Chapter 1

Tonight was supposed to be a fairytale. In a glittering ballroom, surrounded by everyone we love, I was about to celebrate my engagement to Max Quinn, my boyfriend of five years. I was floating, dreaming of the happily-ever-after we would build.

But fairytales don't have plot twists like this. I find a positive pregnancy test, the attached report confirming she's eight weeks along, with Max's name listed as the emergency contact.

And the mother-to-be is the shy designer Max affectionately calls his "little sister," Belinda White, the one he swore I had nothing to worry about.

My fairytale has been a lie from page one.

In front of everyone who comes to celebrate our love, I raise a toast with her pregnancy report. I expose their dirty secret, drop the ring, and turn my back on him. They think I'm broken, but they have no idea what a woman scorned is capable of.

*****

My name was Joy Thompson. I was thirty, working as a finance manager at an international trading firm.

Today was supposed to be the happiest day of my life, my engagement party with Max Quinn, the man I had dated for five years.

Instead, I was standing in a hotel bathroom, clutching a medical report with trembling hands.

It read: [Belinda White, eight weeks pregnant.]

Belinda worked as a designer at Max's company. She was two years younger than me. Her sweet girl-next-door look and meek personality drove me crazy.

At every company dinner, she was practically glued to his side, chirping "Max" like it was an inside joke between the two of them.

I had fought with Max about it before. He had done the whole wide-eyed, innocent routine. "Joy, you're overthinking. Belinda's like a kid sister to me. That's all."

A kid sister? Since when did little sisters get knocked up by their big brothers?

The report had tumbled out of Belinda's purse ten minutes ago. She scrambled to snatch it back, but I had already seen everything I needed to see.

Taking a deep breath, I fixed my face and walked out.

The banquet hall buzzed with laughter and clinking champagne flutes. Max was joking with some friends, but the second he saw me, his face softened into that affectionate smile. "Joy, what took you so long? I was getting worried."

"Just touching up my makeup." I forced myself to loop my arm through his, playing the part.

He looked perfect in his custom navy suit, not a hair out of place. He looked every bit the perfect man. Too bad it was all an act.

"Everyone, thank you so much for being here to celebrate Joy and me," Max announced into the microphone, his face beaming. "Joy is the love of my life. Getting engaged to her today makes me the luckiest man alive."

The room erupted in applause.

I looked out over the faces of people who truly wished us well, and my chest tightened. None of them knew the truth behind this picture-perfect moment.

"Joy, say a few words?" Max handed me the microphone, still smiling.

I took it, scanning the crowd before locking eyes with Belinda, hunched in a corner. With her head down and her hands twisted in her lap, she looked ready to bolt.

"Thank you all for coming to celebrate with us," I began steadily. "Max and I have been together five years. All this time, I thought I knew exactly who I was marrying."

Whispers rippled through the crowd. Something in my tone wasn't quite right for an engagement speech.

Max sensed it too and tugged at my sleeve. "Joy..."

I pulled away. "But today I discovered that I've been living a lie."

The room went dead silent. Every single eye was on me.

I turned to face him. The color was draining from his face. "Max, do you remember all those nights last year you said you had to work late and told me not to wait up?

"And what about all those 'team-building' trips you had to take overnight?"

"Joy, what are you talking about? This is our engagement party..." he tried to cut me off.

I ignored him, pulled the report from my bag, and held it up for everyone to see. "Remember Belinda White? The girl you swore was just like your little sister?"

Belinda shot up from her seat, her face as white as a ghost.

"This is her pregnancy report. Eight weeks. By my math, that means she got pregnant during your 'team-building' trip to Riverside Retreat last month, right?"

The room exploded. People were whispering, pulling out their phones to record, or making calls.

Max's face was ashen. "Joy, calm down. There has to be a mistake..."

"A mistake?" I scoffed. "Then explain why your name and phone number are listed as her emergency contact."

That shut him up.

I looked at all the shocked faces in the crowd and felt strangely calm. The moment the lie shattered, I didn't feel pain. I felt free.

"Sorry for the drama, everyone," I said into the mic. "Party's over. You can all go home now."

With that, I slipped off the engagement ring, placed it on the table, and turned to leave.

Max hurried after me. "Joy, please, just let me explain. It's not what you think..."

I didn't turn around. "What's there to explain? The evidence speaks for itself."

He admitted, stumbling over the words, "Okay, yes, I slept with Belinda, but it meant nothing! You're the one I love..."

I stopped and faced him. "You know what disgusts me most? It's not the cheating. It's that you can cheat and still claim you love me.

"Five years, Max. I gave you my best years, and this is what I get? You screwing around behind my back, getting her pregnant?

"You don't get to say you love me. Not after this."

He stood there, speechless.

Belinda came running over, tears streaming. "Joy, I'm so sorry! I never meant for this to happen. I didn't know I'd get pregnant..."

I looked at her naive, tear-stained face and almost laughed. "You didn't mean for it to happen? So sleeping with a guy who has a girlfriend was just an accident?"

She sobbed harder, "I love him, Joy. I know it's wrong, but I can't help how I feel..."

"Then he's all yours," I said coolly. "Just remember—a man who betrays one woman won't hesitate to betray the next."

I walked out without looking back.

The second I stepped outside, I took a deep breath. The air was crisp and clean, a welcome relief from the suffocating atmosphere inside.

I flagged down a cab and gave the driver my address.

The driver glanced at me in the mirror. "Coming from a wedding? Why are you alone?"

"Something like that," I said with a bitter smile. "But this one was a little special."

"Special how?" he asked.

"The groom made a big announcement. But instead of introducing his bride, he basically introduced his pregnant mistress."

He stared and cracked up. "Wow, that's wild. Honestly, good for you. Trust me, you're way better off without a guy like that."

Yeah, it was only reasonable to dump Max.