Chapter 1

After my father passed, our family's perfume company was on the brink of collapse.

My boyfriend, Luis Fletcher, swore he'd stick by me no matter what, promising to marry me.

But one night, after dragging his drunk self home from a party, I heard him slurring another name. "Dani…"

My heart sank. Dani Warner was his childhood sweetheart.

I was about to shake him awake when he continued, "Dani, just wait. Once I marry Gwen Haynes, I'll get their family's secret perfume formula. Then I'll come for you…"

In that instant, the truth slammed into me like ice.

All his love, his loyalty, were all a lie. It was one carefully laid trap.

*****

After spending a sleepless night sitting on the couch, I quietly left our marital apartment while Luis was still sleeping, heading straight back home.

When I saw my mom, I told her the decision I'd made. "Mom, I've decided to accept the marriage alliance with the Dawson family.

"But I have one condition. I want them to invite Luis to the wedding."

My mom stared at me in disbelief.

After all, Luis and I had been together for years. She couldn't help but wonder at my sudden change of mind.

"Gwen, are you sure about this? If you don't want to go through with it, I'll never force you," she said.

I shook my head, trying to sound firm. "Mom, I'm sure. Brian Dawson and Dad were childhood friends.

"Even though our families have lost touch over the years, he stepped up and offered to help us out when our family hit rock bottom. That kind of loyalty is rare."

Compared to Luis, who proved to be cold and unreliable, I felt like I could trust Jared Dawson, whom I'd be marrying.

I bowed my head, fighting to keep the torrent of emotions in my eyes from spilling over.

My mom gave me a deep look and let out a heavy sigh. "Alright, I respect your decision. The Dawson family has set the date for five days from now. Make sure you're ready. We'll move to Leilaburgh then."

I nodded. My mom patted my hand gently, then left.

The room went silent, so quiet that I could hear my every breath.

Tears spilled down my cheeks, totally out of control. It felt like an invisible hand was squeezing my heart, hurting so badly I could barely catch my breath.

Luis had been my dad's secretary for years, always by his side.

When we first met, I thought we'd be living out one of those romance novels—rich girl fell for the poor boy, their relationship filled with twists and turns. But it didn't turn out that way.

My dad was open-minded. He never once tried to keep us apart, and he'd even joke that of all the guys out there, Luis was the only one he'd trust to marry his daughter.

For seven years, I thought I'd carved out a place for myself in Luis' life. Turned out, I never really made it into his heart.

All those loving gestures, his maturity and stability, were a pretense.

If my father knew about this, I knew he'd want me to leave Einsen Coast, and leave Luis behind.

*****

That afternoon, I went back to the marital apartment and started packing up my stuff.

I froze for a second, staring at the empty space above the bed.

That spot was supposed to be where we put our wedding photos.

But every time I asked Luis to go wedding dress shopping or take wedding photos with me, he'd shoot me down with lame excuses—overtime, urgent work, and the like.

I used to sympathize with him, always thinking he was working too hard. Now I found it ridiculous.

Busy? Yeah, right. The truth was, he just didn't want to take wedding photos with me.

Just then, I heard the key turning in the lock at the door. I pulled myself together quickly and turned around.

When Luis saw me, his tired face instantly lit up with a smile. He walked over and wrapped his arms around me, like he always did.

"Gwen, where did you go this morning? How could you leave me, all hungover, alone at home?" Luis said.

I swallowed my disgust and answered coolly, "I stopped by Mom's place. Needed to sort a couple things out with her."

Luis nodded, then stood up, looking at me hesitantly, like he was working up the nerve to say something.

After a long while, he said, "Gwen, I need to talk to you about something. Dani just got back to the country and doesn't have anywhere to stay right now.

"We've got an extra room here, so I thought maybe she could crash with us for a few days until she finds a place. Would that be okay?"

Even though I already knew about him and Dani, I still felt a sharp pang in my chest when I heard him say that out loud.

When I didn't say anything for a while, Luis got visibly nervous and started explaining, "Come on, you know me and Dani go way back. She's always been like a little sister to me, for real.

"And once Dani finds her own place, she'll be gone before you know it."

The unwavering look in his eyes stabbed into my heart all over again.