Chapter 1

It was the last day of April, and I had planned to get a marriage license with my boyfriend, Daniel Carter.

But when we got to the city hall, I realized he'd forgotten the veil I'd reminded him about a hundred times.

When I asked him about it, Daniel snapped right away, "Not wearing that stupid veil won't kill you!

"I've got things to do today. Marry me if you want—if not, whatever."

With that, Daniel spun around and stormed off.

I sat in the city hall for half an hour, trying to calm down, and finally decided to text him.

But just then, I saw his childhood friend Fiona Chambers's latest post on Instagram: [Photoshoot for my little angel.]

The picture showed a dog wearing my veil—the one my mother had left me.

And right below it, I saw Daniel's like. My heart sank.

I quickly dialed a number. "Are you free now? Let's get married."

*****

About half an hour later, Ethan Miller rushed into the city hall, still wearing his lab coat.

Everyone turned to look at him.

He barely had time to catch his breath before fishing out his ID from his pocket.

"I've mentioned a few times before that we could help each other with a fake marriage, and you always said no," he said with a smile. "Now, are you sure you've made up your mind?"

I nodded and handed over his documents to the staff who had been waiting for quite a while.

I couldn't hesitate any longer.

If I didn't get married now, I'd lose the last chance to save my brother.

Six months ago, my brother William Turner was diagnosed with leukemia, and his health had been getting worse every day.

Conservative treatment didn't work anymore. Only a bone marrow transplant could save him.

William was well aware I didn't have enough money.

Every time I visited him in the hospital, he'd smile and tell me he was fine.

I knew he always hoped I would find a man who truly loved me, not rush into marriage just for him.

But our parents had left me two strange conditions in their will before they passed.

First, if I wanted to inherit their estate immediately, I had to get married before I turned thirty.

Second, if I didn't marry, I'd have to wait until I was thirty-five to get the money.

I could wait, but William couldn't.

I'd been with Daniel for five years. Things had always been good between us.

He knew exactly what I was going through, and we'd agreed to get our marriage license before May this year.

But over the past six months, I could feel his attitude toward me change.

And it was all because of Fiona Chambers.

Daniel had once said he would love me forever, but now he spent all his time wrapped up with Fiona.

When Fiona's pipes broke, he left me alone at the movie theater to go fix them.

When she was traveling abroad, he ran to the airport to see her off, ignoring my raging fever.

When her dog got sick, he canceled our anniversary dinner to take her and her pet to the vet.

In Daniel's mind, anything involving Fiona was more important than me.

I put up with it, reminding myself they were childhood friends.

But in that half hour at the city hall, I couldn't stop picturing William lying in his hospital bed.

William was the only family I had left in the world.

The city hall staff noticed my distraction and said with a hint of concern, "If you have no questions, I'll record it now."

I forced a smile. "Thank you."

With a click of the seal, Ethan and I became a couple.

After finishing the paperwork, Ethan had to get back to the hospital.

He slipped the marriage license into his pocket. "I've got to show this to my grandma—so she won't complain that I'm not married.

"Can't walk you out—need to get back as soon as possible. There's a surgery this afternoon."

I waved him goodbye. "Go ahead. We'll do the wedding later."

Ethan agreed instantly. He was William's doctor and knew our family situation well.

After Ethan left, I grabbed a cab and headed to the photo studio Fiona had posted about.

I was going to take back my mom's veil.

*****

As soon as I entered the studio, I saw Fiona and Daniel holding the dog, taking pictures.

So this was it—what Daniel said he'd do.

I stormed over. "Give me back the veil."

When Daniel saw me, a trace of panic flashed across his face.

But he composed himself a second later.

"Sophia, it's just a veil," he said. "We don't need it today, so just let Dodo wear it."

Daniel didn't care about the veil at all, while Fiona looked hurt.

She bit her lip. "Daniel, if Sophia wants it, just give it to her. It doesn't matter if Dodo wears it or not."