Chapter 1

The fifth time Julian missed our wedding, my best friend Mia sent me a message.

Evie, I'm so sorry. Something urgent came up at the firm. I can't make it as your maid of honor today. Next time, I promise!

I was about to reply when a notification lit up my screen.

Sunrise, cold air, and you. Perfect. We really are two romantic lunatics!

The girl beaming in the photo was Mia. And the tall figure with his arm around her shoulders—that was unmistakably Julian.

My fingers tightened around the skirt of my dress as I scrolled down through the account.

So this was the truth—every day they'd left me behind—my birthday, my mother's funeral, those last four weddings—they'd been together the whole time.

Seven years of love with Julian. Ten years of friendship with Mia.

And what it had bought me were five abandoned weddings, and a betrayal that had lasted for years.

In that moment, something inside me went quiet and final.

Under her post, I typed one line.

Truly romantic. The wedding and the groom—they're all yours.

……

The post vanished almost instantly.

The account went blank a second later.

Mia's messages came one after another.

Evie, I can explain.

It's really not what you think.

Please don't do this.

A moment later, Julian sent a message too.

Evie, calm down. My fault for not telling you sooner. We really are working. Don't overthink it. We'll talk when I get back.

We really are working. We'll talk when I get back.

A lie I'd heard countless times.

I swiped their messages away, one by one.

Explanations didn't matter anymore. Soon, I'd be gone.

I opened another thread and calmly typed a message.

In seven days, I'll bring the research portfolio you wanted and join your company in New York.

Ethan Shaw replied almost immediately.

I'll be waiting.

I stood, took off my veil, and looked around at the wedding venue we'd put together. My eyes stung.

I could still hear Mia laughing the day she helped me decorate it.

"God, Julian's getting such a bargain. He gets to marry someone as beautiful as you. If I were a man, I'd have married you long before he ever got the chance."

Back then, she'd helped me arrange the venue and gone with me to try on gowns.

In the end, she was the reason I'd been abandoned at the altar. Five times.

Just then, the wedding planner walked over. "Ms. Hart, the ceremony time has passed. Should we reschedule, the same as before?"

My nails dug into my palm.

"No," I said. "There won't be a next time."

She hesitated. "Ms. Hart, you purchased our annual planning package. The fee is nonrefundable if you don't hold the wedding. Are you sure you don't want to think it over?"

"You and Mr. Foster have been together for eight years. Whatever the problem is, I'm sure it can be worked out."

I lifted my right hand and looked at the cheap ring on my middle finger.

Julian had told me once: "Evie, I don't have much right now. But when I do, I'll buy you the most beautiful diamond in the world."

But I'd seen the diamond he'd given Mia on her private account.

A Cartier.

Two hundred thousand dollars.

He'd never given me anything close.

Knockoff bracelets from street stalls. Discounted perfume. Cheap substitutes.

Those were the gifts I'd gotten in exchange for eight years.

I pulled the ring off and dropped it into the trash can by my feet.

"The problem is him," I said. "So I'm solving the problem by removing him."

The pale mark it left behind was all that remained of what we'd once been.

Seeing how firm I was, the planner stopped trying to change my mind.

I went back to my apartment and sank onto the couch. My chest felt sliced open, and the pain made it hard to breathe.

At three in the morning, the front door swung open.

Julian walked in, still wearing the matching hiking jacket from Mia's post.

A week earlier, Mia had asked me if I thought that jacket looked nice.

Back then, I'd thought she meant to give me one. I'd stupidly said, "If we each wore one, we'd look great together."

She refused, smiling as she hooked her arm around my shoulder.

"You're not in great shape, Evie. You could never hike. I'll just switch between the two."

I believed her.

But it turned out Julian had given it to her.

Two thousand dollars each. A famous couples' brand.

Julian saw me in the dim light, and his voice came out tired.

"Mia was so upset she made me push work back and come home."

"Evie, what are you overthinking now? Can't you give us a moment of peace?"

I stood.

"You had a business emergency on a mountaintop? Or do you think I'm stupid enough to keep pretending after ninety-nine flirty posts between the two of you?"

Julian looked away. His voice softened as he reached for my wrist.

"Evie, I went hiking with her because I didn't want her going alone. The business trip was real. Stop being unreasonable."

The dull ache in my chest made it hard to breathe.

I pulled my wrist free and looked into his eyes.

"When I was seventeen and three thugs chased me for three blocks and I nearly died, you were working late. You told me not to make a scene. And now you're telling me you were worried she wouldn't be safe on a hike?"

I shook my head and gave a bitter smile.

"Julian Foster. Let's break up."