"Tomorrow morning, I’ll have my mom slip a sedative into Nora’s champagne.” Dominic’s voice came from the hallway outside my room. I froze with my hand on the door. Tomorrow was supposed to be our wedding day. I had loved Dominic Thorne, my childhood sweetheart, for eight years. But now, the man I was supposed to marry was planning how he planned to give me to another man. "After we pick up the bride tomorrow, drive straight to the Astor estate." "The Astor estate?" his friend asked, confused. Dominic's voice dropped. "Clair's family went bankrupt. They owe the Astors hundreds of millions. Her parents are trying to sell her off to the old Astor to settle the debt." "I can't just stand by and watch her life get destroyed. Nora will have to take her place." His friend sounded shocked. "You can't bear to ruin Clair's life, so you'll ruin Nora's instead?" "The old man is ninety and dying. The family demands a marriage to secure the inheritance. They need a young bride for this." "When he's dead, I won't mind that Nora's a widow. I'll still marry her." "But do you really think Nora will just go along with marrying some old man?" Dominic paused. "Tomorrow morning, I'll have my mom slip a sedative into Nora's champagne. By the time she wakes up, she'll already be in the old man's bed." "Once the deed is done, she won't have a choice." I stood there listening to every word. I didn't scream or cry. I just walked back to my room and waited for tomorrow's wedding. The next morning, Dominic arrived with his groomsmen to pick me up. Clair Kensington showed up with them. The moment she saw me in my wedding dress, she burst into tears. "Nora, I'm so jealous. You get to marry the man you love. You're so lucky." "Not like me. My parents want to sell me off to some ninety-year-old man to pay off their debts." Then she wiped her tears and glanced pointedly at Dominic. "But thank God, someone already took me to register our marriage yesterday. That old man can't have me now, even if he wants to." Hearing the smug triumph in her voice, I froze. I thought being forced into a substitute marriage was the worst betrayal. I never imagined Dominic had already registered his marriage with her. My best friend Gemma, oblivious to the truth, whispered angrily in my ear. "Why is she even here? Today is supposed to be your wedding day with Dominic." "She's crying on purpose. Is she trying to bring bad luck?" "It's fine." I patted Gemma's hand gently. Today was never my wedding day with Dominic anyway. This whole charade of picking up the bride was just a trap to get me in the car—a carefully planned bait-and-switch. Dominic and his groosmen rushed into the room. "We're running out of time. Just find the wedding shoes." His groomsmen searched the room and quickly found my heels. But Dominic didn't bring them to me. He walked straight to Clair. "Nora, Clair twisted her ankle on the way here and broke her heel." He knelt down in front of Clair and smoothly helped her change out of her damaged shoe. "Clair has delicate skin. She can't wear rough, uncomfortable shoes. Let her wear your wedding heels." Then he pulled a cheap pair of flats from the shoe rack and tossed them at my feet. "They're just shoes." He looked at me with that same gentle smile. "You won't make a fuss over something so small, will you?" "Dominic, those are her wedding shoes!" Gemma couldn't take it anymore. "So what if they are?" Dominic frowned slightly. "They're just shoes. What difference does it make?" "It's not just about the shoes—" "Forget it, Gemma." I stopped her. "Let her have them." Clair was the boss's daughter at Dominic's company. For the past two years, Dominic had been making me bend over backwards for her with the excuse that "the boss's daughter can't be offended." I'd given her my work projects. I'd given her my pet. I'd given her my clothes and jewelry. And now, I was about to hand over my husband too. Eight years with Dominic Thorne, and this was what I got—a carefully orchestrated betrayal.
