Chapter 1

I'd put up with nine absurd wedding delays.

The first time, it was Raphael's mother and her "sudden flu."

She called to apologize in a weak voice. "Vera, I've suddenly come down with the flu, and the doctor says it's very contagious. We have to cancel the wedding!"

The second time, Raphael's best friend had an "accident" on his way over.

"Sorry, Vera. If I miss my chance to carry Cosima on my back during the bouquet toss at my best friend's wedding, I'll regret it forever. We go way back, so please wait a little longer, okay?"

The third time, the fourth time... all the way to the ninth.

Every time, right before the wedding, a different friend showed up with some ridiculous excuse, and every time, my wedding fell through.

Until now.

When Raphael glanced at me again, clearly working up to something, I didn't even look up. By now, it was almost a reflex: I texted every guest to say the wedding was postponed.

"I've already postponed it. Go ahead. What's the 'legitimate' reason this time?"

Raphael froze for a second at the sarcasm in my voice. Then, with practiced ease, he pulled out his phone and held it up for me to see.

"It's your best friend, Sofia. Her flight's been delayed. She's stuck at the airport and can't make it to our wedding."

He watched my face carefully and softened his voice.

"Babe, didn't you say she had to be your maid of honor? That you wanted to give her the bouquet yourself?

"I just want to give you the perfect wedding."

Sofia's apology video played on the screen. She sounded sincere, dabbing at her eyes every so often.

But I recognized the restaurant behind her. Cosima's brand-new Hermès bag was already on the chair beside her. Sofia had made it back from Paris; Cosima had simply talked her into missing my wedding.

"Vera, I know you're upset, but nobody saw this delay coming, right?"

Raphael sighed and gazed at me tenderly.

"Maybe this is all part of God's plan."

God's plan, my ass!

I watched him pretend to be a devoted fiancé, and nausea swept over me.

"Sweetheart, I'll pick a new date for the wedding. Next time..."

I cut him off.

"You're right. It's all part of God's plan. So let's cancel the wedding."

That was the moment the villainess woke up.

Raphael and I had been in love for four years. When he got down on one knee and proposed, I ignored my father's fierce objections and left my last name behind for good. All I wanted was to marry him.

We were supposed to get married three months ago and start the happy life I'd always dreamed of.

But everything changed the moment the heroine, Cosima, came back to Sicily.

Cosima was Raphael's adopted sister, though they weren't related by blood. She was also the woman he loved but couldn't have, and he didn't dare admit it.

He needed me as his fiancée to keep up appearances and prove he and Cosima were only siblings. Cosima hid behind the label of "sister." She basked in his favoritism even when it crossed every line, and twisted every question about it into proof that I was jealous.

Around Cosima, the man I loved and my friends lost every brain cell they had.

All she had to do was call for her big brother. Even if she had only a tiny scrape, they'd drop everything and race to her side.

Just like today.

I used to believe that if I gave enough of myself, Raphael would love me.

Now I could see what a fool I'd been.

"It's just a postponed wedding. Why are you throwing such a fit?"

Raphael frowned, impatience clear in his voice.

"Cosima was right. Maybe you should see a therapist. Normal people don't act like this in a relationship."

His phone rang as soon as he'd finished speaking. The moment he saw who was calling, the reproach in his eyes softened into tenderness.

In the four years I'd spent chasing him, he'd looked at me like that only once, the night we slept together.

"I've got something to take care of. Go home and think about what you did. I'll pretend I never heard any of that."

His car sped off and left me standing alone on the empty road.

Think about what I did?

To be with Raphael, I'd hidden the fact that I was the only heir to the Sterling family. I'd cared for his family and worked as his personal doctor for four years without a single complaint.

And after all that, he told me to go home and think about what I'd done?

Ha. He was right about one thing. I needed to take a long, hard look at my life.