Chapter 1

"Yeah, Mom, everything is set. The venue is perfect." I shifted the phone to my other ear, leaning back in my studio chair. The scent of old wood and rosin from my cello filled the small space. "Don't worry. Chloe and I have it all handled."

"I'm just so happy for you, Ethan," my mother' s voice crackled with warmth through the speaker. "We were worried that old arrangement with the Miller family would be a problem, but it' s good everyone agreed to just let it go. You found your own happiness."

I smiled, my gaze falling on the sheet music I'd been composing for the wedding. "Chloe is my happiness, Mom. I can't wait for you and Dad to walk me down the aisle."

We talked for a few more minutes about guest lists and flower arrangements before hanging up. I felt a deep sense of peace. Everything was falling into place. My music career was taking off, and I was about to marry the woman I loved more than anything.

Just then, my phone buzzed with a notification. It was a data usage alert from our shared family plan. I barely glanced at it, but then I saw the number associated with Chloe' s line. The data usage was massive, and so were the call logs to an international number. I didn't recognize it.

A small, cold knot formed in my stomach. It was probably nothing. A work thing.

I was about to close the app when Chloe' s car pulled into the driveway. I heard the front door open and her voice, low and urgent. She was on the phone. I couldn't help but stay quiet, listening from my studio.

"Daniel, I told you, I'm handling it," she whispered. Her voice was strained. "He doesn't suspect a thing. Yes, the wedding will be on the same day. Our wedding."

My blood ran cold. Daniel. Her ex-boyfriend, the one who moved abroad years ago. What was she talking about? Our wedding?

"I know, I know. I feel terrible about Ethan, but you're sick, you need me," she continued, her voice softening with a tenderness I thought was reserved for me. "I'll tell him soon. I just need to figure out how to do it without... a huge mess. I'll tell him we need to postpone."

The world tilted on its axis. The sheet music on my stand blurred. Betrayal wasn't a strong enough word. This was a complete demolition of my reality. She wasn't just leaving me, she was planning to marry her ex on the exact day she was supposed to marry me. The same venue? The same guests? The thought was so grotesque it made me feel sick.

I pulled up the phone records again, my hands shaking. The international number. It had to be Daniel. She' d been talking to him for months, long calls late at night when I thought she was asleep or working.

My heart hammered against my ribs, a frantic, painful rhythm. The love and joy I felt just moments ago curdled into a black, hot rage. She was going to make me a fool. The whole city would be laughing at the pathetic musician, Ethan, left at the altar.

No. I wouldn't let that happen.

A new plan began to form in the wreckage of my old one. A cold, hard resolve settled over me. She wanted a wedding on that day? Fine. There would be a wedding. My wedding.

I remembered my mother's words about the old arrangement with the Miller family. A pact made between our grandfathers. A forgotten promise. Emily Miller. I barely knew her, we' d met once as kids. But her family was honorable. A deal was a deal.

I picked up my phone, my fingers moving with a new, chilling purpose. I scrolled through my contacts until I found a number I hadn't called in fifteen years. Mr. Miller.

Chloe walked into my studio a few minutes later, a bright, fake smile on her face. "Hey, honey. Who were you talking to?"

"Just my mom," I said, my voice eerily calm. I turned from my cello to face her, forcing a smile of my own. "She's excited about the wedding."

"Oh, good! Me too," she said, wrapping her arms around my neck. The scent of her perfume, the one I bought her for our anniversary, filled my senses and made me want to recoil. "I can't wait to be your wife."

I looked into her eyes, the eyes I once thought held the entire universe. Now, all I saw was a reflection of my own foolishness. The irony was so thick I could taste it.

"I can't wait either," I said. And in my heart, I meant it. Just not with her.

Later that evening, as we sat on the couch, she brought it up. "Honey," she began, her expression a careful mask of concern. "I was thinking... with my big project at work, maybe we should postpone the wedding? Just for a few months."

I watched her, a silent observer at a play where I already knew the ending. I saw the flicker of calculation in her eyes, the slight tremor in her hand as she held mine. She was a brilliant actress.

"Postpone?" I asked, feigning surprise and disappointment. "But everything is booked. All our friends and family are flying in."

"I know, and I feel awful," she said, her lower lip trembling. "It's just... I want it to be perfect. I don't want to be stressed and distracted. We deserve a perfect day."

I nodded slowly, letting the lie hang in the air between us. "Okay, Chloe. If that' s what you think is best. We can postpone."

Her relief was palpable. She hugged me tightly. "Oh, thank you for understanding, Ethan! I love you so much."

"I love you too," I said, the words feeling like ash in my mouth. I held her, but all I could think about was the wedding that would still happen on our original date, and the woman who would be standing there with me, a stranger named Emily.