Clair slipped on my wedding heels, her face glowing with satisfaction. "Dominic, these fit me perfectly. It's like they were custom-made for me." She smiled with that fake sweetness. "Where did you get them?" These shoes were made by Dominic. When he was twenty, he spent six months flying to Paris, working with a top designer to create a pair of custom diamond-encrusted heels just for me. Back then, he'd said, "Nora. When we get married, you'll wear these shoes. I want to give you a pair of wedding heels that are one of a kind in the entire world." He'd said, "Nora, I want to give you the best of everything." Back then, Dominic really was good to me. He couldn't bear to see me suffer even a little. He wanted to give me everything good in the world. But after Clair appeared, everything changed. Lost in thought, I barely noticed Dominic kneeling down to slip the cheap flats onto my feet. The rough fabric scraped painfully against my skin. The bridesmaids, oblivious to the tension between us, started chanting, "Kiss! Kiss!" Dominic couldn't resist the cheering and leaned in to kiss me. But at that exact moment, Clair stumbled and fell straight into his arms. Dominic caught her instinctively, and their lips collided perfectly. The room went dead silent. Gemma exploded. "Clair, you did that on purpose!" "I'm sorry, I just lost my balance..." "You lost your balance? And out of everywhere you could fall, you fell right into the groom's arms?" "Enough. Stop it." Dominic helped Clair to her feet, his expression displeased. "Clair twisted her ankle earlier. It's normal that she lost her balance." He turned to Gemma, his tone cold. "It's such a small thing. Is it really worth getting this angry over?" "This isn't a small thing—" Gemma was about to lose it, but I stopped her. Over the past two years, Dominic had called too many things "small." Last year, when Clair plagiarized the marketing campaign I'd worked on for three months, he said it was a small thing. Six months ago, when Clair crashed our anniversary dinner as a third wheel, he said it was a small thing. Even when Clair accidentally killed my cat, I had raised for six years, he also said it was a small thing. Every single time, Dominic told me not to make a fuss over Clair. This time, there really was no point in making a fuss anymore. While we were at a standoff, Dominic's mother walked in carrying a champagne flute. "Nora, I've been waiting so long for you to grow up and get married." She lifted the glass to my lips. "Here, drink this quickly while it's fresh. It'll calm your nerves. Your future will be bright and beautiful." Staring at the champagne in front of me, my mind went blank for a moment. My parents died when I was young. For over a decade, the Thorne family took me in and raised me as their own. But now these two people I trusted most were working together to push me into hell. I knew exactly what swallowing this drink meant. But I opened my mouth and drank it anyway. Someone shouted, "It's time! We need to go to the wedding!" Dominic scooped me up in his arms and carried me downstairs, step by step.
When I was little, Dominic used to carry me like this too. When I was twelve, my parents died in a car accident. The trauma sent me into shock, and I hid myself away for three days without food or water. Dominic was the one who found me. He carried my half-dead body back home. Back then, he held my frail hand and said firmly, "Nora, from now on, my home is your home. My parents are your parents." "Don't be afraid. I'm here. I'll always protect you." His shoulders were just as warm and solid as they used to be. Except now, they didn't belong to me anymore. When we reached the lobby, Dominic set me down. "Nora." He adjusted my veil, his eyes soft and smiling. "I'll walk you to the car." But the moment we stepped outside, he stopped at the entrance and gestured toward the limousine waiting at the curb. "Actually, you should go ahead. I need to handle something with the groomsmen first." Gemma was furious. "What? The groom isn't even escorting his bride to the car? What kind of wedding is this?" "It's just a short walk, Gemma. Don't make a scene." "Dominic, what's wrong with you today?" Gemma was shaking with anger. "You've been acting strange from the moment you walked in. Did someone brainwash you?" "Gemma." I grabbed her hand and patted it reassuringly. "It's fine. I can walk by myself." Dominic was never my groom to begin with. What right did he have to escort me anywhere? The wedding car was parked just steps away. Once I got in that car, my past with him would be completely over. After I climbed into the back seat, Dominic stood at the door without moving. "Nora." He stared at me, his eyes filled with an emotion I couldn't read. Finally, he just said, "Take care of yourself." Gemma's tone was sharp. "What are you still standing there for? Get in!" Dominic smiled and pointed to the car behind us. "I'll ride in the other one. I'll follow behind and make sure you get there safely." With that, he slammed the door shut. Gemma frowned, her confusion deepening. "What's gotten into Dominic today? Why is he acting so weird?" "Nothing's wrong." My voice was quiet. "He just wants me to be a substitute bride for Clair." "Substitute bride?" Before I could answer, Gemma suddenly realized something was off. "Wait—driver, stop!" "You're going the wrong way! Why are you heading in that direction? Turn around!" "Gemma." I cut her off. "The driver isn't going the wrong way. I'm being sent to marry into the Astor family." "The Astor family?" I told Gemma everything—the whole story from beginning to end. When she finished listening, she was trembling with rage. "That bastard! How could Dominic do this to you? Did a dog eat his conscience?" But I felt calm. "The Thorne family raised me for over a decade. Consider this as repaying that debt." "They raised you, sure, but you saved Dominic's life! You've already paid them back!" "And these past two years, whenever Dominic's back pain flared up and he was lying in bed useless like a cripple, you were the one taking care of him every single day!" "You've given him so much. What gives him the right to treat you like this?" Gemma was right. If we're talking about debts, I'd already repaid mine a long time ago. But it didn't matter anymore. Just then, my phone buzzed with a message. It was from Clair. [Nora, today is such a wonderful day. Dominic just gave me a wedding gift. Isn't it beautiful?] I stared at the antique emerald necklace in the photo, and my blood ran cold. This necklace was the only thing my mother left me before she died. It had been passed down from my great-grandmother's generation. Back then, I was too young, so Dominic's mother kept it safe for me. They'd promised to return it when I got married. How could he give it to Clair without my permission? "Stop the car!"
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