Chapter 1

The night before the wedding, Linda Harding and her best friend sat in a private room plotting how to keep me from reaching the ceremony, so my own brother could marry her in my place.

Her friend was stunned. "Linda, don't tell me the man you actually want to marry is Hubert Delgado? If that's it, you could just tell Stan Gilbert!"

Linda smiled bitterly. "The man I love is Stan. Hubert is my regret. I don't want to live with regrets, so I came up with this."

"All you have to do is drive the wedding car somewhere else and keep him away for a while. I'll pretend to be angry and marry Hubert on purpose, and Stan won't have a word to say."

"Besides, I'll only play around for a few days. Once the regret is gone, the game's over."

Her eyes were set. She meant to have it, and she wouldn't let anyone stop her.

Her friend only laughed harder, and in the same breath crowned me the cuckold.

Outside the door, whatever I'd felt for her finally went cold. I turned and walked away to call the man I hated most.

"You hate me because I love Linda, don't you? Well, you don't have to anymore."

"Get ready. Tomorrow I'll drive the wedding car and come marry you!"

……

1

"Linda, be careful you don't take this too far!"

"If Stan finds out, you'll be the one begging him back through hell."

Linda idly picked up the glass from the coffee table and swirled it. "As long as you two don't talk, and I don't talk, how would he ever know?"

"Fine! We'll help you."

"Tsk, you really know how to play. And how to eat, too."

"Stan or Hubert, both of them are gorgeous."

"I bet on the wedding day you'll be dragging Hubert into the bridal suite the first chance you get, ready to go a few hundred rounds!"

The words had barely landed when that grating, filthy laughter filled the whole room.

Hubert walked in from the balcony, tucking his phone away. He'd probably been outside taking a call.

"What were you all just saying?"

I clenched my fists, hoping against everything that he didn't know about Linda's plan.

The next second, he sat down beside Linda and slid his arm straight around her waist.

Everyone gasped. My heart had already gone hollow. At this point, what was there left that I didn't understand?

My phone buzzed. I hurried toward the door.

When I picked up, my mother's voice came through, threaded with a cough.

"Stan, Mom finally lived to see you get married!"

Her health was poor. Dad said she'd been forcing herself to hang on, refusing to let go.

The reason was that she hadn't seen her son take a wife. Her wish unfulfilled, she clung to that one breath to keep living.

I didn't want the illness to drag her down, so I proposed to Linda seven times. She only said yes on the eighth.

Only now did I learn she'd never wanted to marry me. She'd refused all that time because Hubert wasn't back yet.

Now that he was home, Linda had agreed.

But behind that yes was another plan entirely.

In that moment all I felt was the ache in my chest, and a bottomless disappointment in Linda.

After a few short words with my mother, I hung up.

I didn't expect Linda to call me right after.

"Hey! Stan."

"Where are you?"

I was right next door. A pity she'd never know it.

"At home!"

"Aw, my Stannie is such a good boy. Not like the other rich kids who run off to party."

"Hey! Linda, what's that supposed to mean? You're dragging the rest of us in with that!"

The line was loud with noise. Linda only told me to come find her right away, then hung up.

I didn't rush. I pulled out a cigarette and smoked it slowly, buying time.

If she wanted me over there right now, some disgusting little show had to be waiting for me.

Sure enough, when I got there, I heard them egging her on again.

"Linda, remember to lose to Hubert on purpose later, so he can kiss you right in front of Stan. That'll be a total thrill."

"You two are so bad!!"