Chapter 1

I worked ten years for the home we were going to share after our wedding with my boyfriend, Felix White. Then he rented it to an intern.

I didn't find out until I got a noise complaint call.

The voice on the other end of the line said, "Ms. Amelia Lane? We got a report about a loud noise from your home.

The address was the home Felix and I were going to share after our wedding.

I said yes right away, worried it might be burglars, and rushed over to open the door.

Just as the police were about to handcuff everyone inside, Felix showed up late and showed them a lease.

He said, "Sorry. I rented the place out. Forgot to tell my girlfriend."

The lease said one year.

But next month we were supposed to get married and move into our new home.

When I questioned him, Felix just rubbed his forehead and said, "There are three bedrooms. It's no big deal to spare one for the young girl."

I let out a cold laugh in my mind.

Maybe calling off our wedding was no big deal, either.

*****

Felix rented out the home we were going to share after our wedding behind my back. The tenant was his new intern, Jessica Drew.

I looked around. The police and the party guests were gone. Now it was just the three of us. Felix, Jessica, and I.

I had put so much work into decorating our future home. And now it was covered in signs of someone else's life.

It made me so frustrated.

Jessica came up to me nervously. "Sorry, miss. I just got my first paycheck and wanted to invite some friends over to celebrate." Her voice got lower and lower.

She looked like a scared rabbit. "Don't worry. I won't just bring anyone over anymore. I'm very well-behaved. Just ask Feli." She turned to him, her eyes full of reliance on him. "Come on, tell this lady how obedient I am."

Felix was caught off guard. He froze for a second, then went along. "Yeah, Jessie is always well-behaved at work. She doesn't make a fuss and never bothers anyone."

But that wasn't the point.

I didn't feel like arguing. "Move out by tomorrow at the latest." I didn't even look at her.

Jessica was stunned. The tears came right away. "But I'm broke this month. Could I..."

"That's your problem," I cut her off.

I turned to Felix, looked at him, and said, one word at a time, "This apartment. My name is on the deed.

"You rented it out. You deal with it. When I come back tomorrow, I don't want to see anything that isn't mine."

Felix's face fell. The room fell completely silent. The only sound was Jessica's quiet sobs.

Felix couldn't take it. He handed her a tissue and patted her on the back to comfort her.

He said, "Amelia, Jessie's mom is very sick. She sends most of her intern paycheck home. How about this? Let her stay for the rest of this month. She'll move out as soon as she gets her next paycheck."

Jessica's crying was starting to soften me up. I was about to give in. Then I noticed something on the table. It was a familiar picture frame.

It was our wedding photo. Felix and me in it. Right at that moment, it was sitting under a bowl of hot stew, being used as a coaster.

Felix saw that I was about to agree. He let out a small breath of relief.

But my face turned livid. Without a word, I swept the whole table onto the floor.

He had no idea what was happening. He couldn't help but feel a little annoyed.

He said, "Why are you getting mad all of a sudden again? You can still show kindness to cats and dogs. Why can't you treat people the same way?"

I pulled the photo frame out. He stopped mid-sentence.

In the picture, he was in a crisp suit. I wore a flowing white dress. We were smiling at each other. The camera had frozen a moment of unmistakable happiness.

But now it was covered in quite a few grease stains. And our faces had changed color from the heat.

Jessica's expression shifted. She looked like she had been terribly wronged. Then she started speaking between sobs, "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry.

"I just didn't want to leave a heat mark on the tabletop. I didn't have anything right to put under the bowl. I don't know who grabbed this. I didn't look and just used it."

Seeing how miserable she looked, Felix tried to comfort her. "It's no big deal. We can print another one.

"Don't be upset. Go to your room and rest for a bit. I'll clean up with Amelia, and then we'll leave."

I almost wanted to give him a thumbs up. What a saint.

Not only did he let someone trash our future home, but he'd also clean up after her.

I picked up the wedding photo and slammed it down. The frame scraped against his side.

He cried out in pain, "Amelia, that's enough out of you. It's just a small thing. Why are you making such a big deal out of it?"

Jessica didn't have time to cry anymore. She lifted Felix's shirt and pressed close to see if he was hurt.

He was a regular at the gym. His abs were well-defined. Her face turned red right away.

But when she saw a small bruise start to form on his side, she turned her head sharply and stared hard at me. Her eyes were still wet with tears, but her look was full of poison.

"You really are just like Feli said," she said, one word at a time. "Crude. Rude. Old woman. You don't deserve him at all."

Felix realized something was wrong. He forgot about the pain in his side. He pushed Jessica away. "When did I ever say that?" he snapped.

Then he turned to me right away. "Amelia, don't listen to her nonsense. I swear I never said anything like that."

Jessica dropped her timid act. She raised her arm and stepped in front of Felix protectively. "Feli, I know you're trying to save her face. But I heard it from the senior colleagues.

"She has a terrible temper. She always makes a fuss and expects you to give in and coax her. You're good-looking and capable. You became a director so young. Why should you let any woman boss you around?"

She looked genuinely outraged, like she truly believed it was so unfair to him.