Chapter 4

I froze too.

Nisha's eyes instantly reddened, and her voice broke. "Lori, so you already knew Josh was marrying me today, and you broke the ring on purpose just to provoke me.

"Fine. I'll give the wedding back to you today. Worst case, I'll go along with my family's arranged match and disappear from your lives for good."

Nisha tore off her veil and flung it at my face, with the broken ring still tangled in the fabric.

The ring's jagged edge sliced across my cheek and drew blood. I just stood there and stared at her.

She turned to leave.

Joshua panicked and rushed after her, catching her by the arm.

I followed on instinct and tried to explain. "That's not it. I never even opened—"

A slap cut me off mid-sentence.

Selena's eyes were red as she shouted at me, "Loretta, you've gone too far! We've taken care of you for ten years. Are you really too selfish to let them have even this much happiness?"

My head spun from the slap.

Then Calvin's furious voice came from beside me. "Nisha, don't worry. I'll make her give you the ring."

The moment he finished speaking, he seized my hand and yanked the ring off my finger.

The skin tore beneath it.

I ignored the sting and lunged for the ring. "No! Don't! That's my mother's memento!"

Calvin shoved me away in annoyance, then turned and slipped the ring onto Nisha's finger.

Selena snapped at me too, "Enough, Loretta. Nisha's ring is worth far more than the one Mom left you. You came out ahead."

I could not hold myself together anymore. The tears would not stop. "It's not the same thing!"

I lunged forward again to take the ring back.

Joshua stepped in front of Nisha, grabbed me, and forced me into a small room nearby. "There's no difference, Lori. This whole thing is your fault. Nisha's only borrowing the ring for the day. Once the wedding's over, I'll let you out."

The shove sent me stumbling, and I hit the floor hard.

Without warning, I spat out a mouthful of blood.

Everyone froze.

Joshua went rigid, his voice shaking. "Loretta, you... What's wrong with you? Why are you coughing up blood?"

He instinctively started toward me, but Nisha grabbed his arm and stopped him.

"Loretta, can you please stop with the act? I just saw the ketchup in your bag. Even if you hate me for taking your wedding, you shouldn't try to scare us with a trick like this." Her voice was still thick with tears. "Fine, whatever. I'll give you the ring back."

I wanted to scream that she was lying. There was no ketchup in my bag. I had not broken the ring. She had made it all up.

But my whole body hurt so badly that I could not even find the strength to speak.

Nisha made a show of trying to remove the ring.

Joshua stopped her.

He looked at me once more, then let out a disappointed laugh. "Loretta, I underestimated you. Simple in the head, yet clever enough to pull little tricks like this. Stay in here tonight and think about what you've done."

The door slammed shut.

My body sagged to one side, and I collapsed onto the floor, completely drained of strength.

My phone rang. I gathered what little strength I had left and pressed the answer button.

Nisha's low, mocking laugh came through the phone. "You're dying anyway, so I might as well tell you the truth. Josh never planned to lay a hand on you. I put that bottle of pills in his bag myself.

"My family never arranged a marriage for me either. I just needed you to see clearly, once and for all, who Josh actually loves.

"You really are an idiot. You fell for it so easily. Don't worry, though. From now on, I'll love Josh enough for both of us."

My breathing trembled along with the rest of me. Hazy and barely conscious, I heard the officiant's voice through the phone.

I closed my eyes and pictured the scene. Joshua walking Nisha down the aisle. The two of them exchanging rings and solemnly reciting their vows.

Every detail matched the wedding I had once pictured for myself.

Amid the applause that filled the hall, the ceremonial cannons fired one round after another.

My pulse weakened with every blast.

It did not matter anymore. At least this time, Josh was happy.

-

On the other end of the call, the ceremony had ended. The four of them were already seated at the head table.

For reasons he could not explain, unease gnawed at Joshua. The image of Loretta coughing up blood kept flashing through his mind until he finally decided to get up and check on her again.

He had not taken two steps before his phone rang.

The moment he answered, his assistant's hesitant voice came through. "Mr. Summers, I looked into it. Miss Jones' family never arranged a marriage for her. They never pressured her to marry anyone."

Joshua rejected the claim instinctively. "That's impossible."

The next second, a server suddenly grabbed his arm.

Joshua's phone hit the floor. He frowned and was about to snap at the man, but the server spoke first, his voice urgent. "Mr. Summers, something terrible has happened. Loretta is dead!"