Chapter 1

"I have an announcement. Ivy and I got married."

My husband said it at Thanksgiving dinner, with my sister's hand held gently in his.

For a few seconds, I thought I had misheard him.

Last night, he kissed me and promised that today he would tell everyone we had been secretly married for five years.

Now he was holding Ivy's hand at my mother's table, letting everyone believe she was his wife.

My mother froze with her fork halfway to her plate. Then her face lit up.

"Oh, Declan. Ivy. That's wonderful."

"Well, now you're married to Ivy, so we really need to find someone for Olivia. If you know any decent single men, you should introduce them to Olivia."

After dinner, Declan motioned for me to follow him to the balcony.

He lit a cigarette, his voice flat and detached.

"Remember the papers you signed last week while you were drunk? I lied to you."

"Those weren't for home purchase. Those were divorce papers."

My body went cold as I forced the words out.

"Why would you do this?"

Declan let out a heavy sigh and ruffled my hair.

"Ivy is just an adopted daughter in your family."

"What if your mother forces her to marry a disgusting old man for business? I had to protect her."

From inside, I heard Ivy calling for him to come home, her voice soft and needy.

I watched them walk away together, then turned to my mother with tears streaming down my face.

"Mom, I want to go with you. Let's relocate to Switzerland like you've been asking."

My mother froze mid-step, caught off guard.

She rushed over and pressed her palm against my forehead, genuinely confused.

"You're not running a fever. I've been begging you for months and you kept refusing. What changed your mind so suddenly?"

I'd refused before because I couldn't leave Declan behind.

He had severe chronic stomach issues.

Without me, he was completely helpless at taking care of himself.

And besides, our five-year agreement was almost up.

Once we went public with our marriage, I could move into the penthouse with him and we'd have the life I'd been dreaming of all these years.

But now he'd kicked me to the curb with some pathetic excuse, choosing Ivy over me instead.

My vision blurred as tears threatened to spill over.

I ducked away from my mother's concerned gaze and quickly wiped my eyes, fighting to keep my voice steady.

"I just need a change of scenery. I heard Switzerland is full of attractive men anyway. Maybe I'll even find you a European son-in-law."

My mother stared at my red-rimmed eyes and let out the softest sigh.

"Oh, sweetheart. You're heartbroken because Declan married Ivy, aren't you?"

"I've known since you were children that you had feelings for him. He always took such good care of you. I never imagined he'd marry Ivy."

Mom's words finally broke the dam holding back all my hurt.

I collapsed into my mother's arms and let myself fall apart.

She didn't know that just last night, Declan had kissed me so tenderly.

She didn't know that the simple silver band on my finger, the one I never let anyone touch, was slipped by Declan.

Back in my room, my phone wouldn't stop buzzing.

Ivy had sent a series of photos, each one designed to twist the knife.

The first showed her and Declan having an intimate candlelit dinner at the exact restaurant where he'd proposed to me.

The second was them tangled together, completely naked, in the bed I'd spent weeks picking out.

I checked the timestamp on the photo.

Two years ago.

My blood turned to ice. He'd been cheating on me for that long.

The third photo was a group shot from years back.

When I recognized the man standing beside Declan, my mind went completely blank.

My hands started shaking uncontrollably and my phone clattered to the floor.

A new message from Ivy popped up on the screen.

"Don't you want to know why Declan was so desperate to marry you five years ago?"