Chapter 1

Three days before we were supposed to sign the marriage license, I found out that the prayer tag Ezra James bought for me at the wishing shrine had his female assistant's name written on it, not mine.

I took the tag out to the back courtyard to find him, and instead heard one of his buddies lowering his voice to warn him.

"You're about to get married. You deliberately wrote the wrong name on a prayer tag. If Greta Fox sees this, she's going to come after you."

Ezra just smiled, fiddling with his phone. "I lost a bet to Pearl Harmon. So what if I owe her one lucky-charm prayer tag?"

His assistant piped up from the side, cheeks pink, teasing. "You lost the bet. You promised that this whole month all your favoritism goes to me. No taking it back."

"When the time comes, we'll just explain to Greta that it was a punishment from a murder-mystery game. Totally innocent."

The buddy frowned. "Marriage is no joke. Don't come crying to me later when you regret it."

Ezra let out a scoff. "Relax. She quit her job and I've supported her at home for three years. Who else does she have besides me? Worst case, tomorrow I spend twenty bucks and have a new one written for her."

So that was it. My whole future, my marriage, meant less to him than a punishment from his assistant's little game.

I picked up my phone and sent an email to my old mentor. Professor, that spot you mentioned before, at the national key laboratory, is it still open for me?

...

I held the prayer tag with "Pearl" carved into it and walked toward him, step by step.

"Ezra."

I said it out loud.

The laughing and joking stopped.

Ezra turned and saw me, saw the wooden tag in my hand, and there wasn't a trace of panic on his face.

He came over smiling, took the tag from my hand, didn't even glance at it, and casually tossed it into the trash can beside him.

He took my hand, his voice carrying the same doting tone I'd heard for three years.

"Greta, it's just a formality souvenir. Don't blow a little mood into a matter of principle, okay?"

"Throwing a fit at a time like this isn't rational."

Before I could say anything, he pulled a black velvet box out of his pocket.

The box opened.

In the sunlight, that enormous diamond ring threw off a piercing glare.

It was the one he'd talked about for so long, custom-made by a Belgian designer.

He dropped to one knee, looked up at me, his eyes full of devotion.

"This is the real thing. The tag is fake."

"Stop letting your mind run wild, hmm?"

Behind him, his buddies started cheering, whistling.

"Marry him! Marry him!"

Pearl was standing in the crowd too, hands pressed together, eyes bright as she looked at me, her voice innocent and thrilled.

"Greta, you're so lucky! Ezra prepared this surprise for so long. Our whole department is dying of envy!"

That diamond ring was the last shred of hope left in me.

I reached out my hand.

The smile at the corner of Ezra's mouth deepened. He picked up the ring, ready to slide it onto my ring finger.

Just then, my eyes fell on the inside of the band.

There was a line of English letters engraved in flowing script.

It wasn't the "S&X" we'd agreed on, for Ezra and Greta.

It was "S&Y."

Ezra and Pearl.

My mind went blank with a ringing hum.

Last week, Pearl had posted a hand-drawn ring design on her feed, captioned: "Dream Ring! Hoping that one day I'll have a ring engraved with the first letters of my name and his~"

The design in the picture was that same flowing "S&Y."

Ezra followed my gaze, and his smile froze for an instant.

He recovered right away and, without a word, tried to push the ring onto my hand.

"The factory engraved it wrong. I'll take it back and have them fix it. Small problem."

His movements were a little frantic, trying to cover up that moment of awkwardness and guilt.

I didn't let him get his way.

I lifted that cold ring out of the box myself.

Then I set it gently in his warm palm.

I turned and walked away.

Behind me, Ezra's buddy was still smoothing things over. "Hey, Greta's really upset. Ezra, go make it up to her, quick!"

Pearl's voice came out choked with tears. "It's all my fault. If I hadn't bet with Ezra... Greta, please don't misunderstand..."

For the first time, Ezra's voice carried a note of irritation.

"Enough. All of you, stop talking."

I didn't stop for a single step.