Chapter 1

After nine years with my fiancé, I was finally married.

I'd just received the marriage documents bearing the county seal when the clerk who'd stamped them suddenly pulled off his mask.

It was my brother, Rhys.

“Darian, we're done, right? We can get rid of the rented counter and the set this afternoon.”

The blood drained from my face. I turned and spotted Finn Locke, the boy I'd grown up with, among the couples waiting in line.

The man in the security uniform by the door was my father.

Darian Croft lit a cigarette, an easy smile on his face.

“Sorry, Ines. This isn't a county office—the marriage license, the marriage certificate, even the staff IDs are fake. Rhys and your dad were just putting on a little show with me.”

“We wanted to give you a taste of being a bride. In three days, Odette and I are going to the Clark County Marriage License Bureau to do it for real.”

It felt as if something had exploded in my head. My ears rang.

His mouth curved as he went on. “Once she's done playing, we'll get divorced, and then I'll marry you.”

“You'll still get to be Mrs. Croft. You just have to let her have the title for a while.”

I looked at him, forcing down the emotions welling up inside me.

“Okay. I accept.”

He raised an eyebrow, apparently surprised I'd agreed so quickly.

But he didn't know whose proposal I'd decided to accept: the head of the Veymont family.

The family controlled a vast financial group spanning New York and London.

I'd be getting married in three days, too.

And I'd be starting at the Clark County Marriage License Bureau, too.

…

For a moment, the fake office fell silent.

Then Darian's mocking voice cut through it.

“You'll even accept that? Good girl.”

“Nine years, Ines. Give you a little hope, and you come running back with your tail wagging.”

I lowered my eyes, digging my nails into my palm.

Rhys's cold voice came from behind me. “Stop making that face. We rented an entire room and signed the papers with you just to make you happy—what more do you want?”

My father's voice was just as cold.

“Odette's younger than you, and she's more understanding. Darian's just marrying her first. Waiting a little won't kill you.”

Darian tilted his head, a warning in his voice.

“Ines Ashby, I'm marrying Odette in three days. You'd better stay away.”

“She can't handle stress. If you scare her, I won't be happy.”

She can't handle stress. The words stabbed into my chest.

I'd been with him for nine years.

When one of his business rivals showed up with a group of men, I was the one who stood in front of him.

Then a bottle struck the back of my head, and I needed seven stitches. He hadn't said a single word of concern.

At a party celebrating an acquisition, I'd downed seven glasses of strong whiskey for him and ended up in the ICU. He hadn't said a word of concern then, either.

Now, just imagining that I might scare Odette was more than he could bear.

“Darian, don't talk about her like that.” My stepsister Odette stood in the doorway, her eyes reddening.

“Ines, I'm sorry. They all said I should marry Darian first. I didn't know how to say no.”

The next second, she leaned close to my ear and whispered, “Did you know? You've been with Darian for nine years, and I've been secretly dating him for eight.”

“Dad, Rhys, Finn, and all those friends of yours knew.”

My heart clenched. A sharp pain shot through me.

Before I could react, she swiped across her phone screen.

The screen filled with message threads, photos of them together, and videos.

Only days after Darian and I stayed at a resort, he'd taken Odette back to the same resort.

One night, he'd held me and promised me forever. The next day, he'd taken Odette into a hotel suite.

For nine years, I'd been this family's biggest joke.

As I stood there, cold and rigid, Rhys shoved his phone in my face, too.

The screen was painfully bright.

It showed Darian and Odette's wedding portraits.

Their congratulatory comments crowded the space below the photos.

“Dad, Finn, and I were all there for the photo shoot,” Rhys said coldly. “You should've seen the way Darian looked at her when she came out in that wedding dress.”

Odette watched my face.

I knew she was waiting for me to break down, to get hysterical.

“Don't be angry, okay?” Tears spilled down her cheeks on cue. “It's all my fault—I shouldn't have fallen in love with Darian.”

My father came over and patted Odette's back to comfort her.

“You've had to give everything up for her since you were little. It's time she learned what it feels like to have something taken away.”

I could only look at them with cold contempt.

Those things had been mine to begin with.

Odette had played the victim and taken everything from me with a few tears.

Now even my family and friends were all on her side.

Rhys came over, a mocking smile on his lips.

“We actually made a bet on how long you'd cry when you found out the marriage documents were fake.”

“If you cried, Darian would spend another five minutes comforting you.”

Darian said nothing. He leaned against the wall and watched me with cold eyes.

“Not a single tear. How boring.” Finn's voice was cruel.

I looked at the people who'd worked together to deceive me, my face expressionless.

I slowly took out my phone and opened the pinned chat that had been silent for an entire year. The man who'd sent the message had never bothered me.

The last message was from a year ago.

[If you ever decide you want a different husband, text me. I'm always here.]

My fingers tapped out a few words.

[I've decided. In three days, I'll be waiting at the Clark County Marriage License Bureau.]

The reply arrived in less than a second.

[Okay.]