Chapter 1

The final schematic for the "True Harmony" system glowed on the transparent display in my study. It was perfect. A fully integrated, AI-powered smart home network that anticipated every need, a system I planned to unveil as a wedding gift to my fiancée, Chloe Davis. Our wedding. In one week, I would marry the woman I had loved for a decade. The venue was booked, a historic coastal estate. The five-hundred-plus guest list was finalized. Everything was meticulously, extravagantly planned, a testament to the future I was so eager to build with her.

I heard the front door open and close, and I smiled, minimizing the display.

"Ethan? I' m home," Chloe called out.

She walked into the study, tossing her purse onto the leather couch. She looked tired, but that was expected with all the wedding preparations.

"Hey," I said, walking over to kiss her. She turned her head slightly, so the kiss landed on her cheek. It was a small thing, but it felt...off.

"We need to talk," she said, not meeting my eyes. She sank onto the couch, running a hand through her hair.

My stomach tightened. "Okay. Is everything alright?"

She took a deep breath, and when she finally looked at me, her expression was one I didn' t recognize. It wasn't love, or even frustration. It was a strange, detached resolve.

"I can' t marry you next week," she stated flatly.

The words didn't register at first. I thought it was a joke, a bizarre moment of pre-wedding jitters. "What are you talking about? Everything' s ready to go."

"I have to marry Liam first."

The name hit me like a physical blow. Liam Anderson. Her stepbrother. The son of her late stepmother. The man she always referred to with a complicated mix of pity and affection.

"What the hell does Liam have to do with our wedding?" I asked, my voice dangerously low.

"It was his mother' s dying wish," Chloe said, her tone suddenly defensive, as if I were the one being unreasonable. "She wanted me to take care of him, to marry him, to make sure he' s settled. It' s a matter of filial piety, Ethan. You wouldn' t understand."

I stared at her, dumbfounded. The sheer absurdity of it was staggering. "Filial piety? Chloe, we' re getting married in seven days! You want to postpone our wedding, our life, so you can marry your stepbrother to fulfill a wish? A wish I' ve never even heard about until this exact moment?"

"It' s not about postponing," she said, waving her hand dismissively. "I' ll marry him, and then I' ll divorce him. It' s just a formality. It' s to give him peace of mind, to honor his mother."

"And what about my peace of mind?" I shot back, the initial shock turning into a cold, hard anger. "What about our relationship? Your career? My career? The life we' ve spent years building?"

She finally looked at me, and her eyes were cold. "Those things are important, yes. But they aren' t as important as Liam' s well-being. This is something I have to do for him. For my first love."

First love. The words hung in the air, sucking all the oxygen out of the room. She had always called him that, half-jokingly, a relic from their teenage years. Now it didn't sound like a joke at all.

I felt a profound sense of clarity wash over me, a cold and terrible understanding. In her world, I was secondary. My love, our future, it was all just a comfortable backdrop to her real drama, her real emotional commitments.

She saw the look on my face and sighed, as if I were a difficult child. "Look, I' ll still be at our wedding. I just need to legally marry Liam first. It won' t change anything between us."

It changed everything.

She left for the night, saying she needed to go comfort Liam. The door clicked shut behind her, leaving me alone in the house that was supposed to be our future home, surrounded by the silent, glowing plans for a life that had just been declared a fantasy.

I stood there for a long time, the silence of the mansion pressing in on me. Then I walked over to the wet bar, poured myself a stiff drink, and downed it in one go. The burn in my throat was nothing compared to the hollowness in my chest.

I took out my phone. My thumb hovered over Chloe' s name, but I scrolled past it, my jaw tight. I found the number for my sister-in-law, Jessica, and pressed call.

She answered on the second ring. "Ethan! Getting some last-minute jitters?" she teased.

"The wedding is still on," I said, my voice flat and devoid of emotion.

"Okay...?" she said, her tone shifting to one of concern. "You sound weird. Is everything alright?"

"I just need one change," I continued, staring out the window at the city lights. "I need a new bride."

There was a stunned silence on the other end of the line.

"Ethan, what the hell happened?"

"Chloe is busy," I said, the words tasting like ash. "She has a prior commitment."

The day of the wedding dress fitting arrived two days later. I stood outside the exclusive bridal salon, the one Chloe had insisted on, feeling like a fool. She was already an hour late. My phone buzzed. It was a text from her.

Running a bit behind. Liam had a panic attack about the memorial service yesterday. He felt you were very aggressive. He' s sensitive.

I hadn' t been aggressive. I had simply existed while he clung to Chloe and sobbed about his mother.

Another text came through a few minutes later. He sent you something to apologize for the scene he made. It' s on its way. Please, just be nice to him, Ethan. For me.

