Chapter 1

"Tomorrow morning, I’ll have my mom slip a sedative into Nora’s champagne.”

Dominic’s voice came from the hallway outside my room.

I froze with my hand on the door.

Tomorrow was supposed to be our wedding day.

I had loved Dominic Thorne, my childhood sweetheart, for eight years.

But now, the man I was supposed to marry was planning how he planned to give me to another man.

"After we pick up the bride tomorrow, drive straight to the Astor estate."

"The Astor estate?" his friend asked, confused.

Dominic's voice dropped. "Clair's family went bankrupt. They owe the Astors hundreds of millions. Her parents are trying to sell her off to the old Astor to settle the debt."

"I can't just stand by and watch her life get destroyed. Nora will have to take her place."

His friend sounded shocked. "You can't bear to ruin Clair's life, so you'll ruin Nora's instead?"

"The old man is ninety and dying. The family demands a marriage to secure the inheritance. They need a young bride for this."

"When he's dead, I won't mind that Nora's a widow. I'll still marry her."

"But do you really think Nora will just go along with marrying some old man?"

Dominic paused. "Tomorrow morning, I'll have my mom slip a sedative into Nora's champagne. By the time she wakes up, she'll already be in the old man's bed."

"Once the deed is done, she won't have a choice."

I stood there listening to every word. I didn't scream or cry.

I just walked back to my room and waited for tomorrow's wedding.

The next morning, Dominic arrived with his groomsmen to pick me up.

Clair Kensington showed up with them.

The moment she saw me in my wedding dress, she burst into tears.

"Nora, I'm so jealous. You get to marry the man you love. You're so lucky."

"Not like me. My parents want to sell me off to some ninety-year-old man to pay off their debts."

Then she wiped her tears and glanced pointedly at Dominic.

"But thank God, someone already took me to register our marriage yesterday. That old man can't have me now, even if he wants to."

Hearing the smug triumph in her voice, I froze.

I thought being forced into a substitute marriage was the worst betrayal.

I never imagined Dominic had already registered his marriage with her.

My best friend Gemma, oblivious to the truth, whispered angrily in my ear. "Why is she even here? Today is supposed to be your wedding day with Dominic."

"She's crying on purpose. Is she trying to bring bad luck?"

"It's fine." I patted Gemma's hand gently.

Today was never my wedding day with Dominic anyway.

This whole charade of picking up the bride was just a trap to get me in the car—a carefully planned bait-and-switch.

Dominic and his groosmen rushed into the room. "We're running out of time. Just find the wedding shoes."

His groomsmen searched the room and quickly found my heels.

But Dominic didn't bring them to me. He walked straight to Clair.

"Nora, Clair twisted her ankle on the way here and broke her heel."

He knelt down in front of Clair and smoothly helped her change out of her damaged shoe.

"Clair has delicate skin. She can't wear rough, uncomfortable shoes. Let her wear your wedding heels."

Then he pulled a cheap pair of flats from the shoe rack and tossed them at my feet.

"They're just shoes." He looked at me with that same gentle smile. "You won't make a fuss over something so small, will you?"

"Dominic, those are her wedding shoes!" Gemma couldn't take it anymore.

"So what if they are?" Dominic frowned slightly. "They're just shoes. What difference does it make?"

"It's not just about the shoes—"

"Forget it, Gemma." I stopped her. "Let her have them."

Clair was the boss's daughter at Dominic's company.

For the past two years, Dominic had been making me bend over backwards for her with the excuse that "the boss's daughter can't be offended."

I'd given her my work projects. I'd given her my pet. I'd given her my clothes and jewelry.

And now, I was about to hand over my husband too.

Eight years with Dominic Thorne, and this was what I got—a carefully orchestrated betrayal.