Chapter 1

1: 1

At my wedding, I ran a mystery-gift auction. Guests drew a box by sucking on a lemon and downing a drink.

My best friend looked up at me on the stage in my wedding dress, her eyes brimming red. "You're getting married today. Let me catch a little of your luck."

Her first draw was a Blue Tears necklace, and she gasped.

"Yvonne Henson, how did you know I've wanted this necklace for so long?"

Her second draw was a limited-edition gown, her third a projector.

Every one of them was sitting in her shopping cart.

I went blank for a second, standing there dazed. These were not the mystery boxes I had prepared.

I looked over at my husband, Gerard Vance. His eyes were fixed on Eileen Cobb, soft with an obvious, doting tenderness.

Eileen hugged the gifts to her chest and squealed that she was going to kiss my cheek, and Gerard stopped her. "Yvonne's my wife today. Keep your hands to yourself."

She smiled slyly and turned to him. "Fine, if I can't kiss her, surely I can kiss you."

Before anyone could react, Eileen planted a loud kiss on his cheek, leaving a bright red mark.

Gerard pushed her away like he found it distasteful, his tone sharp, but I knew he didn't mind. He'd allowed it.

So it turned out I had never been the lead of this wedding.

1

Eileen pulled back and straightened up, the lipstick on her mouth faded now. "Yvonne, I'll kiss you after the ceremony's done. Kissing his face gave me goosebumps. So gross."

She elbowed Gerard, sniping at him. "Honestly, looks like his, if it weren't for Yvonne, nobody would ever want him."

My hand tightened a little around the bouquet. "If it's so disgusting, why kiss him at all? No one was stopping you."

Eileen froze, her mouth opening, but nothing came out.

She looked like she hadn't expected me to ask. Just like before, when I'd quietly endured every line they crossed and never tore through that thin sheet of paper between us.

Gerard frowned, his voice hardening. "Yvonne, why are you being so harsh with her?"

I looked straight at him and said it slowly, one word at a time. "Am I not allowed to feel anything? My husband and my best friend kiss at my own wedding, and I'm supposed to play the fool and pretend nothing happened?"

My voice carried through the microphone across the whole hall, and the guests below started murmuring. "Is this wedding even happening or not?"

Everyone was waiting to watch me humiliate myself. Only my mother, gripping her hands tight, asked,

"Yvonne, do you want to go on? Or come down and rest for a bit. We're still in the mystery-box part. We haven't reached the vows."

I nodded. My mother wanted to tell me that if something was gnawing at me, as long as I ended the wedding before the vows, there was still time.

Everything here I had spent months arranging with care, down to how the flowers sat in one particular spot, where the lights should fall.

End it? I didn't want to.

I drew a deep breath and took the microphone. "The auction continues."

Then I gathered my skirt and walked step by step toward the back, not sparing a glance for the two of them behind me.

Gerard sensed something was wrong and came after me in long strides. "Yvonne, what are you throwing a tantrum for? The vows are about to start."

Eileen trailed behind, her mouth twisting to one side. "Yvonne, I pushed back my flight abroad just for you, just to make it to your wedding."

Gerard's attention snapped to her at once, his voice climbing a few notches without him noticing. "You're leaving the country? Why didn't you tell me?"

It almost made me laugh. Gerard hadn't even realized it himself.

The news that Eileen was going abroad rattled him more than me stalling my own wedding.

I brushed past Eileen and headed for the dressing room.

Then she suddenly tipped to one side, and something slid out of her pocket and dropped to the floor.

I glanced down, and all the blood in me turned cold.

It was a marriage certificate, lying open, and the photo on it showed the two people I knew best in the world.

One was my husband-to-be. The other was the friend I'd had for over a decade.

I bent down slowly and picked it up. It felt like it weighed a thousand pounds.

"You two are married?"

I could hear my own voice trembling faintly, and the silence in the air almost choked me. "Say something. Is it true?"

Eileen's eyes went red in an instant. She shook her head hard, but didn't say a word.

I gave a bitter little laugh. "You won't even bother to make up a lie for me?"

Gerard showed no panic at being exposed. If anything, he looked relieved. "Yvonne, since you already know, I won't hide it. Eileen and I really are married."

"Whether the wedding goes on is entirely up to you."