Chapter 1

On the eve of our wedding, my fiancé chose to fulfill his first love's final wish: he spent the night with her.

That night, a photo arrived on my phone. In it, he was flushed and disheveled, tangled in her bedsheets.

I replied, a cold laugh escaping my lips: [What a devoted man. He's all yours now.]

The next day, I announced that the wedding was canceled. The reception would go on as a celebration of freedom.

Then my fiancé showed up in a panic, wearing his pristine white suit, his eyes red and swollen.

"Don't you want to marry me anymore?" he asked, his voice choked.

*****

The day before the wedding, I was buzzing with excitement as I went over the last-minute details with my fiancé, Michael Lane.

After five years together, Michael and I were finally about to get married, with the ceremony scheduled for the next day. I wanted our wedding to be perfect, a memory we would cherish forever.

Michael, however, seemed distracted. I asked him several questions, but he just stared blankly ahead, offering no response.

A thread of worry began to weave through my excitement.

"Michael, is everything okay?" I asked. "You're not having second thoughts, are you?"

Michael finally snapped back to attention and shook his head.

"No, of course not," he said, a little too quickly. "I'm looking forward to tomorrow too."

I breathed a sigh of relief. "Just nerves, then? Don't worry," I said lightly, "I promise you'll be the most handsome groom there."

Michael rested his head on my shoulder with a smile, but I sensed a hesitation in him. He seemed about to say more, but held back.

"Michael, just tell me what's on your mind," I said. "We're about to get married. There shouldn't be secrets between us."

Michael's gaze drifted away. "Rachel," he finally said, "Jessica told me she has cancer. I want to visit her in the hospital."

Hearing that name, I was momentarily stunned.

Jessica Shaw was Michael's first love, the one I knew he had never truly gotten over.

She had ended their relationship to move abroad. I was the one who helped him through that painful time, and eventually, we became a couple.

After that, Jessica vanished from our lives for five years, a stretch so long I had almost forgotten her. I never expected her to come back.

But even if she were ill, why reach out to an ex now? Why choose the day before our wedding? What could she possibly hope to gain?

I swallowed my anger, forcing my voice to stay gentle.

"Michael, she isn't part of your life anymore," I said. "We're getting married tomorrow, and there's still so much to do."

Michael, who had been smiling just moments before, suddenly grew somber. He pushed me aside, his touch rough.

"Rachel, have you no compassion?" he snapped. "Jessica is my friend. She's fighting cancer. Am I not even allowed to see her?

"We're not even married yet, and you're already trying to control me?" he accused, his voice rising. "What's next? Once we're married, do you plan to keep me locked up at home and never let me leave?"

I stared at the enraged Michael before me, unable to believe those unreasonable words had just come out of his mouth.

No woman would welcome her husband spending time with an ex, yet Michael had twisted the situation into an accusation that I was trying to control him.

But with the wedding tomorrow, I saw no point in escalating the conflict.

Finally, I gave in. "Fine," I said. "I'll go with you to the hospital. We were all college classmates, so it's only right that I visit her too."

I thought that would appease him. Instead, he sprang to his feet.

"Rachel, what is that supposed to mean?" he demanded. "You don't trust me? Are you trying to spy on me? Why are you being so petty?"

My heart, which had been so full of excitement for the wedding, suddenly went cold.

I had never expected Michael to blow up like this.

I didn't think my request was unreasonable, but Michael reacted as if I had stepped on a landmine.

"Michael," I said, struggling to keep my voice steady, "no woman in her right mind would be comfortable with her fiancé meeting his ex alone. My going with you is the most I'm willing to compromise."

Frustrated, Michael finally stomped his foot. "I don't care what you think," he said. "I'm going, and you're not coming with me."

Perhaps realizing he had been too harsh, he tried a different tack, his voice lowering. "Rachel, I just want to see Jessica one last time. If you come, it will make things awkward for her."

He added, "I'm going to be your husband tomorrow. Don't you trust me at all?"

I knew that tone well. Michael only used it when he was trying to win my approval.

His insistence on going alone only deepened my suspicions. Yet I was too close to the wedding to start a real fight.

I met his gaze. "Michael, our wedding is tomorrow," I said. "Just make sure you come back early."

Michael's eyes lit up. He pulled me into a tight hug and kissed me.

"So you're letting me go? I knew you'd understand, Rachel. Don't worry, I'll be back early. I won't ruin our big day," he said, his voice thick with relief.

If this had happened before, such a moment would have made my heart swell with joy.

Now, as I watched Michael hum to himself while styling his hair, my heart sank. I wondered if he had ever truly loved me in all the five years we were together.