Chapter 3

I gathered the broken pieces of the silver pendant one by one and carefully wrapped them in a small piece of cloth.

Not long afterward, a message arrived from the wedding planner.

[Ms. Lawrence, I forgot to ask earlier. Were you and Mr. Romano happy with today's rehearsal? Should we stick to the same schedule for the actual ceremony?]

Confused, I sent back a question mark.

A moment later, he sent over a video.

[Didn't Mr. Romano say you were worried about getting nervous on the big day, so he wanted to rehearse the entire ceremony in advance?]

I tapped on the video and played it.

There, dressed in the exact wedding attire I'd spent months choosing, were Wallace and Emma, walking arm in arm down the aisle of the wedding venue I'd painstakingly designed.

From the grand entrance to the ceremony itself, right through to the bouquet toss, they went through every part of my dream wedding as if they were the real couple.

There was only one difference between this rehearsal and the wedding I'd imagined: the vows.

I'd once asked Wallace, "Should we include our love story and all our special memories in our wedding vows?"

He'd dismissed the idea without a second thought. "There's no need for all that theatrical nonsense. As long as we build a good life together, that's what matters."

Yet now, standing before Emma, he spoke with a tenderness I'd never heard from him.

"To me, the rest of the world is nothing more than ordinary scenery, but you are the mountain peak that rises above it all. These words are meant for you alone, a one-of-a-kind gift reserved for my bride and no one else."

So, it wasn't that he thought romantic vows were unnecessary.

He'd simply never thought I was worth the effort.

When it was time for the bouquet toss, our mutual friends rushed forward to catch the flowers, laughing and cheering as they turned the rehearsal into a celebration.

"Getting to marry a woman as wonderful as Emma? Wallace, you're one lucky man!" said his best friend, Alvin Sims.

The same man used to pound his chest and assure me that he'd keep a close eye on Wallace whenever the guys went out together.

"Seeing Wallace and Emma finally have a ceremony like this feels like everything has come full circle," said Wallace's younger sister, Luisa Romano.

She'd once insisted that I was the only woman she'd ever accept as her sister-in-law.

"Exactly!" Kate chimed in. "Those two are made for each other. Some people just aren't meant to be part of the picture. Come on, let's celebrate! Nobody's leaving tonight sober!"

Some people. That was all I was to her now.

"Don't worry," Adele Bradshaw joined in. "For the sake of our leading couple's happiness, we'll make sure our villainous side character stays in the dark."

Adele was the newest assistant at Wallace's company. She'd nearly been fired several times for making careless mistakes, but I'd stepped in to defend her and spent my free time helping her learn the job, one step at a time, until she passed her probation.

I tipped my head back and fought desperately to keep my tears from falling.

In everyone's eyes, Emma was the perfect girlfriend, the ideal friend, the beloved future sister-in-law, and the woman everyone wanted to see happy.

And me?

I was nothing more than a pathetic fool trying to cling to a happiness that had never been mine.

The wedding planner sent another message.

[Mr. Romano has agreed to let us use this video as a sample for future clients. In exchange, we can offer you a 20 percent discount on the final bill. Would that work for you?]

So, Wallace wasn't even bothering to hide what he'd done anymore.

I stared at the screen for a moment, then began typing my reply, one deliberate character at a time.

[There's no need for a discount. I'll pay double. Just prepare a new set of wedding invitations with Emma Berry listed as the bride, and have them delivered directly to Wallace tomorrow afternoon.]