Chapter 1

On the day of my wedding, my groom ditched me.

I was halfway through my makeup, and the emcee was shouting through the schedule outside.

I was still struggling with whether my false lashes were sitting evenly when my fiancé, Simon Ferguson, called me.

I thought he was calling to check if the wedding car had arrived.

He didn't even hesitate before saying, "Jenna, let's call off the wedding. I'm not coming."

The powder puff in my hand smacked right onto my wedding dress.

The makeup artist's hand trembled, and she almost smeared highlighter straight into my eye.

I froze for two seconds. My first reaction was not to cry but to ask, "Where are you?"

Simon was silent for a moment, his voice surprisingly calm. "It doesn't matter.

"What matters is, I saw her last night, and I realized I'm still not over her."

I gripped my phone, my mind going completely blank.

Great.

The classic first love story.

That first love, the one who always makes an untimely comeback in every cheesy drama, had finally shown up.

The wedding event staff was shouting outside, "Bride, get ready. You're walking down the aisle in ten minutes."

My dad was at the end of the hallway, confirming the banquet start time with the hotel manager.

My mom was urging the photographer to set up the primary camera angle.

My best friend, Eloise Dixon, was crouching on the floor fixing the train of my wedding dress, muttering curses about how insanely heavy the skirt was.

Yet there I was, clutching my phone and listening to Simon. He had dated me for three years, been engaged to me for one, and even gone over the wedding rundown with me just yesterday.

He said, "Jenna, I'm sorry.

"But you're never the one I wanted to marry."

Tears were already pricking at my eyes.

I meant it.

My nose was stinging, my eyes were burning, and it felt like someone had socked me hard in the chest.

Then I caught a glimpse of the wedding budget sheet on the table out of the corner of my eye.

The venue fee was 30 thousand dollars.

The wedding services were 16 thousand dollars.

Twenty banquet tables, plus flowers, lighting, photography, dessert station, wedding favors, drinks, emcee fees, and all other expenses, added up to about 100 thousand dollars.

I stared at that number, and my tears were forced right back down.

I fell silent for three seconds, took a deep breath, and said calmly, "Fine.

"You don't have to show up.

"But you'd better pray I don't go too off-script today."

Then I hung up straight away.

The whole dressing room went dead silent.

The makeup artist stood there, brush in hand, not daring to move.

Eloise looked up at me, her face going from "Who are you talking to?" to "Oh shit, something's wrong."

"Jenna," she said, standing up. "Don't tell me that bastard bailed."

I nodded.

I said, "Yeah, he's gone."

"With Kiara?"

"Yeah."

"Can I go break his manhood right now?"

"Not yet." I bent down to pick up the powder puff from my dress and brushed the dust off it. "Don't do that just yet."

Eloise's eyes were red with fury.

She blurted out, "Not yet? The reception is about to start any minute. Your parents still think he's stuck in traffic. Do the Fergusons know about this?"

I thought for a moment.

I said, "Yeah, I bet they do.

"He called me so calmly, which means this wasn't a last-minute decision. He planned to leave me to face this mess alone the whole time."

Eloise gritted her teeth. "So what are you going to do now?"

I looked down at the budget sheet again.

About 100 thousand dollars.

I closed my eyes for a second, then opened them again. "First, I'm going to cut my losses."

Eloise was stunned. "Wait, what?"

I looked up at her, my voice colder than ever. "I can cry later, but I can't let this money go to waste.

"I need you to do three things right now.

"First, tell the hotel not to hold off on the meal. Serve the food and open the bar as planned. No one is going to make me lose the deposit today.

"Second, keep an eye on the cash gift registry book, the gift list, and the cash gift box. Don't let anyone take anything in the chaos.

"Third," I paused, then handed her my phone.

"Get the chat logs between Simon and his so-called true love from the past three months ready to put up on the big screen backstage."

Eloise stared at me, her eyes widening in shock. "Wh-What are you going to do?"

I stood up, hitched up my wedding dress, and settled back in front of the makeup mirror.

I said, "Simon wants to make me the laughing stock today?

"Then I might as well make this wedding worth watching."

Five minutes later, my mom burst into the dressing room.

She said, "Jenna, why aren't you ready yet? We can't get through to Simon. His parents said they're already on the way, probably stuck in traff—"