Chapter 1

At our engagement party, my fiancé, Dorian Wright, never showed up. I waited and waited, but all I got was a text saying he wasn't coming.

He typed: [Elena's getting double-eyelid surgery, so she couldn't be around crowds right now. She's my childhood sweetheart, and I don't want her to miss it. Let's cancel the engagement party for now.]

My parents, who had no idea what was going on, were still waiting by the entrance.

They said, "This is already the third engagement party for our daughter. That brat Dorian better not have messed up again. The guests are all here."

I counted on my fingers.

The night before the first engagement party, Dorian had insisted on driving across the state to pick up Elena Flores as her flight got delayed; we had to cancel.

A week before the second one, he said he needed to mourn Elena's dog, which had passed away.

But three times was too much.

I patted the shoulder of my senior, Neil Foley, whose eyes were brimming with tears beside me. "Don't cry, Neil. I'll marry you."

*****

The engagement party went ahead as planned.

Because of the huge disparity between Dorian's and my family, my parents never announced who the groom was, just so others wouldn't mock Dorian for marrying into our family.

By the end of the night, only a handful of us knew the groom had been swapped out at the last minute.

Not even Dorian had a clue.

After sorting out everything from the engagement party, I dragged myself home, planning to pick up my paperwork and get things ready for the wedding in two weeks.

When I opened the door, the wedding decor in the entryway was an eyesore.

I quietly took them down and headed to the bedroom, but the scene before me stopped me dead in my tracks.

Dorian, who usually hated doing chores, had actually tidied up the bedroom until it was spotless, and right in the middle of the bed was a bunch of red roses.

Was Dorian trying to apologize? But it was all too late now.

I glanced down at wedding decor I'd crumpled in my hand, then carefully tried to smooth them out, trying to restore them.

Just then, I heard the sound of keys in the lock at the door. Instinctively, I tucked the engagement ring into my pocket.

Before I could say anything, I heard Dorian and Elena laughing.

"Don't worry, Elena. No rental can compare to home. I've already cleaned up the master bedroom for you, so settle in and relax," Dorian said.

I stepped out of the room, still in shock, and ran right into Dorian. He froze for a moment, clearly caught off guard.

Elena, trailing close behind him, almost tripped, and that finally snapped Dorian back to reality.

"Why did you sneak back without telling anyone? You almost gave Elena a scare!" Dorian said.

Sneak back? This was the martial home my parents bought for Dorian and me, but now I was the one who didn't belong.

With a deep frown, Dorian dragged Elena's suitcase along and headed straight to the master bedroom.

"Elena just had her double eyelid surgery, so she needs a spotless place to recover. I don't trust hotels to be clean enough. Since our engagement party's been postponed and we're not using this place for now, Elena can stay here for a while," Dorian said.

Before I could react, Dorian picked up the bouquet of roses from the center of the bed, brushed right past me, and handed them to Elena.

"You've had a long trip, so you must be worn out. Just take it easy and rest up. I cleaned the whole room myself, so you don't have to worry," Dorian said softly.

Elena took the bouquet, making a show of it as she plucked out a single rose and handed it to me.

"Dorian really isn't that thoughtful. Why didn't he order a bouquet for you too, Patricia? Consider this my way of apologizing for him," Elena said.

Elena acted like she owned the place.

Elena glanced at the engagement ring on my finger, quickly shoved the rose into my hand, then turned to Dorian, her voice dripping with playful sweetness.

"Hey, not bad, Dorian. I actually really like this engagement ring style," Elena teased.

Dorian just smiled. "If you like it, I'll get the jeweler to make you one tomorrow. It'll be your birthday gift this year," he replied.

The wedding stuffed toy between them looked like an eyesore.

Dorian glanced at me like he was bestowing some grand favor, his face showing clear irritation.

"Take this rose and go stay at your parents' for a while. They've got plenty of money, so it's no big deal for them to support you a bit more," he said.

I gave Dorian a cold stare and threw the rose Elena handed me straight onto the floor.

"Save it. I don't want trash," I said.

Elena sniffled, acting all pitiful. "Patricia, are you saying I shouldn't crash at your place?"

Dorian's expression grew even more annoyed.