Chapter 1

My dad died in a car crash. The driver was my fiancé’s sister.

Ethan knelt outside my front door in the pouring rain all night. He begged me through tears, swearing his sister suffered from severe psychosis and had no idea what she was doing.

Back then, having just lost my father, Ethan was the only pillar I had left in this world.

My heart broke. I caved.

I signed the leniency agreement, and that was when Chloe began barging into my life again and again.

She smashed my dad’s framed portrait.

She sang "Happy Birthday" in front of his tombstone on the anniversary of his death.

She even crashed into our bedroom in the middle of our intimacy, wearing the exact same bloodstained red slip dress from the night of the crash.

I used to think she resented me for stealing her only brother. I thought she was doing everything she could to drive me crazy and ruin our upcoming wedding.

Until the day of my father’s memorial, when she showed up at the cemetery, her bare feet dripping with blood.

"Don't marry him."

"You'll regret it."

Ethan’s lips were pressing against the side of my neck when the bedroom door was suddenly shoved open.

He froze, instantly pulling the comforter over me and shielding me firmly behind his back.

Standing barefoot on the hardwood floor by the doorway was his sister, Chloe.

She wore a crimson slip dress. Her dark, messy hair hung over her shoulders, and her face was deathly pale.

"Who let you in?"

Ethan’s voice dropped, terrifyingly cold.

Chloe stared straight at her brother.

"Ethan, when you kiss her... don't you ever see Arthur's face?"

Ethan’s expression changed instantly.

My eyes, however, were glued to her dress. My teeth dug into my lip until I tasted copper.

The night my dad was killed, Chloe had been wearing that exact red dress.

When the police found her, she was sitting on the curb, soaked in blood, muttering the same sentence over and over.

*“It was me... I hit him... It was me...”*

I had held my father’s ice-cold hand in the morgue.

I had watched Chloe confess behind the two-way glass at the precinct, looking completely shattered and out of her mind.

That red dress had been my recurring nightmare for two full years.

And now, she dared to wear it right in front of me!

Blinded by rage, I threw off the blanket and rushed forward, shoving her toward the hallway.

"Evelyn!"

Ethan grabbed my wrist, pulling me back. "Stop it!"

He moved swiftly, blocking Chloe behind him.

"She's having an episode! You know she's sick!"

"Being sick gives her the right to rip my wounds open over and over again?!"

I pointed at the red dress, tears spilling uncontrollably down my cheeks.

"She killed my dad!"

"I signed the waiver! I didn't push for prison time, and I didn't sue your family into the ground!"

"How much more am I supposed to take?!"

"Do I have to worship her on my knees before anyone considers me forgiving enough?!"

Ethan’s brow furrowed tightly. "No one is asking you to worship her."

I glared at him through blurred vision. "Then why are you yelling at me?!"

Ethan glanced back at Chloe, a flicker of raw pain flashing across his eyes.

Yet, he didn't move an inch away from her.

"Chloe isn't stable. She doesn't even know what she's doing."

"We're getting married in five days. She's going to be your family. Don't take it out on her."

I froze, completely stunned.

Ethan grabbed his jacket from the armchair and wrapped it around Chloe’s trembling shoulders.

"She's losing control today. I need to take her back to her room."

"Once I settle her down, I'll come right back to you."

The door clicked shut. Silence swallowed the bedroom.

I collapsed onto the bed, trembling with sobs.

Moments later, the door reopened. Ethan knelt before me. "Eve."

His hand reached for my shoulder, but I smacked it away.

"Don't touch me!"

He fell silent for a second, then gently pulled me into his arms anyway.

I thrashed and fought him, but his grip only tightened.

"I'm sorry. It's on me. I didn't keep an eye on her."

He pressed a soft kiss into my hair.

"The second our wedding is over, I'll have her admitted to that specialized facility abroad."

He cupped my face with both hands, using his thumbs to wipe away my tears.

"I promised your dad I would take care of you for the rest of my life. After the wedding, no one will ever bother us again."

His gaze was gentle, almost devout.

Two years ago, he had knelt outside my door just like this, eyes rimmed with red, making that exact same promise.

He told me that if I could find it in my heart to forgive Chloe, he would spend the rest of his days loving me and taking care of me in my father’s place.

It was pouring rain that night.

He stayed on his knees until he was burning with a fever. In the end, my heart softened, and I signed the leniency papers.

From that day on, I had lost my father.

And Ethan became the only person I had left in the world.

Leaning against his chest, listening to the steady beat of his heart, I finally stopped struggling.

Chapter Two