Chapter 1

Two hours before the wedding ceremony, I watched my fiancé pin another woman down on the bed and kiss her.

That woman was wearing my wedding dress.

Three years ago, my ex-fiancé fled on our wedding day. It was Grayson Jones who charged into the banquet hall and took me away.

He said he would never let me stand alone at a wedding again.

I waited three years for this public ceremony.

But just as I was about to deliver the vow card to him, I heard Sylvia Sterling's voice through the crack in the door. "Do I look like today's bride?"

Grayson's phone was lit up. He was sending me a message: I'm upstairs going over the program details. Don't come up yet.

He was kissing her while telling me to wait for him patiently.

I stood outside the door and tore the vow card in my hands to shreds.

This wedding. I'm not going through with it.

Claire Carter POV

Grayson and I got married three years ago, but today was finally my public wedding ceremony.

Two hours before the ceremony began, I saw Grayson pin another woman down on the bed and kiss her.

That woman was wearing my gown.

This morning, the hotel's top floor was filled with white roses. The sign outside the banquet hall was already set up, displaying both Grayson's and my names. The makeup artist stood behind me, arranging the ends of my hair.

My main wedding dress hung on the rack beside us. I'd tried it on seven times before finally choosing it.

I sat before the mirror, looking at my reflection. The ring box rested beside my hand. Beneath it was a vow card I'd finished writing at two in the morning.

I'd been waiting for this wedding for three years.

Three years ago, Grayson and I decided to marry. But his family refused to hold a ceremony.

They said my family had no power or influence, that a woman who'd been publicly rejected by her ex-fiancé didn't deserve a grand wedding.

Back then, Grayson had held my hand and said, "Claire, wait for me. Once we have the wedding, no one will ever be able to humiliate you again."

Last night, he'd sent me a message.

"After tomorrow, you'll be my wife. No one will ever be able to make you unhappy again."

I'd read that line over and over.

I believed him.

Three years ago, my ex-fiancé fled on our wedding day. All the guests laughed at me. Then Grayson charged into the banquet hall. He pulled me away from the cameras and the gossip.

He'd said he would never let me stand alone at a wedding again.

So today, I wanted to hand him the vow card personally.

When the makeup artist went to get my earrings, I picked up the ring box and slipped out of the makeup room, avoiding my bridesmaids.

Grayson's groom lounge was on the same floor as the makeup room, just down the hallway from mine.

When I reached the door, I heard a woman's suppressed laughter inside.

"Grayson, do I look good like this?"

My steps stopped.

The door wasn't fully closed. There was a gap.

Standing outside, I first saw a high heel lying on the floor, then saw the veil on the vanity table, and finally saw the wrinkled corner of the bedding.

Sylvia was wearing my gown, the shoulder straps hanging loosely on her arms.

That gown was one I'd personally selected. My initials were even embroidered on it.

But now, Grayson stood behind Sylvia, lowering his head to adjust her shoulder straps upward.

Sylvia tilted her face up to look at him. Her eyes were wet, as if she'd been crying, or as if she was seducing him.

"Do I look like today's bride?"

Grayson didn't answer.

He simply lowered his head and kissed her.

My hand gripping the ring box suddenly clenched tight. The corner of the box dug into my palm, the pain shooting numbness through my fingertips.

My phone lit up at that moment.

It was a message from Grayson.

"I'm upstairs going over the program with the host. Don't come up yet. Wait for me to come get you."

He was kissing Sylvia while telling me to wait obediently for him.

Through the gap in the door, Sylvia seemed to hear something. Her eyes suddenly shifted toward the doorway.

She saw me.

But she didn't hide. Instead, she smiled softly and reached out to touch the veil on the vanity table.

The veil I was supposed to wear as I walked down the aisle.

"Grayson, if she finds out, will she be angry?"

Grayson's voice dropped. "Don't make trouble. Nothing can go wrong with the wedding today."

"What if she refuses to marry you?"

Silence for a few seconds.

Then I heard Grayson say, "She's very sensible. All the guests have arrived. She won't embarrass everyone."

That sentence felt like a hand pressing me back into that failed wedding from three years ago.

I stared at the vow card in my hand. The first line read: Thank you for not leaving me standing alone at a wedding again.

How pathetic.

The sincerity I'd written with my own hand felt like it had been torn open and trampled on the ground.

A staff member hurried up from downstairs. "Miss Carter, we still need to take your solo portraits. The coordinator is asking for you."

I didn't push the door open.

I didn't charge inside.

I didn't ask Grayson why.

I simply refolded the vow card, tucked it back at the very bottom of the ring box, then turned and walked back to the makeup room.

The moment the makeup artist saw me, she smiled and said, "Miss Carter, you look wonderful. You'll photograph beautifully."

I sat back down before the mirror.

In the reflection, I wore a white wedding dress, my makeup clean, the diamond drop by my ear swaying slightly.

Nothing about me had changed.

Yet suddenly I felt like this wedding dress was something someone else had worn and discarded, making me feel dirty.

The makeup artist picked up the veil, about to place it on my head.

I raised my hand to stop her.

My voice was soft.

"Can we use a new one?"