Chapter 1

After my childhood sweetheart, Alex Carter, dumped me without warning, I fell into depression.

Ethan Reed was the one who stayed by my side and helped me through it.

He even cut ties with Alex and all their friends for me.

But on the day of our engagement party, he said he was inviting that entire group.

"I want everyone who doubted us back then to see how happy we are now," he said.

Then, while we were popping champagne, Ethan suddenly pointed the bottle at me.

Pop! The cork struck me straight in the left eye.

Champagne drenched my hair and ruined the makeup I had spent three hours perfecting.

My best friend, Emily Turner, doubled over laughing. "Sophie, three years later, and you still haven't changed at all.

"I was the one who told Alex to chase you and then dump you. You fell for it. Later, we made a bet that Ethan could win you over too, and you fell for him just as easily.

"You really are like your mother. You can't go a second without a man!"

One cake after another came flying at me.

I covered my eye as the blows knocked me to the floor.

When I looked up, I saw Ethan standing beside Alex.

One of them gently patted Emily's back while the other wiped away the tears of laughter from her face.

"Sophie, Emily and I got married a long time ago," Ethan said.

"Your mother was a mistress who stole Emily's father. So now you can be the mistress and pay her back. Seems fair to me," Alex added.

The men around them burst into laughter and showered me with insults.

"No wonder she's such a slut. She'll cling to any man who'll have her."

"Ethan, am I next?"

I stumbled to my feet and wiped the frosting from my face.

There won't be a next one.

From now on, the only person I'd ever trust was myself.

*****

I braced myself against the cold floor, struggling to get to my feet.

Frosting and champagne dripped from the ends of my hair.

Ryan Brooks, Ethan's best friend, reached out his hand, but it hung awkwardly in the air.

"What, is my part different or something?" Ryan joked.

The next second, the laughter got louder and harsher.

"Come on, Ryan, can't get Sophie to look at you," someone jeered.

Emily walked up to me and gently wiped the frosting off my face.

"Come on, don't be silly. I was messing with you earlier. Like I've told you before, all that drama was stuff between our parents. It has nothing to do with you," Emily said.

Ethan walked over and draped his suit jacket over my shoulders.

"Honestly, I've already set up our wedding for tomorrow. Today was one last test for you," Ethan said.

His tone was light and easy.

"You got together with me so fast back then. I couldn't be sure you were really serious about us," Ethan said.

I held my left eye, still burning with pain, and bit my lower lip.

"Ethan, let's break up," I said.

When Alex dumped me out of the blue, I clung to Ethan like he was my only lifeline.

This kind of test has happened to me more than once in the past three years.

Ethan and Emily went on a trip together, left me all alone at home for three days, locked inside.

He cut ties with Alex, but kept mentioning him right in front of me, constantly picking at wounds that hadn't healed yet.

Ethan would record every time I broke down, and then keep reminding me about it, over and over.

He always said nobody else would stick around for me, only him.

Every time he soothed me, I ended up needing him more than before.

But right now, I just felt so exhausted. Honestly, anything, even dying, seemed better than living like this.

Ethan's face darkened.

"Sophie, stop it," he said.

Alex snorted with a sarcastic laugh. "Sophie, when you broke up with me, you were bawling your eyes out, saying you'd end it all, acting all desperate like I was your whole world.

"And then you jumped right into Ethan's arms.

"Now you want to break up? What's this act supposed to be?"

I ignored them, yanked the suit jacket off, and tossed it to the floor.

I turned, pushed open the door, and walked out of the private room.

Ethan's voice called out from behind me. "Let her go. She'll come crawling back to me."

By the time I got home, it was already late at night.

My mom, who was supposed to be in the hospital, was sitting on the living room couch.

When she saw me come in, she rushed over to me, worry written all over her face.

"Sophie, what happened to you?" she asked.

I felt a lump in my throat, but managed to force a smile.

I said, "It's nothing. There were too many people at the engagement party, and I accidentally slipped and ended up covered in cake.

"Mom, what are you doing here?"

"Your wedding is tomorrow and you didn't even tell me. Ethan had to come get me himself," Mom said.

She reached up and brushed the frosting out of my hair.

"Good thing it's just a little bruise around your eye. Some heavy foundation tomorrow will cover it right up," Mom said.

My heart clenched tight.

