Chapter 1

The white lace of my wedding dress felt heavy.

The music had been playing for an hour. Guests were shifting in their seats.

My mother, Carol, wasn't here. My father, Richard, wasn't here.

My older brother, Ethan, who was supposed to walk me down the aisle, hadn't shown up.

And Mark, my fiancé, was also missing.

I clutched my phone, my palms sweating. I' d called each of them at least ten times.

Voicemail. Voicemail. Voicemail.

Finally, Mark' s name flashed on my screen. I answered, a knot in my stomach.

"Sarah? What is it?" he sounded annoyed, distant.

"Mark? Where are you? Everyone's here, the ceremony was supposed to start..."

"Look, something came up. Ashley' s back."

Ashley. My younger sister. The star.

"She just landed, a surprise visit from LA. We' re all at the airport to pick her up."

All of them. My parents, Ethan, and him. At the airport.

"But... Mark, it's our wedding day." My voice was barely a whisper.

"Don't make a scene, Sarah. It's just a timing thing. We can reschedule. Ashley' s so excited to see us."

A scene. He was worried about a scene.

He hung up before I could say anything else.

My friend, Jessica, walked over, her face pale. She held out her phone.

On the screen was Ashley' s latest social media post. A grinning selfie of her, Mom, Dad, and Ethan. Mark was in the background, beaming at Ashley.

The caption read: "Surprise! Back in town and my amazing family dropped EVERYTHING to welcome me! So much love! #FamilyFirst #Blessed."

Dropped everything. Including my wedding.

The guests were murmuring now, looking at me, then at the empty seats in the front row.

The venue manager approached, his expression sympathetic.

I took a deep breath. I had to face them. I had to tell them my family, my fiancé, had chosen my sister over my wedding.

The humiliation was a cold weight in my chest.

I managed to get through it, a blur of apologies and strained smiles.

Jessica drove me home. I didn' t cry.

Inside my quiet apartment, I took off the expensive dress. I folded it carefully, then shoved it into the back of my closet.

I pulled out my old journal. "The 99 Times My Heart Broke."

I opened it to the last blank page.

With a steady hand, I wrote: "Entry 99: They chose her, on my wedding day."

My breaking point.

I closed the journal.

I' d already applied for the scholarship Professor Davies told me about. A top computer science program, out of state. Far away from here.

My application was strong. I knew I had a good chance.

This wasn't an ending. It was a beginning.