Chapter 3

I took the necklace and touched the little pendant in front of the mirror.

"It's beautiful. Thank you, Mom."

Silvia shot the makeup artist a look.

The makeup artist caught on at once and picked up her pace considerably.

At 8:30, the wedding dress arrived.

The big white skirt spilled across half the sofa, and at first glance it really did look exquisite.

When I'd tried it on last month, Mason told me the dress had been custom-made by the design studio, that it had cost a hundred and twenty grand.

I pretended to adjust the hem, my fingers sliding all the way down to the bottom of the lining.

A small tag was hidden there.

Printed on it were a rental company's logo and a dress number.

Custom-made, a hundred and twenty grand.

Rental deposit, three thousand.

I tucked the tag back in, and the red pop-up messages surfaced again.

So funny, the whole set is fake. The diamond ring is moissanite, the dress is rented, the gold wedding jewelry is street-stall junk. Every single thing he gave Nadia is the real deal.

The door opened again.

Wanda came bouncing in, holding up her phone as if she was scared I'd run off.

"Agnes, Agnes, look at the route my brother took to fetch the bride today. I filmed it!"

She pushed the phone up to my face.

On the screen, the walkway at the hotel entrance had been decorated beautifully with flowers.

But my attention landed on the WhatsApp message that had just popped up on her screen.

The pop-up showed for only a second before it vanished, but I still caught the sender's name.

Nadia.

The red pop-up messages filled in the rest for me.

Nadia's message to Wanda: "Wanda, have your brother call me once the ceremony's over. I've moved my flight to the afternoon of the day after tomorrow."

Wanda whisked the phone away and changed the subject just as fast.

"You look gorgeous today, Agnes!"

"Thank you, Wanda."

I straightened my veil in the mirror and asked, offhand,

"Isn't Mason taking me to Maui for our honeymoon the day after tomorrow? Have the tickets been booked?"

Wanda hesitated.

"Uh... I think so? My brother's always reliable about these things."

Red pop-up messages: Reliable, my foot. He only booked two flights to London, one under his name and one under Nadia's. He never even searched for a Maui flight.

I nodded and didn't press.

"I'll get you a glass of water!"

Wanda turned and hurried out.

Once the door closed, the room went quiet again.

I picked up my phone, opened the photo album, and checked the pictures I'd taken of the property gift deed last night.

Then I opened the notes app and lined up the WhatsApp screenshots from Mason's phone, his chats with Nadia, in order by time.

His phone password was his own birthday.

Last night, while he was in the shower, I'd taken the chance to unlock his phone and photograph them one by one.

Before we went to sleep, he'd held me and said,

"Agnes was such a good girl tonight. Get some sleep, so you can be the most beautiful bride tomorrow."

The most beautiful bride.

Wearing a cheap dress and fake jewelry, marrying into a family that had all conspired to deceive her.

Beautiful, all right.

I sent a message to my best friend, Yvonne.

Come to the back entrance of the hotel at 10. Don't be late.

She replied quickly.

Already on my way, Agnes. What's going on?

I stared at the screen for a few seconds.

You'll see when you get here.

At 9:40, the guests started filing in.

I stood by the window of the second-floor bridal lounge, looking down through the slats of the blinds.

The hall was packed with flowers and balloons, warm yellow light spilling over everyone's faces, nothing but smiles as far as I could see.

Mason, in a black suit, stood beside the sign-in table greeting the guests.

Handsome, poised, not a flaw to be found.

My gaze crossed the crowd, and I spotted a woman in the corner.

She wore a white dress, her long hair down, her makeup so faint it was almost invisible.

She sat in the innermost seat of the second row, head down, both hands twisting a handkerchief on her knees.

The red pop-up messages appeared.

That's Nadia. Mason bought her that dress just last week, thirteen grand. Ten grand more than the heroine's rented wedding dress.

Nadia lifted her head.

Across the glass and the entire hall, she cast a glance up at the second floor.

Red pop-up messages: She knows the heroine's upstairs. She's smiling.

My chest suddenly tightened, as if a thin thread had cinched around my ribs, and my breath went shallow with it.

Last night, when I'd learned the truth, my hands had still been shaking.

Now they weren't.

Cold for long enough, and it starts to burn instead.