Chapter 2

I returned to my rented apartment. The first thing I did was open my laptop.

I canceled the banquet venue and the photographer. Returned the wedding gown. Withdrew the guest list.

Every refund was routed back to my account.

Nathan didn't know that this entire wedding had been funded by me from start to finish.

Mrs. Whitmore had said the family was tight on cash flow and asked me to cover things for now.

"We'll be family soon enough. What difference does it make whose name is on the bill?"

Three million dollars.

Thirty-six tables for the banquet, three wedding gowns, interior décor for the new apartment, honeymoon flights—even the gold-foil embossing on the invitations. All of it, my money.

My father had asked me once:

"Claire, is it really worth spending like this before you're even married?"

At the time, I'd said it was worth it.

Because I loved Nathan Whitmore.

Loved him enough that every time he put Lily ahead of me, I still made excuses for him.

Loved him enough that when Mrs. Whitmore made me sign that nondisclosure agreement, I didn't fight back.

Looking back now, that wasn't devotion.

It was stupidity.

My phone rang.

It was my mother.

"Claire, why is everyone in the family group chat saying the wedding's off? What happened?"

"Mom, I'm not getting married."

She was quiet for a few seconds.

"Did he hurt you?"

My nose stung.

"Yeah."

My mother said only one thing:

"Come home."

The doorbell rang then.

I opened the door. Nathan stood outside, holding a document envelope.

"Reinstate the hotel."

I didn't let him in.

"That's not possible."

"My mother's blood pressure spiked."

"Then take her to a hospital. I'm not a doctor."

"Claire, don't take your anger out on your elders."

"I paid for the wedding. I canceled the wedding. How is that taking anything out on anyone?"

He held back his temper and thrust the envelope at me.

"I'll pay you back. Just sign this first."

I opened it and glanced inside.

Property transfer documents for the new apartment.

I'd put two million toward the down payment.

On those documents, next to Claire Bennett, it clearly stated: voluntary full transfer of property rights to Lily Hart.

I looked up at him.

"What is this?"

He said it like it was the most natural thing in the world.

"Lily doesn't have any property under her name. She needs it for a business license application. It's just temporary—her name on the title. It won't affect you living there."

"My money bought that apartment, and you want her name on it?"

"Once we're married, we're all family. Stop drawing such hard lines."

"She and I are not family."

Nathan's jaw was tight with anger.

"Do you have to make everything this ugly? Who's the one losing face here, you or me?"

His phone rang.

Lily was crying on the other end.

"Nathan, did I cause a fight between you two? I'll move out right now. I won't let Claire misunderstand anymore."

Nathan's tone shifted instantly.

"Shh, you didn't do anything wrong. Stay put. I'm coming right back."

After hanging up, he looked at me.

"She's already miserable enough. Do you have to push her?"

I asked:

"What about me?"

He didn't answer.

I asked again:

"Don't I get to feel miserable?"

He looked away.

"Don't compare yourself to her. You and she are different."

When those words landed, I actually laughed.

Seven years. He'd been protecting Lily so long it had become reflex.

Whether I was in pain, humiliated, or wronged—none of it even registered with him.

He tossed out one last line before stepping into the elevator:

"Go apologize to Lily tomorrow. The wedding is back on."

The elevator doors closed.

I looked down at the property documents.

At the bottom of the envelope was a screenshot.

Mrs. Whitmore, texting Lily:

"We'll let her find out about the property after the wedding. Once a woman's married into the family, she'll behave."

Lily's reply:

"Don't worry, Auntie. She can't bear to lose Nathan."

Followed by a smiley face.

I stared at that screenshot for a long time.

So this wasn't a wedding. It was a trap they'd dug for me.