Chapter 1

I walked into the wedding hall in my wedding dress, with every guest there waiting to watch me marry Michael Lane.

But instead, he walked onto the stage from the other side, holding the hand of his first love, Claire Bennett.

"Today, I'm marrying both of you," he said.

The entire room fell silent.

I thought I must have heard him wrong. But Michael simply handed the wedding ring to Claire.

"From now on, the three of us will build a good life together. That's all that matters," he said.

Claire's eyes reddened as she looked at me. "Emily, you love him so much. Surely you wouldn't deny me a place in his life, would you?"

Michael grabbed my shoulder and lowered his voice. "If you don't agree, this wedding is over. You'll get nothing."

I suddenly laughed.

So that was all marrying into the Lane family really meant.

What he wanted wasn't a wife. He wanted a free live-in maid who didn't mind suffering, never complained, and could be replaced whenever he pleased.

But he'd forgotten one thing. I could give everything to him, and I could take it all back too.

*****

Michael still had his hand clamped around my shoulder.

I reached up and pried his fingers off one by one. "Fine. Let's keep the wedding going."

The tension visibly drained from his shoulders.

A murmur swept through the crowd again.

Some people told me to be understanding. Others praised Michael for being a man who honored his promises.

A few even said Claire had saved Michael's mom, so giving her a wedding wasn't exactly unreasonable.

The officiant wiped the sweat from his forehead and cautiously asked, "So… shall we move on to the ring exchange?"

Michael immediately pulled another ring from the inside pocket of his suit.

My initials were engraved inside the band.

It was the exact style I'd casually mentioned seven years ago.

He'd actually remembered.

Michael held the ring out to me. "Emily, this one's yours.

"The wedding I'm giving Claire is just me keeping an old promise. You're the only woman I'm actually going to marry."

He sounded completely sincere.

He'd even remembered that I couldn't wear jewelry containing nickel.

The ring on Claire's finger was just an ordinary diamond ring.

Mine, on the other hand, had been custom-made from a design he'd sketched himself.

Seven years together hadn't been fake.

But there was still another woman in a wedding dress standing on that stage.

I didn't take the ring.

"Take care of this mess first," I told him.

Claire stepped half a pace closer to Michael. "Is she upset because she doesn't want me here?

"If I'm the reason you two are fighting, I'll leave right now."

She said she'd leave, but her hand was already wrapped around Michael's arm.

Michael patted the back of her hand. "No one's asking you to leave."

The officiant flipped through his cue cards, clearly wishing he were anywhere else, before reluctantly starting the vows.

He said, "Michael Lane, do you take Emily Carter to be your one and only wife for the rest of your—"

"Cut that part," I interrupted.

The officiant froze.

I pointed at Claire.

"There are two brides standing up there. You really think it makes sense to have him promise I'm his ‘one and only'?"

Michael's expression darkened. "Emily, don't get hung up on that right now."

I said, "I wasn't the one who arranged for a second bride.

"If you had the nerve to arrange this, then you should have the nerve to own it."

The whispers from the guests grew louder.

Michael could only take over the microphone and speak up. "Today's arrangement was my decision. Emily had no idea this was going to happen.

"Claire saved my mother's life. I owed her a debt, and I needed to make it right.

"I'll take responsibility for whatever comes of this."

A few scattered claps broke out after he finished.

Claire's eyes turned red as she leaned into his arms.

The photographer quickly called us over for the main wedding photo.

I had barely taken my place when Claire lightly touched my arm.

She said, "Emily, could you move over a little?

"I have a scar on my left shoulder. It doesn't look good from this angle."

The spot she'd chosen was right beside Michael.

If I moved any farther over, only half my wedding dress would show in the picture.

Michael lowered his voice. "It's just a spot. Don't embarrass her."

I nodded. Then I walked straight off the stage.

The photographer hurried after me, camera in hand. "Miss Carter, where are you going?"

"Making room for the bride and groom," I replied.

The shutter still clicked.

In the main wedding photo, there were only two people left: Michael and Claire.

The entire venue fell silent.

I went backstage, and Michael followed me almost immediately.

He pulled some stomach medicine from his pocket and handed me a glass of warm water.

He said, "You didn't eat anything this morning, did you?

"Take your medicine first. Don't make yourself sick just because you're mad at me."

He remembered my stomach problems.

He knew I got acid reflux whenever I was nervous.

But after placing the medicine in my hand, he pushed a tray of liquor toward me.

He said, "Claire can't drink because of her injury. When we make the rounds, you'll drink her share too."

There were twelve full glasses of liquor lined up on the tray.

I put the medicine back in his palm, then handed him the tray.

I said, "She's your bride. What does any of this have to do with me?"

I locked the dressing room door and pulled out my phone. Then I submitted the first application.

A notification popped up saying I needed to confirm it later.

I closed the page and started taking off my wedding dress.

That was when I noticed a sliver of white fabric sticking out from behind the changing rack.

