding probably didn't need me.

In the end, I took a cab to the wedding venue.

When I pushed open the doors of the banquet hall, the wedding had already started.

Natalie stood at the end of the red carpet in a white wedding gown, with Ethan beside her in a suit. She looked like she was the real stars of today's wedding.

Back then, she had insisted on going with me to pick out my wedding dress, but when I chose this one, Natalie said she liked it too.

My mom decided on the spot. “If Nattie likes this one, let it be her bridesmaid dress. It's so rare for her to like something. Just let her have it.”

Natalie was the real daughter of the Whitmores, brought home eight years ago, and I was the fake daughter who had lived her life in her place for over a decade.

My parents said they couldn't bear to let me go. But after Natalie came back, the words I heard the most were, “Let her have it.”

Giving up the wedding dress was only the most ordinary of those times.

Seeing me stare at the gown she was wearing, Natalie seemed to realize something. “Oh, I forgot! Sis, the staff forgot to bring your wedding dress. It's all my fault. This morning, I was so busy having someone bring my bridesmaid dress that I forgot to remind them...”

“When they brought it, they said they thought my bridesmaid dress was the wedding dress and got it mixed up...”

Ethan hurried to comfort her. “This isn't your fault, Nattie. She couldn't even remember her own wedding dress.”

I had long since gotten used to this kind of unconditional defense.

Still, for some reason, my chest ached with a sour heaviness.

I wanted to explain, but my dad cut me off.

“All right, all right, what's the point of saying all this now? The guests are waiting.”

My brother looked me up and down. “Nattie's wearing a wedding dress anyway, so why not let her go through the ceremony for you? The guests are far away. They won't be able to see her face.”

I stared at him in disbelief. “It’s my wedding, and you want someone else to go through the ceremony?”

“It's not like she's actually marrying him for you.”

My mom chimed in, frowning, “Nattie's just walking down the aisle in your place to smooth things over.”

“If the wedding gets delayed today, our family will become the talk of high society.”

By reflex, I looked at Ethan, hoping to get a different answer from him.

We were childhood sweethearts and had known each other for so many years. Even after Natalie was brought home, Ethan had sworn to his parents that the only one for him in this life was me, Sienna Whitmore.

The wedding we'd looked forward to for so many years shouldn't be like this.

But the next second, Ethan sighed. “Nattie's willing to help you save this wedding. You should be grateful, not standing here being jealous. At a time like this, what matters most is preserving the dignity of both families.”

Those few sentences landed on my face like loud, hard slaps.

I stood frozen, my hands and feet ice-cold. For this wedding, I had gone days without sleep, all so it would be perfect. This was supposed to be my wedding.

Now everyone was turning around and accusing me of being unreasonable.

My mom pulled me down into a seat off to the side. The wedding march began, and Ethan took Natalie’s hand naturally and walked to the start of the red carpet.

I watched Natalie walk down the flower-lined aisle on Ethan's arm and watched them exchange vows happily.

Finally, Ethan took a ring box from his pocket.

The ring slid slowly onto Natalie's ring finger, and it fit perfectly.

It was as if this wedding had belonged to her and Ethan all along.

The ceremony ended with the two of them kissing.

My heart throbbed with pain I couldn't stop, and I turned my eyes away and didn't look anymore.

When the ceremony was over, Natalie turned her back to the crowd and raised the bouquet high.

It landed squarely in my arms.

I caught it on reflex, and almost instantly my throat tightened and tears welled up uncontrollably.

Natalie jumped off the stage and ran over. “Sis, I threw it to you on purpose, so you could share some of Ethan's and my good luck!”

I stepped back and threw the flowers to the floor. “I'm allergic to pollen. Didn't you know?”

She froze, bit her lip, and she teared up instantly. “During the rehearsal, I thought those fake flowers looked so tacky, so I switched them all to real ones. Mom, Dad, and our brother all said they looked nice, and Ethan didn't object either.”

“I forgot you were allergic to pollen...”

I stared at the discarded bouquet, a little dazed.

The bouquet at my own wedding had been replaced, and I hadn't known a thing.

Not one person had even remembered that I was allergic to pollen.

My breathing grew more and more labored. My vision went black, and I nearly passed out.

But suddenly, a pair of strong hands caught me. It was Ethan, watching me closely, stiff with tension. “What's wrong?!”

“Ethan, I'm having an allergic reaction to the pollen.” I grabbed his sleeve as if it were my last lifeline. “Take me to the hospital!”

At some point Natalie had come over, and she gazed up at him pleadingly. “But the wedding isn't over yet. We haven't made the toasts...”

Ethan's gaze shifted between Natalie and me. In the end, he let me go.

“Nattie and I still have to make the toasts. I can't leave.”

My mom came over too. “Sienna, stop making a scene. It's his wedding today. How can he leave early?”

My brother nodded along. “Yeah, a pollen allergy's no big deal. Go to a pharmacy, buy some medicine, and tough it out.”

Looking at this so-called family and husband, I no longer had any desire to beg.

No matter the situation, Natalie always came first.

Even if I were dying in front of them, they would choose her without a second thought if she needed something.

The ridiculous part was that I had only fully understood it now.

In that case, I wouldn't humiliate myself any further.

I didn't say another word and turned toward the door.

Behind me came their happy, harmonious laughter.

I had given way to Natalie for eight years. I gave up the wedding dress, and I gave up the wedding.

Now I was giving her this family and Ethan too.

Once I was outside the hotel, breathing grew even harder. My vision went black, and I passed out completely.

When I woke up, I was in the hospital.

The nurse said a passerby had brought me in. I'd gone into anaphylactic shock, and if I'd arrived half an hour later, things could have turned dangerous.

For the whole day, my phone stayed silent. Not a single person called.

I opened Instagram, and the first post I saw was Natalie’s photo.

In the airport departure lounge, she leaned on Ethan's shoulder flashing a peace sign, while my parents and my brother held up their boarding passes.

The caption read: “Honeymoon trip, here we go~”

The next second, my phone rang. It was Ethan.

“Why aren't you at the airport yet? Didn't you see the message I sent you?”

I opened the screenshot he had sent. Five plane tickets: him, Natalie, my parents, and my brother. Only I was missing.

[We all booked our tickets together. Remember to book your own.]

[Nattie picked the honeymoon destination. Mom, Dad, and your brother were fine with it, so we didn't ask you.]

I stared at those two messages and burst out laughing.

But as I laughed, tears streamed down my face.

This family had never needed me, and I had never belonged to it.

I took out my phone and dialed a number with no contact name saved.

The other end picked up quickly. I took a deep breath.

“You told me before that whenever I wanted to come back to the Sinclairs, anytime, I could. Does that still stand?”