CHAPTER 1.

Natasha's POV.

I was halfway through my second cup of coffee, still in my robe, basking in the glow of finally landing a job that morning – an internship at one of the biggest hospitals in the country after months of sending out applications.

The soft morning air drifted in through the open windows, and for the first time in a long while, everything felt serene and full of hope.

Then the phone rang. My mother's voice came through the line, tight and breathless.

I sat up straighter, a knot already forming in my stomach. "Your sister. Where is she?" she asked, her voice laced with panic.

I blinked, confused. "Mom... What kind of question is that? How would I know? Isn't she at home, getting ready for her wedding?"

"No. She's gone, Natasha. Your sister is gone."

I stared ahead, not fully processing what I was hearing. Gone? What did she mean gone?

"Gone where?" I asked, already getting to my feet, my coffee forgotten, and my eyes searching for my keys as if they could somehow anchor me.

"Disappeared. Her dress is on the floor, the car's still outside. We don't know where she went."

My heart dropped. It felt hard to breathe. "I'm coming," I said and hung up, not even waiting for a response.

The drive felt endless, even though the roads were clear. My heart raced the entire time. Of all the days to disappear – why today? The day everything was supposed to be certain? And it wasn't just any wedding – it had been planned down to the tiniest detail for months.

Funded, organized, and coordinated. It was less of a love story and more of a transaction, sure, but Carol had never protested.

I pulled up in front of the house, my pulse pounding as I stepped out of the car. The front door was already open. My mother stood at the threshold, pale and frantic, her eyes red like she hadn't blinked in hours.

"She's gone, Natasha. She's really gone."

I stepped inside slowly, scanning the living room like I half-expected Carol to pop out from behind a curtain and yell surprise, and say it was all a bad joke. But no. There it was. Her wedding dress, lying on the couch, half-zipped and discarded. Like she had changed her mind halfway through putting it on.

My father stood in the center of the room, holding his phone but not doing anything with it. His shoulders were hunched. He gave me a small nod when our eyes met, but he looked like he hadn't slept at all.

"What are we going to do? We can't disappoint the groom. We can't let this kind of misfortune fall on us," my mom cried, pacing back and forth like she was going to wear a path into the floor.

"Mom, calm down," I said, trying to keep my voice even. "Maybe something is up. Let's give her a little more time. She'll come back. Carol isn't this irresponsible."

"She's been gone for two hours, Natasha," my mother snapped, her voice rising. "If it's a prank, don't you think she would've said something by now?"

She wasn't wrong.

And then, finally, my father spoke. "Natasha," he said, his voice quiet but steady, "you need to take her place."

I froze. I blinked like maybe I had heard him wrong. "What?"

"Yes," my mother jumped in quickly like she had been waiting for any kind of suggestion just to cling to it. "Your father is right. It's the only way. You're the only one who can do this."

"The groom needs a bride, Natasha. He won't reject you. You're as beautiful as your sister. Please. Do it for the family."

It hit me then. They weren't kidding. This wasn't some absurd hypothetical or a moment of temporary madness. They were serious.

"You want me to marry Carol's groom?" My voice came out flat. I said it out loud hoping it would sound as ridiculous as it felt.

"Yes," my father replied simply. "There's no one else. And the wedding was meant to be private – no guests to notice the switch."

A sharp, bitter laugh escaped my lips. It didn't even sound like me. "This is your solution? I have a boyfriend who I have already planned a future with, both of you know that, and not only that, I got a job offer this morning. Do you want me to just throw away everything I've worked for? Everything I've planned?"

My mother's voice dropped, but the desperation was still there. "Your sister vanished on the morning of her wedding, Natasha. This isn't a small matter. We can't afford to mess this up. Everything is riding on this marriage. Everything. Our family's survival depends on it."

"What about me?" I asked, my voice rising. "What about what this will do to me?"

There was silence. Neither of them answered. And maybe that silence hurt more than anything they could've said.

I looked at the dress again. Carol had picked it out so carefully. I remembered her excitement that day in the boutique. Or... maybe it hadn't been any excitement, maybe she had just been playing along and I hadn't noticed.

I felt something twist in my chest. Not quite angry, not quite sorrowful. Just... disbelief. A numbness I couldn't shake.

"I can't," I whispered. And without waiting for them to say anything else, I turned around and walked out of the house.

The tears didn't come right away. I didn't even know I was crying until I was halfway to my car and they started spilling down my cheeks – hot and fast, stinging my eyes.

My hands shook as I turned the key in the ignition, but I didn't stop. There was only one person I needed to see. Josh. My boyfriend.

He had been there through every stressful night, every late shift, and every exam breakdown.

No, I couldn't leave him. I couldn't do this to him, I couldn't break him while trying to save my parents.

We were supposed to graduate today – together. I had skipped the ceremony to support my sister on her big day, and now... everything felt like it had shattered in slow motion.

The university auditorium was buzzing with life when I arrived. Graduates laughed, tossed their caps, hugged family, and posed for pictures. I weaved through the crowd, scanning every face.

And then I saw Josh standing in the middle of the crowd, smiling not at me but at Amara, the richest girl on campus.

The one who never walked – she glided. The one who always found a way to show up uninvited, her hand on Josh's arm, her laughter just a little too loud.

She was wearing a white dress that was way too flashy for a graduation. People were gathered around them, clapping, smiling, and cheering.

My steps slowed. My breath caught. And then I saw Josh go down on one knee and brought out a little velvet box.

I couldn't move. It felt like someone had punched the breath out of me. He couldn't be proposing? No. He wasn't – he couldn't be.

But the ring, the crowd, her smile... it was all real.

And just like that, everything I had been holding onto slipped through my fingers.