Chapter 1

The day before our engagement, my fiancé, Shaun Winters, promised he'd come with me to pick out my wedding dress. I waited until the bridal shop closed. He never showed up.

On my way home, I finally got a message from him.

It read: [Elaine said she didn't have any pajamas to wear, so I'm taking her out to buy some tonight.]

I called him, but Elaine Frost, his secretary, picked up instead. She said, "Shaun's in the shower. Do you want me to tell him something?"

We'd been together for four years. Every time something important happened in my life, Elaine always had some small problem for Shaun to fix. And every single time, he dropped everything and rushed to her side, leaving me alone.

Even on a day like this, he didn't hesitate. He chose her.

Emotionally drained, I answered in a calm voice, "Tell him the wedding's off. I'm not marrying him."

*****

The day before our engagement, Shaun took my hand and said, "This time, I promise I'll go with you to pick out your wedding dress."

But when we got to the bridal shop, he got a call. He looked uneasy and said, "Sylvia, something came up at work. I need to go handle it."

I was disappointed, but seeing how anxious he looked, I didn't think much of it and let him go.

Before he left, Shaun told me to wait for him. He promised he'd come back and be there with me.

But even after the shop closed, he never showed up. I tried calling him countless times, but none of my calls got through.

The saleswoman gave me a pitying look, and it stung right in my chest.

She walked over and asked gently, "Ms. Carter, would you like to wait a little longer?"

I shook my head and forced a weak smile. "No, it's fine. I'll head home now."

On my way home, I scrolled through my phone and stumbled across a photo online. It was Shaun helping Elaine pick out pajamas.

The caption said: [How close do you have to be for a guy to help you shop for pajamas?]

I just smiled and commented: [Must be nice to have a fiancé with such great taste, right?]

Soon after, I got messages from Shaun: [Elaine said she doesn't have any pajamas, so I'm taking her out to buy some tonight.]

[Stop making a fuss. Just wait for me, okay?]

[Be good.]

I scoffed at those three messages, a bitter smile tugging at my lips.

But the more I laughed, the harder the tears fell, streaming down my face before I even realized it.

Shaun and I had been together for four years. Every time something important happened in my life, Elaine would always have some tiny emergency that needed Shaun's help. And every time, he would drop everything and run to her. No questions asked.

I had called him out on it before, but he just looked at me with disappointment and said, "If there was anything going on between me and Elaine, you wouldn't even be in the picture.

"I've known her since we were kids. She's like a little sister to me. She's the one who helped me win you over in the first place. Why would you even be jealous of her?"

I forced myself to accept that there was always Elaine between me and Shaun. I made myself believe that he would always put her first, no matter what.

I loved him so much that I lost myself along the way.

But I'm only human. Eventually, the disappointment started to pile up.

So when Shaun promised he'd meet me at the bridal shop, I was already counting down in my head, just waiting to see when Elaine would pull her usual stunt.

When nothing happened, I was honestly a little surprised.

But looking back now, who was I kidding? There was no way Elaine would just stay out of it.

It turned out Shaun lied to me again, and once more, he chose her over me.

I didn't even realize my cheeks were wet until the tears reached my chin.

I called Shaun, and the call connected.

But Elaine picked up instead. "Shaun's in the shower right now. Hey, Sylvia, is it something urgent? I can let him know for you."

I let out a cold laugh.

There was so much a fiancé still needed to handle the day before the engagement. So where was mine?

Turns out, he was busy showering at another woman's place.

Wasn't that just hilarious?

Honestly, I just felt grateful. At least I found out now, before things got even worse.

If Elaine pulled him away again during our engagement ceremony tomorrow, would I just be left standing there all alone?

This wasn't the first time Shaun had ditched me for her. He never hesitated. Not once.

This was the last time, though.

I was exhausted. I was just done.

Elaine kept talking on the phone, her tone dismissive. "Shaun's exhausted, Sylvia. Can you stop being difficult and just let him have a break for once?"

I answered in a calm voice, "Tell him the wedding's off. I'm not marrying him."