Chapter 1 · After His Fake Death, I Remarried

On my wedding night with Yonas Lynch, he dropped dead.

Devastated, I passed out from grief. When I came to, there were these Comments floating in front of me.

[Poor Shelley. Can someone tell her the one who died isn't Yonas, but his twin, Myles?]

[Yonas is in love with Zelda. Now that Myles is gone, he can just pretend to be Myles and get everything he wants—Shelley's true feelings were left in the dust.]

I thought I was hallucinating until a perfectly alive Yonas showed up holding Myles' urn. "My condolences," he said.

I didn't call him out, letting him be with Zelda.

Later, a rich young heir tried to hug me, and I accidentally butt-dialed Yonas. He heard every single word.

The next day, Yonas rushed back from abroad, livid. "Yonas isn't even cold in the ground, and you're already onto the next guy?"

"He's gone," I shot back. "I can't stay a widow forever, right?"

*****

When Yonas handed me Myles' urn and said, "My condolences," I finally believed everything the Comments had said was true.

Yonas, my newlywed husband, had fallen for his twin brother's wife, Zelda. To be with her, he was willing to fake his death and abandon me without even blinking.

The Comments kept rolling: [Yonas is so on edge right now, terrified that Shelley will notice something's off, cling to him, make a fuss, and refuse to let go.]

I'd cling to him and make a scene? What a joke.

I'd never give this cheating jerk another second of my time.

I took the urn from Yonas and burst into loud sobs. "Oh honey, how could you leave me like this?"

[What the heck? Shelley didn't realize the man standing right in front of her was Yonas? Didn't she love Yonas to death? How could she not tell?]

[Maybe she's just too heartbroken. Looks like Yonas can finally breathe easy now.]

Myles and Yonas were identical twins and looked the same. Still, I could tell them apart.

If it weren't for the Comments exposing Yonas' shady deal with Zelda, I would've confronted him ages ago about why he was pretending to be Myles.

Now that I knew the truth, all I felt was pure disgust.

There were tons of decent guys in the world. Why'd I chain myself to a gross creep who drooled over his brother's wife?

Life was too short. The real deal was to enjoy the moment and stay sharp.

If Yonas wanted to take care of Zelda for Myles, I'd let him.

I was still untouched, and with the billions Yonas left behind, I could live it up however I wanted.

The ache just wouldn't go away, though.

I hugged the urn and let out a few dramatic sobs, but I couldn't even force out a single tear.

Meanwhile, Zelda came running over and slipped her hand into Yonas's, her voice sweet. "Honey, you have no idea how scared I was."

No way Zelda couldn't tell Yonas apart from her husband. She was clearly in on Yonas's identity swap.

Not in the mood to watch this shameless pair put on their sappy act, I shut my eyes and dropped to the floor, faking a faint.

As soon as I hit the floor, the Comments exploded with wails.

[Poor Shelley—she's totally shattered.]

[This is only the beginning. At the funeral, Shelley's gonna pass out from crying so many times, and then she'll try to end it all.]

[Yeah, it's because Shelley tries to off herself that she ends up sickly for the rest of her life. Honestly, she didn't even do anything wrong. Why does Yonas have to treat her like this?]

I scoffed silently.

The Comments said that I'd keep passing out at the funeral and even tried to follow "Yonas" to the grave.

If I didn't know the truth, maybe I would have done something that stupid. But now, no way.

Yonas expected me to bawl my eyes out at his fake funeral, acting like I couldn't live without him?

Not a chance.

I wasn't just not going to cry—I wasn't even going to show up.

After all, I'd been crazy in love with Yonas, so falling apart after his "death" would be totally expected, right?

*****

The funeral took place right on schedule two days later. Meanwhile, I was lying in a VIP hospital suite, hooked up to an IV drip, and didn't show my face the entire time.

The Comments kept me posted on everything happening at the funeral: [The funeral's over. Honestly, it's for the best that Shelley didn't show up—at least she didn't end up bawling her eyes out and making things even more tragic.]

[Whether she was there or not, it didn't stop Yonas and Zelda from deepening their relationship.]

[Next comes the big heart-to-heart. Zelda realizes it's Yonas pretending to be her husband and confronts him about it. Yonas confesses his feelings, and the two of them share a passionate kiss in the car. Oh, so sweet.]

[Then they head home together and get busy.]

[You know, Yonas and Shelley had been in a platonic relationship for five years. I thought Yonas was just this cold, restrained guy, but turns out he only acted that way with Shelley. Soon, he'll be all over Zelda.]

They couldn't even wait a second, huh?

Yonas and I dated for five years before getting engaged. He'd always been gentle and thoughtful, never once acting superior around me.

He'd make me healthy breakfasts and prepare warm water for me when I had cramps.

In all those five years, the most intimate thing we'd ever done was hold hands or share a kiss on the forehead.

I'd thought Yonas loved me so much that he wanted to wait until our wedding night.

But it turned out he never wanted me in the first place.

He'd been obsessed with Zelda. The Comments said they were childhood sweethearts.

Yonas'd had his heart set on Zelda, but he'd backed off because Myles was into her too.

There had never been any real love between us—he'd just picked me as a stand-in because he couldn't be with the one he truly loved.

I spent five years loving Yonas with all my heart, and yet to him, I was just the backup option.

I snatched up the IV bottle next to me and flung it hard across the room.

Over a thousand days and nights together, I'd given him all my love, and yet he'd been faking it the whole time. How could I not be furious? How could I not hate him?

