Chapter 1

At my wedding, my husband's dream girl took a dramatic fall down the stairs and lost her baby.

Every eye in the room turned to me, filled with accusation.

My husband exploded with rage. "You never change. Can't you stand to see Chloe happy? I must have been blind to marry you."

Naomi, tears in her eyes, played the saint. "It's not her fault... Some things just aren't meant to be."

I leaned back, a cool smile touching my lips. "How interesting. There's a security camera at the top of the stairs. Shall we all see what really happened?"

*****

The air in the ballroom was thick with tension. All eyes were on me, accompanied by hushed, accusing whispers.

There was Joshua, cradling his precious Naomi in his arms, glaring at me.

"Don't blame Stella," Naomi whispered weakly, clutching Joshua's sleeve. "She... she must have acted out of love for you. I'll be alright."

"You're defending her? She knew you were pregnant and pushed you anyway. Her malice is plain as day. I will not marry such an evil woman." Joshua looked at me like I was the villain in some cheap drama.

The Murrays were a powerhouse in our circles. This marriage was supposed to be the ultimate power alliance.

Now, the guests were either thoroughly entertained, deeply offended, or looking on with sheer contempt.

Watching their little performance, I calmly took a seat on a nearby sofa.

"As I said," I began, my voice cutting through the murmurs. "There's a security camera at the top of the stairs. Should be easy to settle this."

Naomi met my eyes without a trace of fear. "Stella, I really didn't want to embarrass you like this, you..."

"We're not on a first-name basis," I interrupted coolly. "You can call me Miss Bishop.

"And if you didn't want to cause a scene, maybe you shouldn't have crashed my wedding. Just a thought."

She bit her lip, eyes welling up with practiced tears.

Right on cue, a man hurried over, wringing his hands. "Miss Bishop, my deepest apologies. It seems the camera on that landing malfunctioned just yesterday.

"We haven't had a chance to repair it. Such an unfortunate coincidence... Perhaps, if you could just offer Miss Curtis an apology, we could put this whole... misunderstanding behind us?"

I glanced up languidly. "You're the hotel manager?"

"Yes, Miss Bishop. I'm also overseeing the wedding arrangements today."

I nodded slowly. "Effective tomorrow, you're fired."

His face went pale. As he started to stammer a plea, I gave a slight nod to a nearby security guard.

He was promptly escorted out, desperately calling for Naomi's help as he went.

She didn't even look his way, just burrowed deeper into Joshua's embrace, the perfect picture of a wounded dove.

"Vicious. Utterly heartless." Joshua sneered.

That was when the main doors swung open. Both our parents had arrived, looking utterly bewildered by the chaos.

Being who they were, they quickly composed themselves.

After listening to Joshua's tirade for a mere moment, Joshua's father, Charles, stepped forward and slapped him across the face.

"Apologize to Stella now," he commanded.

Joshua stood his ground, jaw clenched. "I will never apologize to her. And I am not going through with this marriage."

My parents' expressions darkened.

Seeing me publicly humiliated on my wedding day, their displeasure with Joshua was palpable.

As Charles drew a breath to unleash another reprimand, I raised a hand.

"I'll handle this," I said, my voice quiet but clear.

I smoothed the layers of my wedding gown and walked to the stage. Taking the microphone from the stunned host, I got straight to the point.

"The wedding is off," I said.

The room fell into dead silence. Charles and Joshua's mother, Lillian, rushed forward, urging me not to be rash. I ignored them.

"And, as an apology for the drama," I continued, "allow me to present the main event."

I flashed a smile at Naomi, then tapped my phone.

Instantly, a video began playing on the large screen behind me.

There we were on the second-floor hallway earlier that day, Naomi in her white dress, me in my wedding gown.

"Stella, just give it up. Joshua doesn't love you. Marrying into that family won't do you any good." Naomi sneered.

"If you're just here to waste my time, we're done," I replied flatly, not even looking at her as I tried to walk past.

"I'm pregnant," she declared, a smug look on her face. "It's Joshua's. You wouldn't want to be the other woman, would you?"