Chapter 1

Lily's POV

After sending the resignation letter, I looked up. Lucas Karev was serving soup to his ‘fiancée’, Tate Hale.

The happiest person at the table right now was Lucas' mother, Alison Karev. She pulled a family heirloom bracelet from a jewelry box and slipped it directly onto Tate’s wrist.

Tate frantically tried to decline, saying, “Alison, this bracelet means so much to you. I can’t accept it.”

“You're about to marry Lucas, so why can’t you accept it?”

“But…” Tate’s face flushed even more.

Lucas backed Alison up, settling the matter. “Just keep it.”

Tate looked toward me sitting in the corner and silently mouthed, “I’m sorry.”

For three whole years, all she had done was apologize to me. She would apologize for taking my place, for having to share a bed with my boyfriend, and for taking the engagement gifts that should have belonged to me.

I picked up my glass of wine and downed it in one gulp. I choked so hard that tears nearly fell from my eyes.

One after another, the family took turns congratulating them on their upcoming marriage, while I sat there like a complete outsider.

Just this morning, Lucas had held me in his arms and said, “Lily, you’ve suffered so much over the last few years. Tonight, I will make everything clear to my mom. I want to marry you.”

Full of hope, I had spent two hours putting on my makeup and wore my most expensive dress—all to leave a good impression on his family. Yet, when he announced his wedding, I wasn’t the bride.

“Hey.” Someone called out to me, “Your best friend is getting married. Why haven’t you congratulated them?”

Every single pair of eyes instantly turned toward me.

I held my glass tightly and raised a toast to Lucas. “I wish the both of you… a long and happy marriage.”

Lucas’s tone was a lot colder than anyone else’s. “Thank you.”

He had always been like this. The moment we stepped into his family home, he would treat me like a stranger.

He claimed he didn’t want Alison to overthink things. He said that since I was Tate’s best friend, we had to keep our distance. We couldn’t even talk to each other in person—only through text messages.

When the banquet ended, I hid out alone on the balcony. Uncharacteristically, Lucas came over and wrapped his arms around me from behind.

“Lily, I’m sorry. I was originally going to come clean. But my mother’s health started declining again… If she found out I’ve been lying to her all this time, she wouldn’t be able to handle it…”

Swallowing down the bitterness, I feigned composure. “Are you really going to marry Tate?”

Lucas’s body went stiff, and he held me even tighter. “This is the absolute last time. Once she and I finish this act, we’ll get married.”

“Lucas, I–”

Before I could finish, Tate called out to him from inside.

Lucas didn’t even bother asking what I wanted to say. He merely told me we’d talk later before hurrying away, as if nothing ever happened.

Just as I reached for the doorknob, Alison’s voice came from the door. “Lucas, how many times have I told you not to bring strangers into our house?”

A family member chimed in from the side. “Lucas, this is a family-only event. How dare she crash our dinner? That girl looks like trouble. During dinner, she couldn’t take her eyes off you…”

Tate tried to help explain, “Alison, Lily isn’t that kind of person.”

However, Alison frowned and replied, “Do you think I can’t see what’s on her mind? Lucas, don’t you dare walk the same path your father did.”

Lucas had told me before that when his father had an affair years ago, he sued Alison in court just to protect his mistress. Now, I had become the homewrecker she despised most.