In that instant, I finally understood why Ethan was so sure I'd come back to him.

Just then, there was a knock at the door. The wedding planner brought in the wedding dress, veil, and boutonniere.

Mom held the boutonniere up to her chest, her eyes shining with pride as she looked at the pure white wedding dress.

She said, "I've had a rough life. Never met a man I could really count on.

"But you're lucky, Sophie. You found someone as steady as Ethan."

Mom was the only family I had left in this world.

I glanced at the IV needle taped to the back of her hand, then sent Ethan a text.

It read: [The wedding is still on for tomorrow.]

*****

Before dawn, the staff pulled me out of the wedding bed.

The makeup artist got to work on my makeup.

The heavy wedding dress pressed against my chest, felt like I could barely breathe.

Before I was fully awake, a scratchy rope was tied tight around both my wrists.

They handed the rope to Ethan.

Without a word, he yanked me right out the door.

"Sophie, it's how things are done around here. Before the wedding, the bride has to parade through town tied up like this, supposedly so you'll learn to behave and our married life will go smoothly," Ethan said.

Emily, in her maid of honor dress, was keeping pace with me on her e-scooter.

"It's only for an hour or two, Sophie. Tough it out. It'll be over before you know it," Emily said.

As the sky started to brighten, more and more people gathered along the street, whispering when they saw me.

"Is that really the bride? Getting paraded around with a rope at the crack of dawn?"

"I heard there's some old country rule. If you're not a 'proper' bride, they make you walk around in public to put you in your place."

I hadn't slept a wink all night, and my injured left eye was throbbing with pain.

Every step in these stilettos felt like I was being stabbed with every move.

I slumped to the ground, but Ethan dragged me another few feet down the street.

"Sophie, don't listen to them. This is really for our own good. Hang in there a little longer," Ethan said.

I didn't say a word.

Emily took a couple of photos with her phone.

She said, "Well, if Sophie can't keep going, I guess I'll have to tell her mom the wedding's off.

"I wonder if her mom, who's been looking forward to this for so long, could handle the shock of it being canceled all of a sudden.“

Bracing myself, I forced my battered body upright.

"Don't. I can still walk," I yelled.

Emily watched me stumble after them and grinned, clearly pleased with herself.

By the time we finally made it back, the hem of my wedding dress was soaked in blood from my torn heels.

I dropped onto the wedding bed, completely spent, the rope still binding my wrists, when my phone started ringing.

Ethan picked up my phone and answered the video call like it was the most natural thing in the world.

Mom looked really anxious on the screen.

"Ethan, I just saw a short video of a girl in a wedding dress being paraded around town with a rope," Mom said, sounding really shaken.

Ethan stayed cool and answered calmly.

He said, "You must've got it mixed up. There's one last thing we have to do before the ceremony.

"We'll be at the hotel soon for the ceremony. Wait for us there, okay? Don't worry."

Last step? What did that mean?

My brain was still scrambled, trying to make sense of it, when Ethan abruptly hung up.

The door to the wedding suite was suddenly thrown open.

A bunch of tall groomsmen barged into the room.

Rough hands shamelessly reached out toward me without hesitation.

"Damn, the bride's so pretty. Gotta soak up some of that fortune," one of them joked.

"Why so shy? It's your big day," another guy laughed.

I kept shaking my head, trying to dodge them, but my hands were tied with that rope, so I was completely trapped.

Someone shoved in close and pressed their lips against my cheek and neck.

Rough hands grabbed at my shoulders and waist, pawing at me.

I screamed, totally powerless. "No, get off me! Get away!"

But then I saw Emily holding up her phone, starting a livestream right in front of everyone.

She said, "Sophie, don't be such a baby. Everyone's celebrating for you.

"Come on, fam, send some hearts. If you're watching, you're part of the celebration."

The chat was exploding with comments.

[Whoa, isn't that the girl they dragged through the streets this morning?]

[Man, she's so pale and delicate. If I was there, I'd have jumped her already]

I curled up, my whole body trembling as I shot Ethan a pleading look, begging him to help me.

He just turned away, acting like he didn't see me.

Right when I was drowning in despair, I felt someone's hand creeping up under my dress.

Ethan finally spoke, his brow furrowed.

"That's enough. Don't mess up the wedding schedule," Ethan said.