Chapter 1

Panic flashed across Oliver's eyes as he spilled a few drops of his alcohol.

"Who cares if she's someone we know? He lost, so he has to hand over his phone. Let's see what this little eight-rounder looks like!” Landon Collins reached out to snatch it.

Oliver gripped his phone tightly and dodged behind me, laughing. "You really can't look. She's got a terrible temper, and she's impossible to appease. I'm just her puppy. If she finds out I showed you guys those photos, she'll break up with me."

"Someone's real protective, huh?"

"Can't help it. Her identity is a little complicated. She doesn't want to make our relationship public yet."

As Oliver spoke, his gaze passed over everyone and landed directly on Madeline Woods standing in the doorway.

The thread connecting the two was painfully conspicuous.

Over the years, I had seen countless threads intertwining above people's heads, yet I had never imagined that one would appear above the head of the woman who was supposed to become my bride the very next day.

"Flynn, help me out here." Oliver patted my shoulder. "She doesn't want anyone else seeing it."

I fought to keep my trembling wrist under control, set down my glass, and forced out a cold laugh. "I call the shots today, and today's rule is: you lose, you hand over your phone."

"Whoo!" Landon slapped the table. "The groom has spoken."

Oliver froze for a second. He clearly hadn't expected me to leave him no room to back down.

Just then, Madeline walked in and placed a hand on my shoulder. "Cut it out, Flynn. Ollie's shy. You're the groom, so don't be the one leading everyone in bullying the best man."

Ollie? Until now, she had always called him by his full name, Oliver.

My eyes fell on the hand resting on my shoulder.

Just last night, those same arms had wrapped around my waist. Through our clothes, she had held me close and told me that she wanted to save the most complete version of herself for our wedding night. Less than 24 hours later, there was a thread above her head.

"Me? Bullying him?"

"When you get serious about something, no one can handle you." Madeline smiled and picked up a glass of juice for me. "You must be having pre-wedding anxiety. Have something sweet to calm your nerves."

Oliver took the opportunity to hide behind her. "Madeline knows me best. Flynn, don't be so harsh with her after you're married. What would you do if you scare away such a wonderful woman?"

"Are you really that concerned about whether my fiancee gets scared away?"

"I'm just looking out for you." He covered his mouth with a laugh, a plain band ring gleaming on his pinky.

I knew that ring far too well.

Madeline had designed it herself and once showed me the discarded draft. At the time, she'd said the lines were too ordinary and weren't worthy of me.

Now it was on Oliver's finger.

Moreover, it fit him perfectly.

Before Oliver could react, Landon grabbed his hand and unlocked the phone. "The more you don't want us to see it, the more curious we become."

Landon swiped open the first photo and let out a low whistle.

It showed Oliver in profile, the corners of his eyes tinged red. Faint and dark marks were scattered from his collarbone downward, disappearing beneath the edge of his collar.

"Damn!" Aeron Walker brought the phone closer for us all to see.

The second photo was a close-up of two hands tightly intertwined, fingers locked together. The woman wore a crystal bracelet and a gold bangle on her wrist. There was a tiny indentation along the edge of the bangle.

I knew it far too well, for I had been with Madeline at the supermarket when she'd accidentally knocked that exact bangle against a shopping cart, leaving that little dent behind.

My fingers nearly crushed the edge of the liquor table.

The next thing they found was the chat history.

Her contact name was saved as "Queen," and her profile picture was a red letter A.

The conversation was filled with ordinary good-morning and good-night messages, along with records of late-night voice calls. The earliest messages went back a full year.

"Puppy, I really can't stop myself from thinking about you."

"I miss you too, my Queen. I dreamed about you last night. I dreamed that I was holding you while we fell asleep."

When I scrolled down to a message from three months ago, my breathing stopped for several seconds.

"The concert was amazing tonight, but when will we be able to hold hands openly like we did tonight?" Oliver texted, then sent an adorable GIF.

To that, the person replied, "Soon. Wait for me."

Three months ago, we celebrated our seventh anniversary.

That day, I had gone all over the city buying Madeline's favorite ingredients. I had cooked an entire tableful of food and waited five hours for her to come home. In the end, all I got was a simple apology.

"Work ran too late tonight. Have dinner yourself and go to bed."

Oliver pretended to be embarrassed and snatched the phone back. "This is so humiliating. You guys have seen every last bit of my puppy act."

He then hurried toward the staircase.

Less than two minutes after he left, Madeline's phone rang.

She glanced at the screen and quickly silenced it. "My mom's asking me to set up two more guest rooms. Some relatives have flown out to the wedding. You guys have fun, but let Flynn go home and get some rest early. He has to get up early tomorrow to come pick me up for the wedding."

Madeline leaned down and kissed my forehead, prompting a chorus of whistles and cheers from the guys.

After she left, I made an excuse about going to the bathroom and quietly followed her.

Oliver's voice came from the stairwell.

"Didn't you say we weren't going to see each other tonight?"