Chapter 2

Bianca leaned against him, her voice getting softer and softer.

"I know I have no right. But someday my child will have to call him an elder too, and I just want things between us to look nice."

All at once, I understood.

They didn't just want this wedding.

They wanted my dad to personally hand Damien a woman pregnant with his illegitimate child, so he would be the one pulling their fig leaf tight.

"My dad isn't coming."

Damien's face darkened.

I called my father right in front of him.

"Dad, don't come to the hotel tomorrow. The wedding's off."

The first thing my father asked was, "Where are you?"

"I'm fine. I'll come see you tomorrow morning."

"You don't need to worry about saving my face." His voice was hoarse. "Before your mom passed, she made me promise. Giving you away was supposed to mean giving you to someone who'd love you."

My nose stung hard.

Damien reached for my phone. I stepped back and hung up.

"Vivian, do you really have to drag the family elders into this?"

"Weren't you two the ones who set your sights on my dad first?"

That shut him up. Bianca hurried over and took my arm.

"Vivian, I said the wrong thing. Please don't blame Damien. He's been running back and forth between both of us all week. He's exhausted."

Her sleeve slipped down, revealing a gold bracelet.

There was a small dent on the inside.

I recognized it.

It was part of the dowry my mom left me. Last month Damien said the clasp was loose and took it to get it fixed for me.

I held out my hand.

"Give me back the bracelet."

Bianca snatched her hand away. "Damien gave this to me."

"It belonged to my late mother."

Damien glanced at the bracelet.

"She hasn't been sleeping well since she got pregnant. The old folks say wearing old gold helps calm the nerves. You're not wearing it right now anyway. Let her use it for a few days."

I walked straight over and grabbed Bianca's wrist.

She screamed.

Damien seized my arm.

"You hurt her and see what happens!"

I raised my phone and pointed it at the bracelet.

"My mom's name and wedding date are engraved on the inside. I have the purchase receipt and photos of her wearing it."

"Take it off now, or I call the police and they take it off."

Bianca's crying stopped for half a beat.

She looked at Damien.

This time, he didn't answer right away.

The dressmaker was still standing by the door. Both assistants kept their heads down, but no one left.

Finally, he pried Bianca's hand open, pulled the bracelet off, and tossed it to me.

"Happy now?"

I caught it and slid it back onto my own wrist.

"And the engagement ring."

Bianca clutched her right hand.

Damien's voice turned ice-cold. "Vivian, don't push your luck. I paid for that ring."

"Then keep it."

I picked up my bag and walked out of the apartment that was supposed to be my marital home.

Only when the elevator doors closed did I brace myself against the wall and slowly sink into a crouch.

I was the one who picked the diamond in that ring.

He was the one who took my mother's bracelet.

In those six years, how many other things had he taken to make another woman happy?

My phone buzzed.

It was the man from earlier.

"How did Bianca explain her marriage to you?"

I typed: "She said her ex-husband was a drunk who beat her, and she nearly didn't survive the divorce."

A moment later, a photo of a marriage certificate came through.

The registration date was three years ago.

Another message followed right after.

"We never divorced."

I knew Bianca's husband. Adrian Thornton.

Two years ago, when the Grant family company ran out of cash, I was the one who carried the project files into his office.

I waited in his hallway for an entire day to get Damien ten minutes.

Afterward, Adrian invested, and became the company's largest outside shareholder.

Every holiday, Damien personally delivered gifts to him.

At a cocktail party last year, Adrian took out his phone and showed us photos from his wedding.

The woman in them wore a formal gown and had her head bowed, straightening his cuff for him.

I was busy taking drinks for Damien back then and only glanced at it.

Not until tonight, when Bianca lowered her eyes to try on my veil, did I finally match the two faces.

I zoomed in on the marriage certificate.

Bianca Lawson.

She hadn't even changed her name.

Before I could reply, Damien's call came chasing after me.

"Be there at nine tomorrow. Don't be late."

"You've swapped brides. What would I even go for?"

"The wedding-morning door games, handing over the rings, the toast to the parents. You're the only one who knows how all of it runs. If you don't come, what is Bee supposed to do?"

I stared at the marriage certificate on my screen.

"Damien, do you actually know who she is?"