Chapter 1

Ciara's POV

"Ciara, all I want is to be by Keith's side. That'll be enough for me," Madeline Lively said with a smug little smile, lifting her chin at me.

I steadied my wineglass and let out a dry, humorless laugh.

"Did it really have to be done like this?"

The smile on her face froze. "Don't push it, Ciara."

My fiancé, Keith Hummel, frowned at me. This was the first time all evening he'd shown any emotion, and it was all in defense of someone else.

Sensing the awkwardness, my coworkers hurried to intervene.

"Ms. Coleman, we weren't trying to keep this from you on purpose. You're always so busy, and that's why Maddy married Mr. Hummel without telling you."

"Yeah. You should try to move on. Don't take it to heart."

"When did you get married?" I asked Keith, my voice so steady it surprised even me.

He avoided my gaze, his expression perfectly calm.

"Last Saturday."

Last Saturday… He'd sent me to pick up an important client that day. I waited at the airport for three hours, only to be told that I'd followed the navigation to the wrong location.

In the end, I sent him message after message, apologizing and promising I'd never make such a mistake again.

Only then did he reluctantly forgive me.

As it turned out, while he was spinning lies to make me feel sick with guilt, he was actually happily taking his young sweetheart to get married.

My eyes inexplicably started to sting.

I raised my glass and threw it back in one go, grabbed my purse, and walked out without looking back.

Behind me, one of my coworkers asked, "Mr. Hummel, aren't you worried Ms. Coleman will throw a tantrum at you?"

"She's always been sensible. She'll think it through on her own."

Always been sensible.

Yet once upon a time, everyone knew me as the spoiled, willful heiress. He was the one who showed up outside my dorm every day with flowers and a cup of coffee, saying, "Ciara, be with me, and you'll never have to learn to be sensible."

Later, for his sake, I fell out with my family and stood by his side as he built his business from scratch. We lived in basements, and I lost count of the cold shoulders we received. And just to bring in more investments for him, I drank until my stomach bled.

No matter how little he needed me to be "sensible", I had spent the past ten years quietly learning to be exactly that.

Back then, he'd hold me in his arms and swear that he'd give me a good life again. Eventually, he kept his promise. We got a bigger house and nicer cars.

And now, he was using that as an excuse to assume I'd accept whatever outrageous things he chose to do.

I pressed a hand to my chest, feeling like I couldn't breathe.

…

After taking a cab home, I stood staring at the wedding portrait hanging on the wall. The warm yellow light fell on the face of the man kneeling on one knee, kissing the back of my hand.

The illusion of happiness shattered, leaving behind nothing but mockery.

Without a second thought, I stepped forward and took the framed photo off the wall. Just as I was about to toss it into the storage room, Keith happened to come home.

He took one look at my expressionless face and took the frame from my hands.

"Ciara, you're not that young anymore," he said with a helpless sigh. "Can you stop throwing tantrums like Maddy? I don't have the energy to coddle you."

He spoke as if nothing had happened.

A faint citrus scent lingered in the air. It was the perfume Madeline always wore.

I fought back the nausea rising in my stomach and looked up at him.

"Why did it have to be today?"

Keith paused mid-motion, about to hang the wedding photo back on the wall.

"What?"

"Why choose to tell me the truth at the dinner party today?"

Why had he chosen to humiliate me in front of so many people when he clearly used to hate seeing me suffer more than anything?

The living room fell silent for a moment.

Keith lowered his hands and set the frame against the corner of the wall.

"It's her birthday today. I promised I'd make her happy."

My heart seemed to stop for a beat.

He turned back to look at me, completely failing to notice the change in my expression.

"Don't overthink it. My mentor raised me from childhood. Taking care of Maddy is the least I can do to repay that kindness. It's late. You should get some sleep."

With that, he turned and walked into the main bedroom without offering another word of explanation.

The wedding photo in the corner reflected a cold glow. The corners of my mouth twitched into a bitter smile as I called out to him in a low voice.

"Keith Hummel. You're not that young anymore, either."

So it was time for me to get myself a new groom, too.