It was another wedding dress, already altered and tailored.

The waist and hem were a perfect fit for Claire.

There was even an order receipt tucked inside the garment bag.

The order had been placed twenty-one days ago.

Yet just moments ago, Michael had told me Claire had only decided to attend the wedding three days ago.

I folded the receipt and slipped it into my clutch.

Outside the door, Michael was still knocking.

"Emily, enough with the fuss. The guests are waiting," he said.

I changed into my reception dress and opened the door. "Let's go."

He reached for my hand.

I stepped away before he could touch me and walked back into the ballroom alone.

Twenty-one days.

That was more than enough time to prepare a wedding dress, a ring, the ceremony, and the seating arrangements.

And more than enough time for a man to lie beside me every night and pretend that nothing had ever happened.

*****

The moment the wedding began, Helen Lane's glucose monitor suddenly started beeping.

She was Michael's mother.

Without thinking, she reached past Claire and waved me over. "Emily, come here. I'm feeling dizzy."

I walked over, checked her blood sugar first, then asked what she'd eaten.

She'd secretly eaten two pieces of wedding candy and hadn't had lunch on schedule.

With so many guests around, no one had remembered to keep an eye on her.

I recalculated her medication dosage and handed her some sugar-free candies.

It was the last time I would ever take care of this for her at a wedding.

Claire came over with a bowl of dessert. "Helen, have some. Something warm might make you feel better."

I raised a hand to stop her. "She can't have that right now."

Claire froze, the bowl still in her hands. "I was trying to take care of Helen."

"You don't even know what someone with diabetes can and can't eat?" I asked.

Several of the Lanes' relatives nearby started whispering and pointing at her.

Claire's face immediately flushed.

Michael came over and glanced at the soup. "Emily's right. Mom can't have that."

He had the server take the soup away, then placed a bowl of soup in front of me. "I had the kitchen make it separately. No seafood, no dairy."

Both were foods I was allergic to.

I stared at the bowl, my fingers resting on the spoon for two seconds.

But then Helen opened the jewelry box she'd brought with her.

Inside was a gold bracelet that had been passed down through the Lane family.

Before the wedding, she'd promised to put it on me herself.

She looked at me.

Then she looked at Claire.

In the end, she reached for Claire's hand. "Claire saved my life…"

She slipped the gold bracelet onto Claire's wrist.

Then Helen hurried to reassure me. "Emily, you're a sensible girl. I'll buy you something even more expensive later."

I pulled my hand back beneath the table.

Claire stroked the gold bracelet, and tears immediately welled in her eyes. "I don't want anything expensive. I just want a family."

After saying that, she wanted to greet the whole family.

But she didn't even know where Helen kept her insulin.

She put the sugar-free pastries and regular pastries on the same plate, then grabbed the wrong medication, the one Helen was supposed to take before meals.

I fell silent.

Michael's expression darkened on the spot. "Emily, you know how all this works. Why didn't you tell her?

"She's doing this for the first time. Isn't it normal for her to make mistakes?"

I almost laughed from sheer disbelief, but before I could say anything, Claire took off the gold bracelet and placed it back in the box.

"It's all my fault. I shouldn't have come," Claire said.

Helen immediately took the bracelet out and put it back on Claire's wrist. "Claire, you saved my life. No one expects you to know all this."

Then she turned to me. "Emily, you can teach her from now on."

I let out a snort.

So this was what saving someone's life was worth: marriage.

And four years of taking care of Helen had earned me nothing more than "you can teach her".

Michael pulled me into the hallway.

He took my hand between his palms, warming it. "I'm sorry you had to deal with that.

"As compensation, I'll register our marriage with you. And when we're married, all our marital assets will be under your name.

"What Claire gets is a wedding ceremony. What you get is the rest of my life."

In seven years, I'd rarely heard Michael apologize to me so humbly.

I watched as he straightened my sleeve, and for a moment, I almost asked when he planned to register our marriage.

Then I noticed a travel bag tucked beneath the table.

The zipper wasn't fully closed. Three plane tickets were sticking out.

I pulled them free and glanced at them.

The honeymoon that was supposed to be for two had been changed into a three-person recovery trip.

The destination was the city where Claire was scheduled to undergo scar treatment.

I looked at him. "Where's she staying after the trip?"

Michael hesitated. "In the guest room of the marital home.

"Her injuries still need to be monitored. She'll stay there for six months."

That house had been left to me by my parents.

I'd paid for the renovations, the furniture, even the accessibility upgrades.

Yet the "rest of my life" Michael promised me already had a room set aside for Claire.

I put the tickets back. "Fine."

He pulled me into his arms. "I knew you'd understand me."

While he turned away to check the injury on Claire's shoulder, I took out my phone and submitted the second application.

A notification popped up: [The appointment for the property transfer is being withdrawn.]

I tapped confirm.

He'd left me the legal promise of being his only wife.

But he'd already divided every day of our married life into three.