Chapter 1

On our wedding day, my fiancé, Ethan Sullivan, had just reached my bedroom door when his widowed neighbor, Chloe Lowell, called to tell him that her twins were sick.

“Ethan, Annie and Leo have stomachaches. Could you drive us to the hospital?”

He said yes, then stopped the groomsmen from rushing into the room and turned to me.

“Hailey, Chloe's kids are sick. I have to go back right now and take them to the hospital! This is an emergency, so we'll skip picking up the bride. Just go to the hotel yourself and wait two hours for me.”

I swallowed the bitterness rising in my chest, then I forced myself to tell him clearly, “If you leave now, then there's no need to have this wedding at all.”

My parents suggested he could call Chloe a car service, or even hire someone to go with her to the hospital.

Hearing that, he only frowned and refused.

“Mr. and Mrs. Lawson, Annie and Leo are shy around strangers. They're used to depending on me, and on top of that, they get carsick in other people's cars. I have to go myself!”

My parents didn't give up.

“Then what about Hailey? Today is your wedding, and the guests are all waiting!”

He hesitated for two seconds, then pushed his best man, Mason Jensen, in front of my parents.

“Since Hailey cares so much about the ceremony, my buddy can pick up the bride for now! I promise I'll make it to the wedding on time!”

With that, he ripped the boutonniere from his suit and shoved it into the best man's hand before storming away.

I watched from the window, my heart sinking, as his car shot into the street and was gone. Then I took a breath and dialed a number.

“Zachary, we've been fighting each other for so many years. Got the nerve to marry me now?”

——

The line went silent for two seconds before Zachary Sinclair answered, “Why wouldn't I?” Just stay where you are and wait for me.”

I closed my eyes as tears slipped down onto the back of my hand.

After hanging up, I opened my eyes and realized everyone in the room was staring at me.

Mason's hand jerked as he was about to pin on the boutonniere. He stared at me in disbelief.

“Hailey, are you crazy? You and Zachary have been rivals for years. Are you seriously going to marry him, or simply looking for a figh—"

“It's better than a wedding with no groom,” I cut him off.

“But Hailey, it's not like Ethan ran off! He said he promises he'll be there on time!”

“When has one of his promises ever counted?”

Mason opened his mouth, but nothing came out.

Beside us, my maid of honor, Megan Walsh, let out a tired sigh.

“But the guests are already at the hotel. Hailey, if you switch grooms at the last minute, it will be so humiliating when word gets out—”

“So what if word gets out, Megan?”

“Ethan is the one who abandoned me for his neighbor first, and then had his own buddy marry me for him. If he isn't ashamed, why should I be afraid?”

The room went frighteningly quiet.

Mason stood rooted to the spot, not knowing what to do with his hands.

“Hailey, Ethan just loves being kind. You know he never turns anyone down when he can lend a hand. Those two kids lost their dad when they were little, and they're sickly too. They really are pitiful. He's only helping the kids. It has nothing to do with Chloe.”

Ethan and his friends had been repeating that same line for three years.

I had gone from anger at first, to telling myself not to be jealous of two children, to the calm I felt now. No one knew how much hurt I had swallowed along the way.

I looked up at Mason and asked, “Do you really think this has nothing to do with Chloe?”

I continued, “Then let me remind you.”

“On my birthday two years ago, he said he was going with Chloe to the kids' parent-teacher conference and told me to eat my cake alone.”

“At our engagement party last year, he was two hours late because Annie got lost at the amusement park.”

“This Christmas, I broke a bone in a car accident, and he didn't come, because he had to pick the kids up from school on time.”

Still, Mason hurried to defend Ethan.

“Hailey, I swear on my life, there's nothing going on between Ethan and Chloe! She's not even his friend!”

That made it even more ironic.

Someone who wasn't even his friend could call him away from me again and again.

“Mason, if she doesn't even count as Ethan's friend, then what am I supposed to be? Just nobody?”

Mason lowered his head and said nothing.

I turned to grab my phone and pulled up the hotel manager's number.

“Hello, Mr. Chandler. The wedding is going ahead as planned. The groom has changed, but the schedule stays the same.”