Chapter 1

The boutique staff realized their blunder the second those words left my mouth, but I didn’t wait for their reaction before turning on my heel and walking out.

Even beneath the glaring midday sun, a bone-chilling cold gripped my entire body.

I dialed Jeremy’s number at once.

The line rang for an agonizingly long time before it was finally picked up, only for Charlotte’s coy, coaxing voice to drift through the speaker:

“Jeremy, stop! That Leica film costs a fortune—no more candid shots of me.”

Jeremy’s voice followed after, deep and filled with a tenderness I had never once heard from him.

“As long as it’s a photo of you, no film is too expensive.”

Only after saying that did he notice the call was on.

He feigned a brief cough, his tone snapping back to its usual crisp indifference.

“Evelyn? I’m in the middle of a meeting. Is something up?”

Listening to the sound of crashing ocean waves coming from the receiver, I wished I could laugh out loud.

Just moments ago in the boutique, I had seen their itinerary with my own eyes.

Today was supposed to be the day Jeremy and I shot our outdoor wedding photos.

Yet I had been kept entirely in the dark about the whole situation, only finding out when I happened to drop by the store.

It was abundantly clear: Charlotte had gone behind my back yet again, shooting wedding photos with Jeremy in my place.

I took a deep breath, suppressing the tremor in my voice.

“Jeremy, is this a joke to you? Don’t you think you owe me an explanation?”

Silence fell over the other end for a few seconds.

Then, Charlotte snatched over the phone.

“Come on babe, don’t be angry!”

Her voice was still saccharine.

“Jeremy noticed I’ve been down lately, so he brought me to the seaside just to clear my head.

“The staff insisted I tried on the dress. I only wanted to check it out in advance for you.

“Are you really gonna be mad over this? You’re being too sensitive.”

Several friends’ voices sounded in the background; clearly, their whole inner circle was gathered there.

“Come on, aren’t you tired of calling so many times to check up on Jeremy?”

“We all know he’s terrified of the camera. Charlotte had a hard time helping him to overcome his anxiety.

“She even helped test all the outdoor locations for you. “You should be grateful instead of trying to ruin the mood.”

I didn’t say a word. I simply hung up the phone.

Moments later, a childhood friend sent over a photo.

Seeing the two of them snuggled against each other, tears splashed onto my screen despite my best efforts to hold them back.

Upon returning home, I walked into Jeremy’s study.

I entered Charlotte’s birthday into the safe lock, and the door clicked open instantly.

Inside rested a framed photo album.

The moment I turned open the first page, my heart ached with a sudden, sharp pain.

I recognized their first movie ticket stub, alongside a photograph of the three of us spending New Year’s Eve together on the Ferris wheel.

I had turned outward to photograph the scenery, completely unaware that in the same cabin we shared, with me just inches away, they were kissing.

He had even taken Charlotte to the exact restaurant where he later proposed to me.

Behind every photograph, a date was handwritten in neat penmanship.

For me, I had only a few blurry, indistinct photos, taken reluctantly during holidays with his family.

My fingers found, tucked within the album’s inner lining, a birthday card Jeremy’s mother had written to Charlotte last year:

“Dearest Charlotte, thank you for bringing the light back into Jeremy’s eyes.

“Though obstacles still stand between you two, we are all waiting for him to make the right decision.”

So the entire world had been in on it, with me the only fool kept in the dark.

Realizing I had been nothing more than an obstacle in their way, I decided it was time to bow out.