Chapter 1 THE BETRAYAL

Meadow's POV

"Hi. I have a reservation. Meadow Russell."

The receptionist raised her gaze to look at me, and then she jerked back slightly, eyes raking over me from top to bottom. Her deep red-colored lips were pulled down in a sneer.

"You're kidding, right?" she scoffed, turning to the lady beside her who had a similar expression on her face.

I blinked, frowning. "Excuse me?"

The receptionists exchanged another look that made my skin crawl. What the hell was wrong with them? All I wanted to do was get the keys to my room and wait for my fiance, Tyler.

We were getting married in a few hours. It was going to be a private ceremony, just me and him. And I wasn't going to let anyone shit on my plans-much less a couple of rude receptionists.

The red-lipped receptionist tilted her head at me. "You already checked in two hours ago. If this is some kind of prank, I'd suggest you quit it now before I call security."

My brows furrowed. "What? I haven't checked in." A nervous laugh escaped my mouth.

The second receptionist glanced at me as if she was considering something, and then she turned to red lip. "Show her."

Red lip scowled at me, but she did as she was told. She turned her laptop to face me, clicking on a button. And then she pointed at something.

The check-in list.

And sure enough, my name was there. Meadow Russell.

"Oh," I let out a laugh. "It's probably my fiance. He must have checked in with my name. I was supposed to get here before him though, that's why I'm so surprised."

The receptionists exchanged another look. They seemed confused.

"That's not a funny joke, miss," the second receptionist said. "You checked in with a man two hours ago. I know that because I complimented that cute top you're wearing."

I glanced down at the white crop top with the word, "BRIDE" written across it.

Tyler had gotten me this top a few days ago. He said he saw it and thought it would look really good for the wedding.

"And then you said you're getting married real soon," red lip finished for her.

Something heavy-along with my heart-dropped into my stomach. Something was wrong.

"This has to be a misunderstanding..." I trailed off.

Because there was no way... No fucking way.

"That wasn't me," I said firmly this time.

They exchanged another glance, and when they both looked at me, I could see something resembling pity in their expression.

I didn't like that look. At all.

Finally, Red lip sighed. "I don't know why, but I believe you. Then she leaned backward to search for something.

She emerged with a key card. "I hope you get things sorted out," she muttered, forcing a smile on her face.

I couldn't breathe the entire way up the elevator.

This wasn't possible. She wouldn't...

No. Not after everything.

But even as I swiped the key card to unlock the door to our room, my heart raced, and bile rose up my throat.

Opening the door only confirmed my fears.

My twin sister, Juniper, was straddling my fiance, moaning out loud as he rammed into her from under.

For a full minute, all I could do was stare. I stood there, my bag dropping onto the floor with a soft thud. The insides of my cheek hurt because of how hard I was biting them. Tears had long blurred my vision.

And they hadn't even noticed me.

'Maybe he didn't know,' I said to myself. 'Maybe he thought Juni was me.'

But even without saying those words out loud, I realized how awfully stupid they sounded.

Tyler and I had never had sex.

"Mmhm, yes. That's it, baby," Juniper moaned. "You fuck me so good, babe."

Something inside of me broke, screaming at me to turn around, leave quietly and never show my face again.

But something stronger dared me to stay.

So that's what I did.

"Juniper...?" My voice cracked. "Tyler?"

They both turned to look at me at the same time.

Surprise and something else flared in Tyler's expression, but it was gone before I could blink.

He pushed her off him, and Juniper had the nerve to moan. "Seriously, Ty? I was close."

Ty?

"Meadow," Tyler heaved as he jumped out of the bed, not even bothering to cover his junk. "I swear, I thought she was you. I didn't-"

He started to reach for my arm but I jerked back, my eyes focused on one person and one person alone.

Juniper.

She had a smug grin on her face as she arranged her disheveled hair. "Oh, please, baby," she said airily. "It's time we cut the act, don't you think? It's getting too pathetic."

Tyler turned to face her. "Come on. It's fun."

"What is... what are you...?" I was speechless. Stunned.

It didn't look like this was some kind of first time mistake. It looked like they knew each other really well.

And there's no way that was even possible. Because I'd never introduced Juniper to Tyler.

I hadn't even seen Juniper in two years.

"How-"

Juniper let out a sharp laugh as she stood up. She also didn't bother to cover up, so both of them were stark naked in front of me.

"She's going into shock, baby. We should put her out of her misery right away, shouldn't we?" She mused, walking over to where Tyler stood.

And then she pulled him toward her and kissed him right in front of me, letting out a soft moan and a giggle.

I wanted to leave so badly, but my feet wouldn't move.

For some reason, they were glued to the floor.

And for an even more fucked reason, I couldn't look away. I watched Juniper grab Tyler's still-hard dick in her hand and jerk it back and forth while her eyes remained on mine.

"Y–you said..." I struggled to form words. I couldn't even recognize my own voice. "You said you weren't ready to have sex yet, Tyler," I said shakily. "You said you'd wait till we were married."

Tyler threw his head back and laughed, biting his lip and groaning slightly due to the pleasure he was receiving. My knees buckled from under me and I had to hold on to the wall to steady myself. "I thought you loved me!" I said louder now, feeling the tears begin to run down my face.

Juniper let go of Tyler and he took a few steps closer to me.

And when he took a hold of my jaw, I couldn't move.

"You thought I loved you, Meadow? No. Juni's the love of my life."