Chapter 1

At my fiancé Marcus Vance's birthday party, everyone got worked up about playing an emotional role-play mystery game.

When the parts were handed out, he took the female lead script that had originally been paired with me and passed it straight to Molly Pruitt, his ex who'd just come back to the country.

"Molly just got back, and she's been down. This lead has a really strong experience to it. Let her play it."

He shoved a minor supporting-character card at me. "Just mess around with it. Help us fill out the numbers."

The game went on for four hours. I sat in the corner and watched Molly nestle into Marcus's arms to dodge the evidence search.

When it came to the heartfelt confession round, Marcus actually pulled out the exact words he'd used when he proposed to me.

"I will never fail you in this life."

The finale was a life-or-death setup where two had to sacrifice one, and Marcus pressed the button to sacrifice me without a moment's hesitation.

He didn't so much as glance at me. He just pushed the leftover cards aside. "The plot needs it. Think of it as clocking out early to rest."

Molly leaned against him and looked at me like a challenge. "You wouldn't get jealous over a silly game, would you?"

Calmly, I turned the card that read "discarded pawn" face-down on the table.

I picked up my coat and walked toward the door of the private room without looking back.

The game was over. This nameless spectator role, I quit.

...........

When the door of the private room opened, it was raining out in the courtyard.

No missed calls on my phone. Marcus hadn't even noticed I'd left.

The sports car was still parked where it had been. I walked to the pavilion at the corner of the wall to get out of the rain, and footsteps came from the side door soon after.

Bob Gilbert and Quinn Harding stepped out under the eaves and each lit a cigarette.

Bob looked up toward the second floor.

"Marcus went hard today, huh. Proposing to Molly right there in the game. He really doesn't take Julia Fox seriously at all."

Quinn flicked off his ash.

"Molly's got depression. Her doctor told her to be around emotionally steady things. Marcus doesn't really have a choice here."

"Julia was sitting right next to them. He's not worried it'll mess up the wedding?"

"What's she going to do about it? Marcus nearly died for her back then. Forget a game, even if he handed over a whole wedding, she'd have to swallow it."

The edge of my phone dug into my fingertip. Rainwater ran off the pavilion eaves and onto the tops of my shoes.

The side door opened again, and Wendy Vance came out carrying a few receipts from the bridal shop.

"Give it a rest, you two. I still haven't finished what my brother told me to do."

Bob glanced at the receipts in her hand.

"Changing what this time?"

"The gown's measurements."

"Changing them to whose?"

Wendy folded the receipts up.

"Molly's. My brother thinks calling off the engagement back then wronged her, so he wants her to wear it and take a few photos, make up for the regret."

Quinn looked back into the house.

"That's Julia's wedding gown."

"So just buy another one. My brother's supported her all these years. What more could she want?"

The three of them went back inside. I dialed the bridal shop manager's number.

The manager picked up fast.

"Miss Fox, are you checking on the gown's progress?"

"Are the sunflowers embroidered on the hem finished?"

There was a pause of a few seconds on the other end before an answer came.

"Mr. Vance called an hour ago. He wants them all taken out and replaced with balloon flowers."

"Did the on-site floral get changed too?"

"All swapped to balloon flowers."

I pulled up the health file the wedding company had on record.

"My health record spells it out clearly. Contact with balloon-flower pollen triggers severe asthma. It can kill me. I warned Mr. Vance about it."

The manager didn't go on.

"What did he say?"

"Mr. Vance said…to have you take your medicine ahead of time, tough it out, and try to adapt."

I tugged at the corner of my mouth and hung up.

On the second-floor balcony, Marcus walked to the railing with his arm around Molly.

Molly held a megaphone, and her laughter carried across the whole courtyard.

"Marcus, is this a gift for me?"

"What I owed you back then. Now I'm paying it back with interest."

Applause broke out in the courtyard. I put my phone away and walked into the rain.

The ride app showed two hundred passengers ahead of me. Ten minutes passed and the number dropped by only three.

I walked down along the mountain highway. A Porsche pulled up beside me, its wheels throwing up water that soaked the bottom of my pants.

Wendy rolled down the window.

"Get in."

I kept walking.

She smacked the steering wheel twice.

"My brother told me to take you home. If you catch a chill, how are you going to handle the handover at the company tomorrow?"

"Handover of what?"

"The project director position."

Wendy sped up the wipers.

"Molly just got back and needs to get her footing. The project in your hands is the most stable one, perfect for her to cut her teeth on."

"Did Marcus say that himself?"

"Yeah! You used to be an orphan with nothing. My brother's the one who lifted you up. What's wrong with stepping aside for someone more deserving now?"

I stood outside the window and didn't reach for the door.

"I'm not going to the company, and I'm not getting in your car."

Wendy stared at me for a few seconds, then rolled the window back up.

"Get in or don't. Just don't be late for the handover tomorrow. Don't make my brother angry!"

The Porsche disappeared down the end of the mountain road soon after.

Two hours later, I caught the last bus, my phone down to three percent.

By one in the morning, Marcus still hadn't reached out.

I stood at the door of the apartment we shared and keyed in the six-digit code, the number we'd set as our wedding date.

The lock flagged a wrong password.

After the second try, the red light came on again.

We'd used that code for three years. It had never once been changed.

I found the brass spare key in my bag, and as the bolt clicked open, a pair of white pearl heels appeared behind the gap in the door.

They were the exact pair Molly had worn at the birthday party.