Chapter 1

My mother, Beatrice Rossi, was there, along with several of the Rossi family's longtime advisers and the Lamberto family's lawyer.

Red wine and a cake sat on the table. The cake read: Adrian & Livia.

Livia Rossi sat beside Adrian Lamberto, the Rossi family heirloom pinned to the chest of her white dress.

My expression turned to ice. That heirloom was what my father, Lorenzo Rossi, had left to me.

Half a year ago, Adrian had said its hidden clasp was worn and needed to be sent out for restoration. He'd also promised to return it to me himself on the day of our engagement.

Now it was on Livia.

Anger surged up in my chest. I nearly demanded right then and there why he would give her even the one thing my father had left me.

But everyone in the living room looked perfectly at ease, and Adrian showed no sign of intending to explain.

When my mother saw me, her tone was casual. "Selena, come here. Your sister's situation is settled. We're finalizing the engagement ceremony for three days from now."

I looked at Adrian. He avoided my eyes, and the anger in my chest only grew heavier.

My mother followed my gaze and frowned. "It's only for a month. Livia has been frail since she was little. She's never been able to take part in family affairs the way you have.

"The trust fund your grandfather set up is the only thing she can count on.

"Besides, Adrian has promised he'll come back to you once it's over. You two have been together for seven years. One ceremony won't make a difference."

I let out a cold laugh. "And you're throwing them an engagement ceremony too?"

Livia clutched Adrian's sleeve. "The Trust Board only recognizes a public engagement ceremony. The paperwork alone isn't enough.

"Selena, the venue, the band, and the dress you ordered are all perfect for it."

She paused a while, her tone pleading. "Let me borrow it for one night, okay?"

No one in the living room said a word.

As I looked at them, all I could feel was how absurd this was.

They had worked out the entire program before bothering to call me back to hear the verdict.

I had no interest in playing the loving sisters in front of all these people, so I turned and went upstairs to my room.

Adrian followed me in and shut the door. "Selena, don't make this ugly."

I opened the closet and pulled down a suitcase. "So?"

"Let her have the ceremony. In a month, I'll make it up to you with an even better one."

I opened a drawer. Inside were three engagement ceremony planning binders.

The guest list, the seating chart, the entrance order for the family representatives. I had written every page by hand.

Adrian had never once looked at them properly.

I had meant to spell it out for him: this was my engagement ceremony, the one I had waited seven years for.

But when he looked at me, there was nothing on his face but impatience.

I tossed the binders into the trash and said with a shrug, "Cancel it."

His face darkened. "Are you done making a scene? If Livia doesn't get the trust fund, the branch families will immediately petition for an audit of the Rossi assets."

I looked at him and scoffed. "The Rossi assets? Does the heirloom my father left me count as a Rossi asset? Who said she could wear it?"

Something flickered in Adrian's eyes. "That's... she's only borrowing it. She needs something that proves the Rossi family recognizes her.

"Besides, I'm still going to marry you in the end. Do you really have to nitpick over these little things?"

Marry me? I laughed to myself.

What he didn't know was that in three days, I would be someone else's wife.