Chapter 1

The room went dead silent.

Then, a derisive laugh sounded from the corner, and within seconds, everyone else joined in.

"Gordon, give it a rest. Everybody knows you're the one who practically begged Alyssa to marry you. Do you expect us to believe that you'd suddenly call off the wedding?"

One of Alyssa James' friends was laughing so hard that she doubled over, making no effort to hide the mockery in her eyes.

"Seriously. You should be grateful Alyssa agreed to marry you in the first place. Who are you trying to fool?"

One of the other groomsmen picked up where she left off, then tipped back his glass and took a long sip.

I didn't respond.

Alyssa crouched beside the trash can and retrieved the crumpled sheets of paper one at a time. She smoothed each one out, read them, then finally raised her eyes to mine.

She was remarkably calm, almost as if she had always known this day would come.

"Since you found out, I guess there's no point keeping it from you anymore. The wedding is still happening tomorrow. Just leave Lyle out of this."

I let out a laugh.

My fingers were trembling, and my chest hurt so badly.

They had betrayed me, yet Alyssa had somehow managed to make me sound like the villain.

A thousand questions crowded my mind, but when I finally opened my mouth, only one made it out.

"When did it start?"

Was it back when the two of them kept sneaking off together, only to insist it was a coincidence whenever I found out?

Or had it already started by the time the three of us would go out to eat and Alyssa automatically chose dishes she knew my best friend, Lyle Thomas, liked?

She was quiet for a few seconds before responding, "It started four years ago, on that beach trip the three of us took together."

I'd come down with a fever that day and felt so dizzy that I'd gone back to the hotel early to sleep, leaving the two of them behind to watch the sunset.

"We drank a little afterward, and things got out of hand. We slept together in the room next to yours. It was supposed to be a one-time mistake, but after that... we fell for each other."

There was even a hint of relief in her expression, as if confessing it had finally lifted a weight she'd been carrying for four years.

My fists clenched at my sides as my body began to shake.

Alyssa noticed, but all she said was, "Lyle always wanted me to keep this from you. He didn't want to ruin your life. I was the one who couldn't keep pretending anymore, so don't go after him. He's been agonizing over this even more than you have."

For a moment, I could only stare at her as the blood rushed to my head.

"He's suffering more than I am? Alyssa, Lyle and I grew up together. My dad treated him like one of his own!

"And when my dad died, the two of you couldn't even be there because you were screwing around in the place that was supposed to become our home after we got married. How can you even live with yourselves?"

I stepped forward and shoved her.

Four years of humiliation, anger, and betrayal crashed over me all at once.

Alyssa didn't fight back. She just looked at me and said, "What I did was wrong. If you need someone to blame, blame me. Just don't hurt him."

My eyes burned.

There had been a time when Alyssa couldn't stand to see me hurt. Whatever happened, she was always the first person to step in and defend me.

Now, she was standing in front of me for the same reason. Only this time, she was protecting another man.

Something inside me finally gave way, and all the strength seemed to drain out of my body at once.

"If the two of you love each other that much, then I'll make this easy for you," I said. "I'm not marrying you tomorrow."

Alyssa looked stunned.

The laughter had stopped, too. No one in the room made a sound.

She studied my face for a couple of seconds before her tone softened. "Stop being ridiculous. Everything's already been arranged. Your stylist will be here at 9:00 am tomorrow. Be ready."

With that, she opened the door and walked out.

The others exchanged glances, unsure what to do with themselves.

Nina Ashcroft cleared her throat. "I'll go check on her."

She hurried after Alyssa, and one by one, everyone else found an excuse to leave.

Soon, I was left alone in the suite.

Balloons floated near the ceiling as flowers, ribbons, and decorations filled the room in preparation for tomorrow's wedding.

Just three hours earlier, Alyssa had wrapped her arms around me with a playful pout on her lips.

"No matter what crazy challenges everyone throws at you when you come get me tomorrow, you'd better make it through all of them and take me home as your wife! For old times' sake, I might even sneak you a few answers."

Standing alone among all those flowers and balloons now, I couldn't imagine anything more ironic.

Just then, my phone vibrated.

I looked down and saw a message from Lyle.

"Gordon, I'm really sorry. Work sent me out of town at the last minute. I already had my flight booked and everything. I'll bring you a nice gift when I get back to make up for missing the wedding!"

I stared at the screen for a long time.

Then, I typed a curt response. "Drop the act. I know everything."