Just then, a cheap-looking commercial drone buzzed down the street and landed clumsily at my feet. Taped to it was a small, generic gift box. I opened it. Inside was a plastic model of a drone, the kind you' d buy for a kid for twenty bucks. This was Liam' s grand apology. And Chloe was his messenger.

She finally arrived, stepping out of a cab while still talking on her phone. "No, Liam, of course he' ll understand. He' s a good person." She hung up and turned to me, offering a strained smile. "Sorry I' m late. Did you get Liam' s gift? He felt so bad. You really should apologize to him, you know. You made him deeply uncomfortable."

I just stared at her, the drone model heavy in my hand. "You want me to apologize to him?"

"It would just make things easier," she said, already walking toward the salon door. "Come on, we don' t have all day."

Inside, the salon was a sea of white silk and lace. Consultants floated around, offering champagne. Chloe, however, barely glanced at the dresses. Her attention was glued to her phone, her thumbs flying across the screen. I saw Liam' s name pop up in her notifications.

"What about this one?" a consultant asked, holding up a stunning A-line gown.

"It' s fine," Chloe mumbled, not looking up.

She was physically present, but her mind, her heart, was somewhere else entirely. With him.

Suddenly, her phone rang. She answered it immediately. "Liam? What' s wrong? Are you okay? ... Okay, okay, I' m on my way. Don' t move. I' ll be right there."

She hung up and turned to me, her face a mask of panic. "I have to go. It' s an emergency with Liam."

"An emergency?"

"He thinks he' s having a heart attack. I need to be with him." She grabbed her purse, already halfway to the door. "Just... pick one for me. You have good taste. I' ll wear whatever you choose."

And then she was gone.

I stood there, alone in the middle of a bridal salon, surrounded by dresses for a wedding that was turning into a farce. The consultant looked at me with pity.

I took a deep breath. The decision was no longer a decision. It was a necessity. I pulled out my phone and called Jessica again.

"Hey," I said, my voice steady. "You mentioned you had someone in mind."

"Ethan, are you sure about this? This is insane."

"I' ve never been more sure of anything in my life," I said. "Who is she?"

Jessica sighed. "You' re not going to like it. It' s Sarah Jenkins."

Sarah Jenkins. My fiercest, most ruthless business rival. The CEO of Phoenix Dynamics, the only company that gave my own a run for its money. We' d been battling for market share for years. She was brilliant, aggressive, and famously unsentimental. The idea was ludicrous.

But time was short. The wedding was a massive corporate event as much as a personal one. Canceling would be a logistical and financial nightmare, a public humiliation. Proceeding with a different bride... that was a power move.

"Is she willing?" I asked.

"She drives a hard bargain. She wants a majority stake in our joint venture and full control over the 'True Harmony' project IP if you two ever divorce."

Of course she did. It was a pure business transaction. Cold. Clean. Uncomplicated. Right now, that was exactly what I needed.

"Tell her yes," I said.

That evening, I was working in my study when Chloe let herself in. She was carrying a bag of takeout.

"I brought you dinner," she said, her voice soft and conciliatory. "I felt bad about how we left things."

She set the containers on my desk. It was from a new, trendy restaurant that had just opened downtown. I recognized it instantly. Liam had posted a picture of himself there on his social media feed two hours ago, the same distinctive takeout containers in the background.

I opened one of the boxes. A piece of fried chicken had a perfect, crescent-shaped bite taken out of it.

I felt a wave of nausea. She hadn' t even bothered to get me a fresh order. She' d just brought me Liam' s leftovers.

"Thanks," I said, pushing the box away. "I' m not hungry."

She didn' t seem to notice. She sat down, her expression turning serious. "Ethan, there' s something else. About Liam."

"Of course there is."

"He' s really struggling financially," she began, launching into a well-rehearsed sob story about his debts and his inability to cope after his mother' s death. "I was thinking... since we' re getting married, and you have so much... maybe you could help him with a dowry."

I stared at her. "A dowry? For Liam?"

"Just a few million," she said, as if she were asking for pocket change. "It would set him up for life. It would be a beautiful wedding gift, a sign of our families uniting."

That was it. The final, clarifying insult. I wasn't her partner. I was her bank. And Liam was the beneficiary.

"No," I said. The word was quiet, but it filled the entire room.

Her face hardened. "What do you mean, no?"

"I mean no," I repeated, standing up. "I am not giving Liam a single cent."

"I can' t believe you!" she shrieked, her voice rising. "After everything I' m doing to honor his mother! You are the most selfish, unfeeling man I have ever met!"

"Get out," I said.

"Fine!" she screamed, grabbing her purse. "I' ll get the money myself! Don' t come crying to me when you realize what you' ve lost!"

She slammed the door so hard that a picture frame on the wall rattled.

I stood in the silence, the smell of leftover chicken filling the air. What I had lost was an illusion. And I wasn' t crying. I was finally free.

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