Chapter 1

"Have you made up your mind? If I take responsibility, you can't see anyone else. That accident wasn't entirely my fault."

His voice came through the phone, calm and distant, yet strangely steadying.

"I've thought it through. I won't regret it."

Until today, I had never imagined I would end up asking a man I had never even met face-to-face, the one who took my first time, to marry me.

And just like that, the memories came flooding back.

Derick Tucker and I had grown up together. That day was supposed to be our engagement.

Instead, Teresa Marshall got me drunk, and I ended up sleeping with someone else.

The alcohol blurred parts of my memory, but I clearly remembered Teresa being the one who walked me back to the room.

I rushed to confront her, only to find out she had fallen off an overpass in a reckless moment and ended up in a vegetative state. I couldn't help but think she got what she deserved.

But when with Derick, I still feel like I let him down.

I told him everything and said I would call off the wedding.

He refused.

"I still love you," he said.

At that moment, I was overwhelmed.

"But I do care that you're not a virgin anymore, so here's the deal. You spend five years pursuing me, and we'll call it even."

Even with such a harsh condition, I agreed without hesitation. I treated those five years like a sentence I had to serve. I told myself that once it was over, we could start fresh.

But just when we finally made it to the point of discussing a wedding date, something in him changed.

At first, it was just tipping streamers who pushed the line.

Then, it turned into real actions.

Eventually, it escalated into nights he didn't come home at all, drifting from one woman to another.

I knew he was getting back at me. Still, I kept telling myself to hold on, that this second chance was too precious to lose.

Until the day I got that photo of him and Teresa in bed.

I rushed to the bar where he was, desperate for an explanation. He was sitting at the counter, smoking, looking completely at ease.

One of his friends nudged him. "You're about to get married. Why mess around now?"

Derick scoffed.

"I do love Summer, but every time I think about how she gave herself to someone else before me, it disgusts me. So I gave my first time to Teresa. Call it even. After that, I'll settle down and be a good husband."

I didn't want him anymore.

That accident wasn't even my fault. He had been punishing me for five years. Wasn't that enough?

The weight of it all crushed me.

I thought of Philip Smith, the man who had also been set up.

"I didn't mean for it to happen," he told me back then, "but I did take your first time. If you're willing, I can marry you."

When I tried to run in a panic, he grabbed my hand.

"It's okay. Take your time. My offer doesn't expire."

He hadn't lied.

Five years later, I called him, and without even asking why, he took care of the marriage paperwork.

Maybe being with him was better than staying with someone who hated me.

I pushed the memories aside and rubbed my temples. "Can you send someone to pick me up tonight? I'm getting married tomorrow. I don't want to get married…"

He chuckled softly. "Just wait there. I'll come get you myself. Consider it the wedding pickup.

"Alright," I replied. "I'll make a reservation for you. That place isn't open to the public."

"No need. A place that small? I could buy it outright."