I staggered out of the hospital and headed straight for a bar. Tonight was supposed to be Yonas's wedding night, when he finally got his dream girl. And me? All I could do was drown my heartbreak in booze.

I let myself be weak, just for a few hours.

Anyone who trampled on my love wasn't worth another second of my time—Yonas was not the only one who knew how to move on.

I could do it too, and I'd cut him off even more ruthlessly than he ever could.

Chapter 1

On my wedding night with Yonas Lynch, he dropped dead.

Devastated, I passed out from grief. When I came to, there were these Comments floating in front of me.

[Poor Shelley. Can someone tell her the one who died isn't Yonas, but his twin, Myles?]

[Yonas is in love with Zelda. Now that Myles is gone, he can just pretend to be Myles and get everything he wants—Shelley's true feelings were left in the dust.]

I thought I was hallucinating until a perfectly alive Yonas showed up holding Myles' urn. "My condolences," he said.

I didn't call him out, letting him be with Zelda.

Later, a rich young heir tried to hug me, and I accidentally butt-dialed Yonas. He heard every single word.

The next day, Yonas rushed back from abroad, livid. "Yonas isn't even cold in the ground, and you're already onto the next guy?"

"He's gone," I shot back. "I can't stay a widow forever, right?"

*****

When Yonas handed me Myles' urn and said, "My condolences," I finally believed everything the Comments had said was true.

Yonas, my newlywed husband, had fallen for his twin brother's wife, Zelda. To be with her, he was willing to fake his death and abandon me without even blinking.

The Comments kept rolling: [Yonas is so on edge right now, terrified that Shelley will notice something's off, cling to him, make a fuss, and refuse to let go.]

I'd cling to him and make a scene? What a joke.

I'd never give this cheating jerk another second of my time.

I took the urn from Yonas and burst into loud sobs. "Oh honey, how could you leave me like this?"

[What the heck? Shelley didn't realize the man standing right in front of her was Yonas? Didn't she love Yonas to death? How could she not tell?]

[Maybe she's just too heartbroken. Looks like Yonas can finally breathe easy now.]

Myles and Yonas were identical twins and looked the same. Still, I could tell them apart.

If it weren't for the Comments exposing Yonas' shady deal with Zelda, I would've confronted him ages ago about why he was pretending to be Myles.

Now that I knew the truth, all I felt was pure disgust.

There were tons of decent guys in the world. Why'd I chain myself to a gross creep who drooled over his brother's wife?

Life was too short. The real deal was to enjoy the moment and stay sharp.

If Yonas wanted to take care of Zelda for Myles, I'd let him.

I was still untouched, and with the billions Yonas left behind, I could live it up however I wanted.

The ache just wouldn't go away, though.

I hugged the urn and let out a few dramatic sobs, but I couldn't even force out a single tear.

Meanwhile, Zelda came running over and slipped her hand into Yonas's, her voice sweet. "Honey, you have no idea how scared I was."

No way Zelda couldn't tell Yonas apart from her husband. She was clearly in on Yonas's identity swap.

Not in the mood to watch this shameless pair put on their sappy act, I shut my eyes and dropped to the floor, faking a faint.

As soon as I hit the floor, the Comments exploded with wails.

[Poor Shelley—she's totally shattered.]

[This is only the beginning. At the funeral, Shelley's gonna pass out from crying so many times, and then she'll try to end it all.]

[Yeah, it's because Shelley tries to off herself that she ends up sickly for the rest of her life. Honestly, she didn't even do anything wrong. Why does Yonas have to treat her like this?]

I scoffed silently.

The Comments said that I'd keep passing out at the funeral and even tried to follow "Yonas" to the grave.

If I didn't know the truth, maybe I would have done something that stupid. But now, no way.

Yonas expected me to bawl my eyes out at his fake funeral, acting like I couldn't live without him?

Not a chance.

I wasn't just not going to cry—I wasn't even going to show up.

After all, I'd been crazy in love with Yonas, so falling apart after his "death" would be totally expected, right?

*****

The funeral took place right on schedule two days later. Meanwhile, I was lying in a VIP hospital suite, hooked up to an IV drip, and didn't show my face the entire time.

[Whether she was there or not, it didn't stop Yonas and Zelda from deepening their relationship.]

[Then they head home together and get busy.]

They couldn't even wait a second, huh?

Yonas and I dated for five years before getting engaged. He'd always been gentle and thoughtful, never once acting superior around me.

He'd make me healthy breakfasts and prepare warm water for me when I had cramps.

In all those five years, the most intimate thing we'd ever done was hold hands or share a kiss on the forehead.

I'd thought Yonas loved me so much that he wanted to wait until our wedding night.

But it turned out he never wanted me in the first place.

He'd been obsessed with Zelda. The Comments said they were childhood sweethearts.

Yonas'd had his heart set on Zelda, but he'd backed off because Myles was into her too.

There had never been any real love between us—he'd just picked me as a stand-in because he couldn't be with the one he truly loved.

I spent five years loving Yonas with all my heart, and yet to him, I was just the backup option.

I snatched up the IV bottle next to me and flung it hard across the room.

Over a thousand days and nights together, I'd given him all my love, and yet he'd been faking it the whole time. How could I not be furious? How could I not hate him?

I let myself be weak, just for a few hours.

Anyone who trampled on my love wasn't worth another second of my time—Yonas was not the only one who knew how to move on.

I could do it too, and I'd cut him off even more ruthlessly than he ever could.