Chapter 1

The night before the wedding, I was trying on my wedding dress when my fiancé spoke up, his tone completely casual:

"I helped make your mom's dying wish come true, so I need you to do something for me — just deal with this clingy girl for a bit."

When he saw me freeze, he added, "I'm marrying her tomorrow. I want you there as the wedding artist."

"She knows we've been together five years and she's not taking it well. She wants her moment, and I can't talk her out of it."

I stared at him blankly, forcing a stiff smile onto my face:

"What are you talking about... didn't we already get our marriage license?"

"The license was fake," Mason André said without a trace of shame. "My identity was fake too."

"I'm actually the heir to the André family. The André family and the Carter family have arranged a union — my wife can only be Chris Carter."

"But Fiona, I do still like you. All that glamour gets boring after a while. Being with you is the best escape I have."

"As long as you behave, I can give you everything except the title of wife. We can keep things exactly the way they've been."

He gently wiped the tears from the corner of my eye, smiling with a cruelty that chilled me to the bone. "Fiona, choose wisely."

"I've got a wedding tomorrow, so I'm heading out now. She'll throw a fit if I'm late."

So five years of love had been nothing more than a pastime to cure his boredom.

Mason was right. I should choose wisely.

Him and his child — I wanted no part of either.

……