Chapter 4

Three days later, on the day of the wedding.

I sat in front of the vanity, watching my mother's reflection in the mirror as she brushed my hair.

Her expression was warm and tender. No sign of anything amiss.

Suddenly, I asked, "Mom, do you think… I'll be happy?"

My mother's hand froze for a beat.

She lifted her eyes and met mine in the mirror. Her look was hard to read—somewhere between reproach and helplessness.

"Emma, you're marrying the man you love most. How could you not be happy?"

"Think about Serena—"

She stopped, unable to go on.

I tugged at the corner of my mouth.

If I didn't know the truth, I would have thought she meant Serena's marriage was unhappy.

But now, I knew perfectly well what she meant—that I had stolen Serena's happiness. That I had stolen Serena's man.

I'd always known my parents favored Serena.

In this family, Serena was the good daughter—Ivy League, followed the rules, married and had a baby the way the church wanted.

Later, when her marriage failed and she came home with Mason, my parents' guilt and favoritism only doubled. They kept her cradled in their palms.

And I was always the other one. Even now, with her marriage in ruins, she was still my parents' pride. I wasn't.

I just hadn't imagined they could take the favoritism this far.

Helping their older daughter sleep with their younger daughter's fiancé.

Not a shred of guilt. If anything, they blamed me—as if I were the one who had stolen their older daughter's happiness.

"Yeah," I sighed. "I'm marrying the man I love most."

"But do you think he loves me back the same way?"

"Mom." I tilted my head up to look at her. "Have you ever loved me the way I've loved you?"

My mother froze.

In that instant, I clearly saw the panic flash in her eyes.

But she recovered.

"Of course I have." Her smile was flawless. "No one in this world loves you more than your mother."

"Serena just hasn't been as fortunate as you. Mom can't help favoring her a little more."

The cold crept into my chest.

She had watched me marry a man of dubious character, helped everyone lie to me and deceive me, and still called me the fortunate one.

Meanwhile, Serena—who had applied for a marriage license with Julian and was already his lawful wife—had to hide it all because she feared being talked about. She couldn't stand publicly beside him. And that was called unfortunate.

How could anyone's heart tilt this far to one side?

"Emma." My mother spoke again, meaningfully. "Marriage is sacred, but no marriage is perfect. A wife has to learn to be forgiving. She has to learn to turn a blind eye sometimes. That's what a good woman looks like in the eyes of God."

I curled my lip in mockery.

Was this really a mother's advice to her daughter?

Or was it a vaccination—warning me that once I found out anything later, I shouldn't make a fuss, shouldn't cause a scene, just turn a blind eye and get through it.

I lowered my head and hid the ice in my expression.

"Understood."

My mother nodded, satisfied, and rose to go greet the arriving guests.

Slowly, I pulled open the vanity drawer and closed my fingers tight around the USB drive inside.