Chapter 4

Just then, my phone buzzed.

I answered it, nodding a few times.

"The second floor? Okay, I'll go up first. Sounds good."

I hung up, turned to the stunned Julian, and said, "I wore this dress because my fiancé hired a photographer to capture our day."

"This is the simplest gown of the seven dresses I bought. It's easy to move in."

"Since you're all here, you might as well take the invitations. My wedding is on the tenth of next month. You're welcome to attend."

I pulled the elegant, gold-embossed invitations from my bag and handed them out. When I reached Julian, he refused to take it.

One of his friends looked at the card and gasped. "The Grand Pierre Hotel? That's the most expensive venue in the city! Maya, did you land a sugar daddy? He must be loaded."

Julian's lips twitched, his eyes filled with utter disdain.

"Maya, you really are committed to this act, aren't you?"

"Fake invitations? Booking The Grand Pierre? This is pathetic, even for you."

With two fingers, he took the invitation from his friend and tossed it onto the street.

Serena glanced at the invitation on the ground and sighed. "Honestly, Maya, I have to side with Julian on this. There isn't even a photo of the groom on the card. It looks totally fake."

We hadn't had time to take engagement photos yet.

Serena stepped closer, grabbing my hand with a look of pity. "Look, I know how you feel about Julian..."

Julian suddenly went tense. "Serena, let me explain—"

Serena waved him off. "Julian, you don't have to explain. I know you two grew up together. You have history."

She turned back to me. "Maya, woman to woman, I get it. But you can't force love. Julian has told you a million times that he only sees you as a sister."

"And since I'm practically your older sister now, let me give you some advice: stop this embarrassing show. The more you do, the more people are going to laugh at you."

The crowd behind her murmured in agreement.

"Serena is so sweet and understanding!"

"She's a class act. Only someone as nice as Serena would try to save Maya from embarrassing herself!"

Serena looked at me with pure condescension.

"Come on, Maya. Let me help you take that dress off."

It was always like this.

Whenever Julian humiliated me, Serena would step in to play the saint.

And over time, Julian became convinced his girlfriend was an angel, while I was just a bitter, pathetic villain.

I was about to push her away when she noticed the tag sticking out of the back of my dress.

She grabbed it and read it aloud. "A designer dress? From this season's collection?"

She sighed. "Maya, my heart breaks for you. Did you rent this? You didn't even take the tag off. You really don't have to go this far..."

Julian's expression turned even more vicious.

He pulled Serena into his arms, kissing her hair. "Serena, you're too good for this world. Why are you even wasting your breath on a pathological liar like her?"

Serena squeezed Julian's shirt, playing the worried friend. "Julian, I'm sure Maya didn't mean any harm. It's just a girl's vanity. She just needs someone to guide her."

My cheeks burned with humiliation. I clenched my fists and explained, "My fiancé bought it for me yesterday. I just forgot to cut the tag..."

"Save it. If you lie enough, you start believing your own BS."

Julian chin-gestured toward me. "If you actually have a fiancé, Maya, call him out here. Let us see him."

His friends immediately chimed in.

"Yeah, let's see this imaginary billionaire!"

"Show us the guy who can afford designer clothes and The Grand Pierre!"

"Isn't today your wedding day? Where is the groom?"

We were standing right at the entrance of City Hall, and a crowd of strangers was starting to gather, whispering and staring at us.

Brad, whom I had pushed away earlier, pointed at me and yelled to the crowd:

"Hey everyone, look at this girl! She tried to ruin someone else's relationship, got caught, and now she's pretending she's getting married today!"

"Let's see if her imaginary groom actually exists!"

People stopped to point and whisper. Some even pulled out their phones to record me.

The autumn wind felt freezing. I wrapped my arms around myself, trying to shrink away.

Serena shivered slightly. Julian immediately took off his coat and draped it over her shoulders.

He glared at me. "Maya, call your fake husband already. If Serena catches a cold because of your little stunt, you're going to pay for it!"

I lowered my head. I felt frozen from the inside out.

To be honest, I wasn't even sure when my fiancé would arrive. We had only met once.

As the minutes ticked by and nobody appeared, the crowd around us grew larger.

Phone cameras were practically shoved in my face.

I kept backing up, trying to escape the lenses, until I bumped into a solid chest.

"I'm sorry, I—"

Before I could finish, a pair of strong, warm hands rested on my shoulders.

"I should be the one apologizing."

"I'm sorry, Maya. The traffic was awful. I'm late."