Chapter 1

I stopped dead in my tracks.

My eyes moved across the wall of photographs, which showed Evangeline Caspian from the age of eighteen to twenty-eight.

He had carefully written a date beneath each one.

[April 18, 2016. You saved my life in the snow. I swore I would spend the rest of my life looking after you.]

[March 16, 2026. Even if I am not the one you love, I'll remove every obstacle in your way.]

Hunter Stormvale had circled "obstacle" in red and written my name beside it.

[Juniper Chesterfield.]

My ears rang.

I had spent six years trying to win his heart, but I never imagined that every kindness he had shown me was all part of a plan.

It was so absurd that I started to quiver.

I heard someone outside. I put the photo back on the wall and stepped out, pretending I had seen nothing.

That was when I ran into Evangeline.

Her bright red dress was impossible to miss. She held out an arm to stop me, her beautiful face alight with amusement.

"Juniper, I've got good news. Gareth and I are getting married. Weren't you chasing him around like a dog, begging him to marry you? Are you coming to our wedding?"

Hunter had given me a ring like the one on her finger.

Mine was a small diamond ring. I had worn it on my ring finger for six years and treasured it.

Its diamond was not even a tenth the size of hers.

I was done biting my tongue.

"Does Gareth know you've been playing both of them?"

Her expression turned livid. "What are you talking about?"

"Are you going to deny stringing Hunter along while you were dating Gareth? Or taking credit for saving Hunter's life and taking advantage of him for ten years?"

I was the one who had saved Hunter in the snow ten years ago.

He had been thrown out of his gang, with his limbs broken. I had taken pity on him and saved his life.

Gareth Owen stepped in front of Evangeline to shield her. His face darkened as he turned on me. "Do you think everyone plays men the way you do? When you couldn't have me, you went after Hunter. Have you no shame?"

"Don't blame Juniper."

Evangeline backed away from me with tears streaming down her face.

"I shouldn't have taken you from her. Of course she resents me. But Juniper, even if you hate me, you can't go around making things up about me!"

She cried harder and even dropped to her knees in front of me.

"You hate me because Gareth pushed you into a rival's line of fire to save me, don't you? Fine. You can shoot me too!"

She pressed a loaded gun into my hand. There was a nasty little smile on her face.

A deafening gunshot rang out.

The bullet grazed Evangeline's arm. Blood spilled across the floor.

It was a clumsy stunt, but enough to win everyone's sympathy.

"Evangeline!"

Someone rushed over and pulled her into his arms, frantically checking her wound.

Hunter glared at me with such hatred that I might as well have been his worst enemy.

"Juniper, apologize!"

I scoffed. "Why should I?"

He flew into a rage. "Did you even think about what could've happened? What if your hand had slipped and you'd killed her? I already promised to marry you. Why did you have to hurt her?"

Only then did I see how openly he had favored Evangeline all along. I just had never noticed it before.

"What does marrying me have to do with Evangeline?"

The question caught him off guard.

He realized that he had given himself away.

He took a deep breath and lit a cigarette.

The flame from his lighter flickered across his handsome, sharply defined face.

After a long pause, he pulled himself together and managed a strained smile.

"Don't overthink it. I was just looking out for you. Evangeline means everything to Gareth. He won't let you get away with shooting her. Just apologize, and we'll move our wedding up."

I was about to refuse when the system spoke.

"Mission failed. Your body will die in three days."

Hunter handed me the loaded gun.

Under the gang's rules, apologizing meant shooting myself too.

In my current condition, another bullet would only hasten my death.

Still hoping he would change his mind, I looked into his eyes and asked, "Are you sure about this, Hunter?"