Chapter 2

The pressure in my chest loosened the moment the words left my mouth.

Sophie lifted her chin, practically glowing with smugness. "Julia, do you even know what our other bet was?

"Alex giving me your ring and watching whether you'd make a scene. That's all it was. Alex said you were understanding and would let it go. I said you'd blow up."

She clicked her tongue. "And look how that turned out. Alex must be so disappointed."

Then she smirked. "Do you know what the stakes were this time?"

I shot back, "What?"

She shrugged. "Who gets the wedding."

"I told Alex I envied you," she said, smiling like she owned the world. "I wanted to know what it felt like to walk down the aisle to him. And since I won, I get the wedding."

My fingers twitched.

Alexander had actually taken a wedding—our wedding—and turned it into a bet.

It was beyond ridiculous.

Had he ever seen me as anything more than a bargaining chip?

Sophie kept going. "But don't misunderstand. I'm not actually marrying Alex. I just want to have my fun at his wedding. The real bride is still you."

She tapped her finger against her own chest. "But you don't need to show up."

"Weddings are exhausting anyway," she added lightly. "You can rest."

Every word was polished, polite, and absolutely shameless.

Her smug little smirk made something in me snap. "I don't care who marries whom. I'm done with this engagement. Handle it however you want."

Alexander's face hardened. "Julia, I never thought you'd be this petty. This filthy-minded.

"You're really ending an engagement over a ring?"

They stood there acting like they were the righteous ones.

I laughed, "Of course I am."

Silence cracked through the crowd.

Alexander frowned. "Fine. Then the wedding next month proceeds as planned. The bride will be Sophie."

He paused, then delivered the last blow, calm and cruel. "But the fiancée is still you. And you're going to attend in a bridesmaid dress."

My jaw tightened. "No—"

He cut me off sharply.

"Your parents' last wish was for you to become Mrs. Sterling," he said. "I doubt you want to disappoint them."

I went completely still.

He knew exactly where to strike.

When the Evans family went bankrupt and all my parents' belongings were seized, Alexander had spent a fortune buying everything back.

They were sitting in the vault at Sterling Manor.

His meaning was obvious. Those things were in his hands. He held all the leverage.

If I didn't obey, he would destroy the last things I had of them.

Sophie let out a fake little laugh. "Julia, you really shouldn't try to manipulate Alex like that.

"You know he only stayed with you out of pity, because your family went under.

"You should be grateful."

My hands shook. I inhaled slowly, steadying myself. "Fine. I'll do it."

*****

Alexander hid the key to the vault.

That climate-controlled underground room was the last place that still held anything of my parents after the accident—my mother's bracelet, my father's handwritten journals, the photos from their wedding day. Everything was in there.

He once knelt in front of me, eyes filled with pity, and promised, "Julia, I'll keep these safe for you. You can take them back anytime."

I believed him. So I let him keep everything.

And now he wouldn't even let me through the door.

I stood in the entryway of Sterling Manor, my fingers cold, my nails digging into my palm.

Sophie was curled against Alexander's chest. She wore a cream cashmere dress today, the neckline just low enough, her full chest brushing casually against his arm like it was the most natural thing in the world.

The moment she saw me, she lifted her face, sugary sweet and impossibly fake. "Julia, you're here? I just wanted to try on the wedding dress for fun. Don't be mad at Alex, okay?"

She paused, tilting her head, pretending to look guilty. "I promise that after the wedding, I'll try not to make any more bets with Alex. Happy?"

I let out a short laugh.

That wedding dress was something I spent three months designing myself—layers upon layers of fabric, every inch embroidered with camellias I loved.

And Alexander had tossed it into a bet. It became Sophie's prize.

They both knew what that dress meant to me.

I forced a smile and stayed silent.

Alexander stood beside her, hands in his pockets, speaking like he was negotiating a business deal. "After the wedding, I'll give you the key back."

My heart clenched so hard it almost hurt.

I steadied my breathing and nodded. "Fine. But until then, I'm moving out of Sterling Manor."