Chapter 1

On my wedding day, I just stepped from the ornate bridal carriage, my foot hovering on the threshold of Everton Manor, when the heir himself, Edward Everton, caught my arm, whispering, "Charlotte, wait."

Through the delicate lace of my veil, I could just make out another woman, draped in white lace that rivaled my own, standing defiantly at the entrance.

He leaned in, murmuring, "Lily is carrying my child. I can't have my firstborn born a bastard. So you wouldn't mind if she married in alongside you, would you?"

He added, as if it were a minor detail, "From this day forward, there will be no ranking between you. You'll just be family. Equal in every way."

My mind reeled. The grand carriage, the priceless gown, and the crown resting on my head, plus this ceremony, were the honors reserved for a wife.

I froze. Then, in one sharp movement, I ripped the veil from my face, yelling, "Wait a minute.

"When your family came to mine with a marriage proposal, the terms were crystal clear. You must be loyal to me unless you were childless at forty. Now, you stand here and break that vow on our wedding day. What do you call this?"

His face hardened as he hissed, "Lily is also my wife, not a fling or something. Technically, I haven't broken the promise."

I actually laughed. If he was going to play with technicalities and break his promises, then he couldn't blame me for what I was about to do.

He could forget about the money coming from my family, the literal fortune his family was so desperate for to save them from bankruptcy.

*****

I ripped off my lace veil and hurled it to the dirt. "Enough!" I barked. "Load the carriages. I want every last bit of my things back at Sinclair Manor. The wedding is off!"

Edward Everton froze before he lunged to grab my arm. "Charlotte, what the hell are you doing?" he spat. "You've stepped out of the carriage, and you're standing at the very gates of Everton Manor! Is this some kind of sick joke?"

I shook him off with a sneer. "Why should I wed you? To watch you elevate your cousin to my station on our very wedding day? You must think me truly desperate if you believe I would endure such an insult just to marry into your family."

"Well, you've got another thing coming!"

Edward's face darkened with rage as he yelled, "Is this how the Sinclair family raised you? To talk back to your betrothed like a common shrew? Where is your breeding? Where are the manners a lady of your station should possess?"

I shot back, "It seems all those years of your 'elite education' went straight to the gutter if you have the nerve to question my character. An honorable man keeps his word, Edward.

"When you came crawling to my father to propose, you swore there would be no other women unless we remained childless for decades. And now? You pull this disgusting stunt on our wedding?

"If you can't keep your vows, why should I keep mine?"

"Edward..." a trembling voice broke in. It was Lily Sommers, Edward's cousin, her face still hidden behind a delicate white veil.

Propped up by her maid, she shuffled forward and offered a shaky bow.

"Charlotte, this is all my fault. I only ask for a corner of the house to call my own. I would never dream of competing for his heart. I just need a place to belong."

She bowed again, so deeply that her veil slipped, fluttering to the cobblestones. The crowd let out a collective sharp intake of breath.

Her doe-eyed face was now on full display, her eyes swimming with tears. She looked fragile, like a wilted lily, exactly the kind of pathetic sight that makes men feel like heroes.

Edward grit his teeth, hissing, "Lily has practically begged for your mercy. Is that not enough face for you? You insist on dragging her through the dirt in front of everyone, just to prove you're the mistress of this house? Does it make you feel grand?"

Before I could tear him a new one, the heavy oak doors of the manor swung open. Laura Everton, Edward's mother, came charging out. "What is this commotion? The ceremony starts in ten minutes! Why aren't you inside?"

At the sight of Lily, she hurried down in a panic. "My poor, darling girl! You shouldn't be on your feet. I won't have you tiring out my grandchild. Someone, help her into the house this instant!"

I snorted, "Well, Edward, since you've already got a wife, you don't need me. Consider our engagement null and void. From this moment on, we are strangers."

Laura shot me a look of pure venom, barking, "Charlotte Sinclair, I only agreed to this match because I thought you were a submissive girl. But you can't even handle your husband ensuring the family line?

"A jealous woman like you would be cast out of any decent society. And you're still trying to play hard to get?"

My head housekeeper, Mary Green, a woman who had raised me, stepped forward with her chin high.

"Madam, Miss Sinclair hasn't even crossed your threshold yet. You have no authority to 'cast out' anyone."

Edward's expression turned sickly green.

"Charlotte, I've given you more respect than you deserve. Don't push your luck. If you cause a scene and run home today, do you think your family will even take you back? Who would ever marry you after a scandal like this?

"By the time I'm through with you, you'll be lucky if I take you back as a parlor maid! Even if you crawled back on your hands and knees, I wouldn't look at you."

As if my family would ever beg a man like him. When his father learned of this failed alliance, Edward was finished.

I turned to the gathering crowd, declaring, "Everyone, please stand as my witness! Edward Everton broke his oath first. On our wedding day, before the vows were even sealed, he tried to force me to accept his pregnant lover as my 'equal.' He's been carrying on an affair behind my back.

"Since he and Lily are so clearly devoted to one another, I shall be the bigger person and step aside. The Sinclair family is done with the Everton family! Forever!"

I grabbed the marriage contract from my maid's hands and ripped it into confetti, throwing the scraps into the wind.

"Charlotte! How dare you!" Edward roared as the paper drifted around him.

I didn't look back. I climbed into the carriage, ordering, "Move out. We're going home."

The noble guests now hissed with venomous delight, "Can you believe that? Trying to bring in a second wife at the altar? It is a calculated insult to the Sinclair family."

"Well, the Sinclair family is just new money. They are nothing more than glorified shopkeepers, unable to fight the blue-bloods."

"Wait, wasn't Lily just a poor relative staying at Everton Manor? How did she end up pregnant?"