Chapter 1

On my wedding day to Chloe, she ran off with her first love.

Every single guest in the chapel was waiting to watch me become the biggest laughingstock in high society.

Instead, I stayed calm and walked over to Chloe's older sister.

Under the stunned stares of the entire crowd, I walked straight up to Elena, who was standing quietly in the corner.

Elena Sterling—Chloe's older sister, and the real power behind the Sterling empire.

"Elena, my bride just ran away. Would you marry me instead?"

A faint smile touched Elena's lips. She reached out, took my hand, and replied with absolute certainty, "I do."

Afterward, Chloe cornered me with tear-stained eyes, choking on her words as she pleaded:

"Julian, I made a mistake. Please, just give me one more chance..."

I looked at her cold and unbothered, letting out a soft sneer.

"You should be calling me your brother-in-law now."

I had pursued Chloe for three whole years, and we were finally supposed to get our happy ending.

When the priest asked if I took her to be my lawful wife, I answered without a shred of hesitation, "I do."

I never expected a single text message would completely shatter Chloe's composure.

I caught a glimpse of the sender's name: Liam. Her first love.

I saw the hesitation in her eyes and grabbed her wrist, practically begging her.

"Today is our wedding day."

No matter how much she still cared about him, at least today—at least right now—she couldn't walk away.

Chloe wrenched her hand from my grip. "I'm sorry," she whispered, and then walked out without ever looking back.

I did everything I could to maintain my dignity, but my eyes still burned with tears.

Chloe and I had gone to college together. I watched her and Liam fall in love, fight, and break up.

I used to think my feelings for her would forever stay buried in my heart.

Until one day, Chloe threw her arms around me, sobbing, and asked if I wanted to be with her.

Faced with the girl of my dreams suddenly falling into my lap, I naturally said yes.

We actually became a couple.

Yet it all turned out to be nothing more than Chloe's impulsive rebound. Once she cooled off, she got tangled up with Liam again.

They broke up and got back together repeatedly, while I became her most convenient backup plan.

I never believed she and Liam would last, so I waited. I kept waiting for the day Chloe would truly let Liam go.

And yet—

I looked down at my empty hands and laughed self-deprecatingly. Some people are just never going to be yours. The one who needed to let go was me.

Ignoring the mocking, curious, and sympathetic gazes around the room, I turned toward the stunning woman standing off to the side and walked over.

Meeting her surprised, searching gaze, I smiled calmly. "My bride just abandoned me. Miss Sterling, would you do me the honor of marrying me?"

I held out my hand. Only I knew how badly my palm was sweating.

If she rejected me right now, my life would truly become a joke.

I was gambling. I gambled that the Sterling family would never let this high-profile wedding collapse into total chaos.

I gambled that to the Sterling heiress, the alliance between our two families was far more important than her own romantic whims. And deep down, I gambled that she had at least a shred of goodwill toward me.

Elena Sterling was not only gorgeous, but she had also been brilliant from childhood—always the top of our social circle, the golden child every parent compared their kids to.

To someone like her, sheer beauty was the least of her many strengths.

Would a woman like that truly agree to my proposal?

Doubt quickly crept in. I looked down and started pulling my hand back, ready to tell everyone it had just been a bad joke.

Suddenly, a warm, slender hand caught mine before I could retract it.

"Of course. It would be my honor."

She smiled. Her smile was so radiant and warm that for a second, I actually believed she was genuinely happy to marry me.

Her hand was delicate, yet her grip was firm enough to leave no room for regret.

By chance, she was already wearing an elegant gown today.

It wasn't as extravagant as Chloe's bridal gown, but for an impromptu ceremony, it was more than enough.

The sudden twist left the entire venue dead silent.

Even our parents were completely frozen. It took them quite a while to snap out of it, and faced with the public spectacle, all they could do was put on polite smiles.

I was smiling too, though with plenty of bitter helplessness underneath. Watching Elena handle the situation with effortless grace, I found myself in a daze again.

That strange sense of unreality hit me once more.