Chapter 1

One day in the third year of my marriage to Edward Collins, my marriage certificate was ruined by a spilled drink, so I went to the county clerk to get a replacement.

The county clerk said, "Ma'am, our records show you as single."

I froze. "That's impossible. I registered my marriage here three years ago."

The clerk double-checked, frowning.

Then he said, "It shows you as single, but Mr. Collins' record says he's married... and his wife is Lila Moore."

My head was spinning, and it felt like my whole world was collapsing.

When I first joined the volunteer program, I got Edward Collins' attention and became his girlfriend. He was young then, yet already a respected supervisor on the farm.

Lila was just a stand-in he found while I was away with the City Theater in Niverton. She looked almost exactly like me.

I clutched the ruined, now utterly useless marriage certificate in my hand and stumbled home, feeling completely numb.

When I walked in, the old radio on the table played Edward's special message for me—a message he'd recorded while he was at work.

He said, "Sophia, I've canceled all my meetings just so I can be there for your latest performance of Ode to the Hills.

"All the beautiful sceneries in the world can't compare to you. Sophia, do you miss me?"

I stared at the tape, and suddenly, I let out a hysterical laugh.

Tears streamed down my face, soaking my cheeks.

All these years, he had gotten people to bring me letters, and every single one was filled with longing for me.

I always thought he was hopelessly in love with me.

It turned out that he'd been having an affair with someone else.

Three years ago, I got picked by the City Theater and sent off to Niverton.

Right before I left, Edward held me in his arms, his voice hoarse and possessive. "Three months. If you stay there longer, I'll tear Niverton apart and hunt you down myself."

For every single one of those ninety days in Niverton, no matter how swamped he was at work, he called me, never missing a day.

There was this one time when I got completely lost in perfecting a dance move. I spent days shut away in the rehearsal room, so focused that I didn't reply to any of Edward's messages.

By the time I finally picked up his call, he was already stuck in the hospital on the farm.

He had been so heartsick from missing me that he spent night after night listening to the tape I recorded for him until he literally made himself sick—he coughed up blood and ended up passing out.

Edward's voice was barely a whisper on the phone, so weak and full of despair. "Sophia, I can't live without you."

I felt a stabbing pain in my chest, guilt and worry tangled together. "It's almost over. Just one more show and I'll be home."

After that, I turned down every offer from the City Theater to stay. I came back early, wanting to surprise him.

However, when I pushed open the door to the performance troupe's rehearsal room, I caught him with his arms around another woman, guiding her hands as he taught her a dance move.

And when I caught a glimpse of her profile, my breath stopped—she looked exactly like me.

A chill ran down my spine, and I bolted.

In the midst of a blizzard, he chased after the truck taking me back, desperate and crazy.

I wouldn't see him, so he went shirtless and waited outside my dorm, letting the snow bury him as he kept apologizing and trying desperately to explain.

He stayed there until he burned up with fever and passed out, and they had to carry him straight to the hospital.

Even when he was delirious, he wouldn't let go of my hand. He muttered, "Sophia, please don't leave me."

That day, all my anger just melted away.

Three months after I was back at the farm, he introduced a new member to the performance troupe—Lila Moore.

The girl he had said was only a stand-in for me in the troupe.

Edward gave me an apologetic look. "The girl comes from a difficult family and has suffered a lot. I'm the supervisor here, and I have to look after everyone."

I gave in.

However, it never occurred to me that giving in this time would turn me into nothing but a joke.