Chapter 1

Not long after I left Dawson Corporation, Shane Dawson sent me an address and a photo of our wedding venue: a Spanish castle named Castillo de Sol.

The picture showed the castle’s facade consisting of ivory limestone walls and a blazing golden dome, luxury carved into every line. Right in the center of the shot stood Tania Collins, her curls tumbling over her shoulders, a crimson gown hugging her figure.

My fingers hovered over her radiant smile for two long seconds. The absurdity sank in like ice.

I was the bride. This was supposed to be our wedding venue, chosen for me. Nevertheless, the star of the photo he sent wasn’t me at all. It was her, the so-called "just a friend, don’t overthink it" childhood sweetheart.

After that, Shane went quiet. I knew him too well. He probably thought the wedding planner had already informed me of the change, so he simply passed along the address, just to make sure I’d know where to fly when I rescheduled my ticket.

The anger sat heavy in my chest. I couldn’t understand. He’d promised me the ceremony would be at Grandma Mae’s house. How could he toss that aside without hesitation, just because Tania liked a castle?

By the time I got home, the sky had already darkened. I stepped inside just in time to hear Shane snapping at the housekeeper, Mrs. Dorothy Kent, "Lila Quinn’s not a three-year-old. Do you really have to bother me if she comes home a little late?"

Mrs. Kent hesitated. "But Miss Quinn answered the planner’s call this morning and left afterward. I worried she might have stormed off to—"

Shane cut her off with a sharp laugh, "She went out to get her visa and change her ticket. The Quinn family is huge; it’s not like changing flights for all of them is simple. Don’t worry. Lila dreams of marrying me. Without me, she’d die. Even if I set the wedding in Antarctica, she’d crawl there on her knees. And this… this is the castle Tania handpicked."

Mrs. Kent fell silent, but Shane muttered on to himself, "Tania hasn’t replied in five minutes. I should check on her."

He bolted out the door just as I slipped away into the night.

That house wasn’t mine anyway. It was the Dawsons’ villa. Shane had only asked me to move in so it’d be easier to plan the wedding. At first, we’d been like any other couple, sweet and inseparable.

Then, Tania came back, heartbroken from a failed relationship abroad, and Shane rushed to comfort her. A single conversation turned into four months.

From that day on, the moment Tania said she felt down, Shane would drop everything, including me, and run to her side.

I chose the wedding dress alone. I designed Grandma Mae’s garden for the ceremony by myself. Shane took part in none of it. Whenever I complained, he would glance up from his phone, irritation flickering across his face as he chatted with Tania.

"Isn’t the only reason you want to marry me to save your family’s company?"