Chapter 1

Five years ago, I think my life is finally getting fixed—until I find out the evidence that put my adoptive sister Felicity in jail for running me over... was all a lie.

Five years ago it came out that my adoptive sister, Felicity, was the one who'd run me over.

My parents and my fiancé, Sebastian, stood by me like a wall.

Felicity was thrown out that very night. Sebastian made sure she went to jail.

Fast forward five years. Christmas Eve.

My parents are supposedly abroad. Sebastian says he has to work late—another last minute excuse.

I'm used to it. I feed his disabled sister, Sammy, then head out alone to buy groceries for Christmas dinner.

As I pass a flower shop, I see someone I shouldn't.

Felicity—alive, smirking into her phone. "Yeah, I'm buying flowers for my husband. He's sacrificed so much. I have to spoil him," she coos. "He's a CEO. No matter how busy he is, he comes home to me every single day. Five years of marriage, and he's never asked me to lift a finger. Today's Christmas. He canceled everything. He's cooking dinner for me and my parents."

I look up.

There he is—Sebastian—walking toward her with grocery bags. And behind him? My parents, the ones who were supposed to be in another country.

Sebastian doesn't see me. He smiles and hooks his arm through Felicity's. "Hey, honey. Who were you on the phone with?" he asks.

Before she can answer, my parents flock to Felicity. My mother presses a candy apple into her hand like she’s a child. My father pats her arm, sighing. "I know you and Sebastian have been married for years, but on paper… it still says Leah's name. That's not fair to you," he says. "You've been so patient."

Felicity glows. "It's not hard," she murmurs. "As long as I have Mom, Dad, and Sebastian… I'm happy."

Her voice is all humility and suffering, and my parents rush to comfort her. I stay in the shadows, shaking.

Felicity never went to jail. She's been living in the same city as me this whole time. My parents never left the country. They've been with her. And my marriage to Sebastian? A lie from the start.

I don't remember how I walk away. I clutch our marriage license and head to City Hall.

The clerk frowns. "Ma'am… this license is forged. There's no record of it here."

"The man on this document, Sebastian Vance? He's already legally married to someone else."

"Felicity Carter."

The paper slips from my fingers. My hand won't move.

I make it home somehow and push the door open.

The place is wrecked.

The room I cleaned that morning is covered in Sammy's waste. The vase on the table is shattered. Sammy's leg is cut and bleeding, but she doesn't seem to feel it—she just sits in the mess, grinning at me.

This is almost every day. Five years of living in a lie. Five years of drowning in this nightmare.

Sebastian built his company from nothing and he's obsessed with saving money.

So no nurse. Just me, taking care of his sister full time.

"She's my only family left," he told me. "You have to be careful with her."

Five years ago I was a rich girl with a bright future. Now I count pennies before buying vegetables.

I don't cry. I fetch water, clean Sammy up, bandage her leg, scrub the floor.

Then my phone rings. Sebastian.

"Make two extra fish dishes tonight. Bring them to the office. I'm feeding the staff who are working late."

His voice is an order—no please, no thank you—and he hangs up before I can answer.

Fish again.

Neither of us likes fish. After we were "married," Sebastian barely ate at home. But every few weeks he asks me to cook fish and take it to his office.

I should have known.

Felicity loved fish as a kid. Back when we all lived together, my parents used to ask me to cook it for her.

Funny. When they first brought me home, they held me and promised I'd never suffer again.