Chapter 1

At eighteen, I was taken back into the Shelton family by my biological parents. But even after I returned, the one who had come before me never left.

Martha Shelton was still their little princess. And I—well, I was treated like the adopted one, unwelcome at every turn.

Through it all, Maurice Montgomery stayed by my side. He coaxed me out of my silence, made me laugh, and went to college with me.

We were inseparable. He walked me to class, brought me home, and carried me through the hardest years of my life.

Until, six years later, we were getting married.

The night before the wedding, I overheard him at a bar, celebrating his last night of freedom with his friends.

"If I hadn't kept her sweet and kept her fooled," he said lightly, "she would've found a way to push Martha out. Martha's fragile, and she's like a sister to us. We grew up together. How could we ever let her be hurt?"

One of his friends laughed. "Aren't you afraid Adelaide will find out? What if she turns on you and forces Martha out anyway?"

Maurice scoffed. "She's just a hotel lobby manager now. After all these years leaning on me, treating me like her salvation, even if she makes a scene, how far could she really go?"

"Maurice, you're always so good to me. Thank you." Martha practically melted into him, her whole body leaning close.

Maurice flushed, trying to hold himself back, yet he couldn't even bring himself to meet her eyes.

I had never seen him like that before.

Because with me, he had never been restrained. Desire had always burned hot and relentless. Night after night, he clung to me as though it would never be enough.

And yet, in front of another woman, he played the innocent. How laughable.

He thought he had been deceiving me all along, keeping me under his control. What he never realized was that I had been doing the same.

*****

The next morning, the Montgomery family's wedding car arrived right on time, and we headed to the venue.

I slipped into my wedding dress, cheeks flushed with shyness, and walked step by step beside Maurice toward the officiant.

When the officiant turned to Maurice and asked, "Mr. Montgomery, do you take Ms. Shelton to be your wife?

"Will you love her, cherish her, and remain faithful to her, in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health, for richer or for poorer, until death do you part?"

Maurice smiled, looking at me with what seemed like deep affection, and said, "I do."

The crowd erupted in applause.

Martha was sitting right in the front row, wearing a pale pink dress, her eyes red and watery, looking for all the world like she was the most pitiful victim here.

I glanced her way, and inwardly, I couldn't help but sneer.

The officiant turned to me. "Ms. Shelton, do you take—"

Before he could finish, the big screen behind us suddenly lit up.

"If I didn't keep her happy and keep pretending, she'd definitely find a way to edge Martha out." Maurice's voice blared from the speakers, so clear it sent a chill down everyone's spine.

The whole place went dead silent.

Maurice said, "Martha's so fragile, and she's been our little sister since we were kids. How could we ever bring ourselves to let her go?"

I stood there frozen, feeling the blood drain from my face.

"Aren't you worried Adelaide will find out the truth? She might kick Martha out and blow up your whole life," another male voice cut in.

It was one of Maurice's friends.

"She's just a hotel lobby manager now, and she's leaned on me for everything all these years. She acts like I'm her savior. Even if she makes a scene, what can she really do?" Maurice's laugh rang out, mocking and harsh.

The screen cut to a new scene. Maurice and Martha were sitting in a bar booth, Martha practically glued to his side.

"Maurice, you're always so good to me. Thank you, Maurice," Martha cooed.

The footage was crystal clear, the audio crisp. I could even see the blush spreading across Maurice's ears.

The whole place erupted in an uproar.

I whipped my head around to look at Maurice.

His face was pale, his mouth opened and closed, but he couldn't get a single word out.

"This... this isn't real..." he blurted out, reaching for me.

I stepped back, the hem of my wedding dress nearly making me stumble.

"Adelaide, please, let me explain," he pleaded.

"Explain what?" My voice shook, tears spilling down my cheeks. "Explain how you've been lying to me for six years? Explain how you only got close to me so I wouldn't push Martha out?"

Martha suddenly stood up, her face alternated between red and white. "Adelaide, I..."

"Don't call me that!" I shouted, my voice cracking. "Who are you, really? You're just an adopted daughter, but my real parents treat you like their treasure, and my fiancé acts like you're his whole world. And me? What am I—just a nobody?"

Monroe Shelton's face turned stormy as she stood up abruptly, about to say something, but Hector Shelton grabbed her arm and held her back.

Monroe's parents couldn't even get a word out, and the looks from the crowd were sharp enough to slice them to pieces.

"Six years." I turned to Maurice, tears streaming down my face. "I really believed you cared about me. But what was it all for? In the end, you were just stringing me along, lying to me the whole time?"

"No, that's not it," Maurice stammered.