Chapter 1
On the morning Edward Bennett and I were scheduled to get our marriage license at City Hall, my younger sister, Emily Lane, posted a photo of a slit wrist in our family group chat.
My mother called me in tears, begging me to hurry over to Emily's place.
"If anything happens to your sister, I will never forgive you as long as I live," she warned.
On my way there, a notification popped up showing a new photo added to our shared family album.
In the picture, Edward was wearing a crisp white shirt, sitting side by side with Emily at City Hall.
Before my mind could process what I was looking at, my mother sent a voice note.
She claimed, "Don't hold this against Emily. She simply wanted to get the marriage license first.
"Edward agreed that as soon as her heart surgery is finished, he will divorce her."
I clutched my phone, my hands shaking uncontrollably.
Edward and I had been together for eight years.
Last night, he was helping me map out today what time to leave for City Hall and where to eat once we made it official.
It was only now that I understood the truth.
I had been the only one anticipating today.
When I arrived, I found Emily's wrists spotless. There wasn't so much as a red streak.
She waved the marriage license in her hand, letting out a soft laugh. "Claire, did you really believe he would marry you?
"All I have to do is lift a finger, and he comes running to my side."
Gazing at the official marriage document held in her fingers, I suddenly lost all desire to demand explanations.
Eight years was long enough, and some people were not meant to be held onto any longer.
*****
Edward Bennett stepped through the front door five minutes later.
When his eyes landed on me, his footsteps faltered.
Emily Lane tucked the marriage license into her designer handbag.
"You promised me she wouldn't be here," she murmured.
Edward frowned. "That's enough out of you."
He reached for my shoulder, but I pivoted away.
"Let me explain," he began. "Emily had a severe emotional breakdown last night.
"The doctors said she cannot handle any stress before the surgery, afraid she might not make it off the operating table.
"She only had one wish..."
Bitterness flooded my chest as I finished the sentence for him. "To marry my fiancé?"
Emily chimed in with a dismissive smirk. "The surgeons literally said I might die on that operating table. Why are you holding a grudge against a dying woman?"
Edward's frown deepened. "Emily."
She shrugged it off, completely unbothered. "Am I wrong? I have lived for twenty-four years without fighting for a single thing. I want to be selfish for once. Claire, you grew up having everything. Is it really that hard to grant me this one wish?"
My chest ached with a suffocating sourness, leaving me entirely speechless.
Because of Emily's fragile health, I had yielded everything to her since we were children.
I had backed down time and time again over the years, and now, I was expected to hand over the man I loved most.
I looked at Edward, asking, "So you agreed to this?"
His expression remained perfectly composed, as though this was not a profound betrayal at all. "It is a piece of paper, Claire. Once her health stabilizes, I will file for divorce. You are the only one I have ever loved."
I had guarded his love for eight long years, yet he gave that legal title to someone else first.
I stared into his eyes. "When did you decide to marry her?"
He lowered his gaze, taking a long moment before answering, "Three in the morning."
A deep sense of injustice tore at my heart.
"I waited eight years for that title, and you handed it over overnight," I said.
Impatience began to edge his tone as he argued, "Emily could actually die, Claire. I cannot watch her lose her life because we refused her."
I spoke in a quiet whisper, "So she used her life to back you into a corner, and because you couldn't bear to let her die, you chose to corner me instead?"
Edward offered no response. He took Emily's hand and led her toward the exit.
"You need to cool off and think clearly," he said.
As I watched their retreating figures, the very last ember of hope in my heart burned out.
At midnight, I sat alone in the living room.
Edward sent a text message: [Stop overthinking. I'll have breakfast with you tomorrow.]
Then came a bank transfer for $1,700. The memo read: [Sorry for letting you suffer, Mrs. Bennett.]
I stared at those two words for a long time before hitting the button to return the funds.
He already had a wife, and that spot was never mine to take.
*****
Edward returned the next morning with warm pastries from the bakery.
"I didn't come home last night because Emily's medical scans ran until two in the morning," he explained.
I looked at him and asked softly, "When are you getting the divorce?"
His expression stiffened as he said, "The surgeon scheduled her operation for the sixteenth of next month.
"There will be an observation period afterward, three months at most. I promise you we will sign the papers after those three months.
"In the meantime, do not provoke Emily, and avoid arguing with your mother. Neither of them is in a stable state of mind right now."
I raised my eyes to meet his, my heart filled with nothing but pure bitterness. "Then what exactly is our relationship? You have a legal wife now. What does that make me, living here under your roof?"
His face darkened. "Claire, do you truly have to speak to me this way?"
A profound exhaustion washed over me.
We'd known each other for eight years, only to turn everything we knew into a weapon against each other.
He stood up, tugging at his shirt collar in clear frustration. "I have explained this multiple times. I have no romantic feelings for her, and this marriage is a complete sham."
I slid the engagement ring off my finger and placed it in front of him. "The marriage recognized by the law is very real. Take this back. We are finished."
He stared at me for two full seconds before letting out an exasperated laugh. "Claire Lane, you are breaking up with me over a piece of paper?"
I bit the inside of my cheek to suppress a rising sob. "If it is merely a piece of paper, why did you withhold it from me? You are the one who decided to get married first, Edward."
The anger in his eyes dissipated, replaced by genuine panic. "I never said I did not want you. Our love is the only real thing here. Have I not treated you wonderfully over the past eight years, Claire?" he pleaded.
I fell silent. He had been wonderful in the past.
He was so wonderful that I truly believed he would choose me in the end.
That was why I was still sitting here, waiting for him to turn back around.
Edward closed his eyes, uttering, "Emily is still unstable. I need to go check on her. We will discuss this tonight."