Chapter 1

Wave after wave crashed over the sand, turning the wedding dress Aaron Shaw had spent six sleepless months designing into a crumpled, ugly mess.

I stared blankly at my phone as one cheerful update after another appeared on my feed.

Dad posted a photo of Zara Gomez receiving her award. His caption read: [Congratulations to my daughter on completing her psychology thesis. You make us proud.]

Mom posted right after him: [Ten years of hard work has paid off. I can't wait to see Zara's paper shake up the academic world.]

Everyone had found the perfect words to celebrate the end of Zara's ten-year experiment on me. Even Aaron, who had refused to post anything about our wedding, wrote a long message congratulating her.

In the photo, Zara stood with her arms spread toward the sunrise.

Meanwhile, I was only "Test Subject Number One" mentioned in passing in their long posts, spending the entire night waiting on the beach.

Saltiness filled my mouth, and I could no longer tell whether it came from tears or seawater.

I closed my eyes and let the rising tide creep higher around me. Maybe if I disappeared, it would stop hurting.

Then someone yanked me backward into a familiar embrace.

The warmth the ocean wind had stripped from me all night seemed to return at once, and Aaron's terrified face filled my vision.

"Anne, are you out of your mind?!" He shouted without caring who heard him, his fingers around my wrist and trembling. "You're willing to die over something this small? Zara was right. You're too weak. We need to teach you how to be strong."

I lowered my gaze to the hands that had wiped away my tears countless times, and my voice came out dry. "Were you only staying with me because of Zara's experiment? Do you have any idea how much I was looking forward to this wedding?"

All those quiet moments together. All those tender words whispered after midnight. I had truly believed I had finally found a home that could protect me. I had thought it would be alright if I had been born timid, even if I cried a little too easily.

The tears finally fell into the water between us, but Aaron did not wipe them away the way he used to. He simply frowned and said, "Why are you crying again? Do you know how long Zara planned all this by herself just to make you stronger?"

Disappointment filled his voice. "We can make up for the wedding anytime. Zara's work can't be wasted."

Ripples spread across the water as Zara kept her camera trained on me, faithfully recording my humiliation. "You need to understand that we're doing this for your own good."

She reached into Aaron's jacket, pulled out the small velvet box carrying the ring I had waited for so long, and sneered, "Someone as fragile as you can't function in the real world. Until you learn to be strong, I wouldn't feel comfortable watching you marry anyone."

I stared at her in disbelief as she casually raised her hand and tossed the velvet box into the sea.