Chapter 1

I made up some excuse and slipped out of the private room. The cold wind outside the hotel cut into my cheeks.

I pulled my coat tighter and caught a cab home, weaving out of habit around the security cameras and the elevator whenever anyone else was in it.

Once the door was shut behind me, my phone kept buzzing with messages from the group chat.

[Izzy and Sebastian really are a perfect match.]

[I heard they grew up together, and Sebastian's family's business empire isn't small either.]

[I know this one, it's called a power marriage. A perfect alliance!]

I couldn't stand to read another line after that. It sat on my chest like a boulder. I pulled out my marriage certificate with Izzy and set it on the table. Every time I felt like I couldn't hold on anymore, that little certificate was the one thing that kept me going, a single glance enough to convince me there was still hope.

Something stirred at the entryway. Izzy Presley was home.

The moment she walked in, she saw me sitting on the couch. She said, offhandedly, "There's no point reading anything in that group chat."

"Is the engagement real?" I didn't look at her. My voice came out rough.

Izzy's hand paused halfway through hanging up her coat. She pulled a document out of a folder and slid it across the table to me. The words DIVORCE AGREEMENT stabbed at my eyes, sitting there beside the marriage certificate like they didn't belong in the same world.

She sat down next to me.

"The day after Sebastian came back, our families started discussing an alliance by marriage. He and I have had a betrothal between us this whole time."

My breath caught. I looked up sharply, my mouth opening, but before I could get a word out, Izzy cut me off.

"If I'm going to get engaged to him, I have to divorce you first. Sebastian's family has the resources to dig into this. All it takes is one search, and they'll find you. Just sign at the bottom."

My mind went blank.

Izzy seemed to know I couldn't process this so fast, and she waited patiently.

"Why?" I asked. "Why are you telling me this only now?"

"I love you, Stevie. But my career matters more."

She pushed the document a little closer to me.

"The Woods can help me. You can't. I promise you, this is only temporary. Once I've got my footing, we can remarry."

My heart sank. On the day we'd registered our marriage, she'd said the exact same thing, that once she found her footing, once her career took off, she'd announce us to the world.

I'd waited three years. And what I got in the end was a single sentence: divorce.

"Izzy, do you think I've never been good enough to stand next to you?"

The color drained from her face. And that was when I understood. It was exactly what she thought. Because I didn't come from the right kind of family, I wasn't fit to stand at her side.

The air went cold for a moment. Izzy put the divorce agreement away. "I'll give you time to think it over."

The words had barely left her mouth when a knock sounded at the door. A second later came the beep of the door code, and Sebastian Wood let himself in like he owned the place. He froze for a second when he saw me there.

"Stevie, it's this late, and you're still here?"

Izzy looked like she hadn't expected him to show up either. There was a flash of panic in her eyes.

"I'm just here to drop off some documents. I was about to leave anyway," I said.

I got to my feet. Izzy shot me a quick glance and gave a small nod.

"I've got the files. You can go now."

My chest ached. Before I could leave, Sebastian stopped me. He pulled out a thick stack of cash, smiling faintly.

"You've been running around for her for a long time now. Consider this a bonus, paid a little early."

He pressed the thick envelope of cash into my hand. Before I could refuse it, the front door had already swung shut.

This was Izzy's and my home. I'd spent three years hiding here, sneaking around, and this apartment was the only place I'd ever gotten to catch my breath.

But now, I didn't even have that anymore.