Chapter 1: The Perfect Lie

Victoria's Pov

The barn looked like something out of a magazine.

String lights hung from the rafters, casting a warm glow over everything. White roses covered every table. The smell of expensive perfume and barbecue mixed in the Texas heat. Everyone I'd ever known was here, dressed in their best, smiling at me like I'd finally done something right.

I stood near the entrance in my perfect red dress, watching my parents greet guests. My mother kept touching my father's arm, pointing at the decorations, her face glowing with pride. This was everything she'd dreamed of for me.

"You look beautiful, baby," she'd whispered earlier while fixing my hair. "I knew you'd make us proud."

The words had settled in my chest like stones.

Make them proud. That's what tonight was about. Proving that little Victoria Hale from nowhere Texas had built a real life in New York. That she'd found a successful man who wanted her. That she wasn't just the girl who left town chasing dreams too big for her.

I smoothed down my dress for the hundredth time and looked around for Carl.

He was across the room, laughing with a group of older men. Probably talking politics. He looked good in his navy suit, his hair perfect, his smile bright. Everyone loved him. My father had shaken his hand so hard I thought he might break it. My mother had actually teared up when Carl complimented her cooking.

He was everything I'd wanted. Everything I'd worked for.

So why did my stomach feel like it was full of rocks?

"Victoria!" My cousin Bianca glided over, her dress too tight and her smile too wide. "This is gorgeous. You really outdid yourself."

"Thanks." I forced myself to smile back. "I'm glad you could make it."

"Wouldn't miss it for the world." Her eyes swept over me, assessing. "Carl's very handsome. You're lucky."

There was something in her tone I couldn't quite read. Something sharp under the sweetness.

"I know," I said.

"Must be nice, landing someone so ambitious. So connected." She sipped her champagne, her gaze drifting to where Carl stood. "I bet he's going places."

"He is."

"And you'll be right there with him. The supportive wife." Her smile didn't reach her eyes. "That's what you always wanted, right? To matter?"

The words hit harder than they should have. Before I could respond, my mother called my name.

"Excuse me," I said, grateful for the escape.

I spent the next hour playing hostess. Smiling. Thanking people for coming. Accepting congratulations on my engagement. Everyone wanted to know about New York, about Carl, about the wedding plans.

"When's the big day?" Mrs. Henderson asked, the woman who'd taught me Sunday school as a kid.

"We haven't set a date yet," I said for the twentieth time.

"Well, don't wait too long. A man like that won't stay on the market forever."

The comment made my skin crawl, but I kept smiling.

Carl caught my eye from across the room. He raised his glass slightly, his expression unreadable. Then he turned back to his conversation without waiting for me to respond.

Something twisted in my chest.

I excused myself and headed toward the back of the barn where the hallway led to the bathrooms. I needed a minute. Just one minute to breathe without performing.

The hallway was dimly lit, cooler than the main room. I leaned against the wall and closed my eyes, letting the noise fade behind me.

That's when I heard it. A laugh; Low and intimate. Coming from the storage room at the end of the hall. Carl's laugh.

My feet moved before my brain could catch up. I walked toward the sound, my heels clicking against the concrete floor.

The storage room door was cracked open. Light spilled through the gap.

I pushed it wider. And my entire world shattered.

Carl had Bianca pressed against the wall, his mouth on hers, his hands in her hair. She was laughing between kisses, her fingers tugging at his collar.

They broke apart when they heard me. But neither of them looked surprised. Neither of them looked guilty. They looked annoyed.

"Victoria," Carl said, straightening his tie like I'd interrupted a business meeting. "We need to talk."

I couldn't breathe. Couldn't move. Couldn't process what I was seeing.

"What..." The word came out broken. "What is this?"

"This is me being honest for once." Carl's voice was cold. Clinical. Like he was explaining a simple concept to someone slow. "I'm not marrying you, Victoria. I never was."

The floor tilted beneath me.

"What are you talking about? We're engaged. Everyone's here. Your ring is on my finger."

"That ring was a placeholder. A prop." He stepped away from Bianca, adjusting his jacket. "I needed a date to events. Someone presentable while I built my network. You were convenient."

Each word was a knife.

"You said you loved me."

"I said what I needed to say." He checked his watch like this conversation was wasting his time. "Come on, Victoria. You're not stupid. You had to know something was off. I was never home. Never interested. Never really there."

Tears burned behind my eyes. "Then why bring me here? Why do this in front of my family?"

"Because Bianca's family has the connections I actually need. Her father's a state senator. Her uncle's a major donor. That's the kind of family a man with political ambitions marries into." He glanced at Bianca, who smirked. "Not some middle-class event planner from nowhere."

The cruelty of it stole my breath.

"You're lying," I whispered. "This isn't real. You're just... you're having some kind of breakdown."

"I'm having a breakthrough." Carl's smile was pitying. "I'm choosing the life I actually want. With someone who can help me get there."

Bianca stepped forward, linking her arm through Carl's. "Sorry, cousin. But some of us are born for bigger things. You understand."

I looked at her. At the triumph in her eyes. At the way she held onto Carl like a prize she'd won.

This was planned. They'd planned this.

"Does everyone know?" My voice came out small. Broken. "Is this whole dinner some kind of joke?"

"Not yet," Carl said. "But they will in about five minutes. I'm going to make an announcement. Tell everyone the truth. That you misunderstood our relationship. That you got a little too attached and started planning a wedding that was never happening."

"No." The word came out desperate. "No, you can't. Please. My parents…"

"Will be embarrassed. Yes. But that's not really my problem." He checked his watch again. "We should head back. People will start wondering where we are."

He walked past me like I was furniture. Bianca followed, pausing at the door to look back.

"Don't make a scene, Victoria. It's pathetic."

Then they were gone.

I stood alone in the storage room, the sounds of the party drifting down the hallway. Laughter. Music. The clinking of glasses.

Everyone was out there celebrating. Waiting for me. Expecting me to be happy.

And I was about to lose everything in front of all of them.

My legs stopped working. I slid down the wall until I was sitting on the cold floor, my perfect red dress pooling around me.

This couldn't be happening. This was supposed to be my night. My moment. The proof that I'd made something of myself.

Instead, I was about to be humiliated in front of everyone I'd ever known by the man I'd built my entire future around.

I heard the sound system feedback in the main room. Someone tapping a microphone.

Carl's voice carried down the hallway, smooth and confident.

"could I have everyone's attention, please. I have an announcement to make about tonight's celebration."

I closed my eyes. This was it.

The end of everything.