Chapter 3

The next day, Chloe was rushed to the hospital. It was a well-timed, dramatic performance of a medical crisis, designed to fill Liam with a sense of urgency and guilt.

As I watched him pace the pristine white corridor of the Miller family' s private hospital wing, my mind drifted back. Back to the beginning of the lie.

Our relationship had been a whirlwind. He was charming, attentive, and powerful. He swept me off my feet, made me feel like the only woman in the world. I, a simple graphic designer from a middle-class family, couldn' t believe my luck.

About six months in, I was watching the news one night when a story came on. It was about a fundraising gala for renal disease research. The camera focused on a beautiful, sad-looking young woman in a wheelchair. The caption identified her as Chloe Davis, a prominent socialite and childhood friend of the Miller family. The reporter mentioned her long battle with kidney failure.

When I asked Liam about her, he was dismissive.

"Chloe? Oh, she' s like a sister to me. Our families are very close. It' s a sad situation, but it has nothing to do with us."

He held my face in his hands, his eyes sincere. "You are the one I want, Ava. Only you."

A week later, he proposed on a yacht at sunset, a ridiculously large diamond on my finger. I was so blinded by the romance of it all that I pushed any doubts aside. I said yes.

That' s when the phone calls started. The constant, urgent requests for my O-negative blood for Sarah' s son, Leo. Each time, I gave it willingly, feeling like I was contributing, like I was already part of the family.

My best friend, Olivia, was suspicious from the start.

"Ava, this isn' t normal," she told me over a video call, her face creased with worry. "They' re treating you like a walking blood bag, not a fiancée. Are you sure about this guy?"

I got angry with her. "You don' t know him, Olivia! He loves me. His family needs me. It' s not a big deal."

"It is a big deal!" she insisted. "They' re rich enough to buy a blood bank. Why are they draining you dry? It feels wrong."

I refused to listen. I was in love, and love, I thought, was about sacrifice.

The engagement party was supposed to be the happiest night of my life. The Millers threw a lavish affair at their country club. I was wearing a white designer gown Liam had picked out for me, feeling like a princess.

Then, Chloe Davis arrived. She wasn't in a wheelchair. She walked in on the arm of her mother, looking stunning in a blood-red dress that stood in stark contrast to my white one.

She came straight to me, a brilliant, fake smile on her face. "Ava, I am so happy for you and Liam. You must be the luckiest girl in the world."

As she spoke, she gestured with her champagne flute, "accidentally" sloshing red wine all down the front of my white dress.

"Oh, my goodness! I am so sorry!" she gasped, dabbing at the stain with a napkin, only making it worse.

Later, during the toasts, she raised her glass. "To Liam," she said, her eyes locked on him. "Who always knows how to take care of the people who matter most." Her gaze flickered to me for a second, a glint of malice in her eyes.

After the toasts, a waiter passed with a tray of canapés. Chloe picked one up, a shrimp puff.

"Oh, these look divine," she said, and took a delicate bite.

A moment later, her eyes widened. She started to gasp, clutching at her throat. "My... allergy," she choked out. "Shellfish..."

Chaos erupted. Her mother screamed. Liam, without a second glance at me, rushed to her side.

He turned on me, his face a thunderous mask of fury. "What did you do?" he snarled, as if I had personally force-fed her the shrimp.

"I didn' t do anything!" I cried, shocked and confused.

He didn' t listen. He scooped a gasping Chloe into his arms and ran out of the room, shouting for a doctor.

I was left standing in the middle of the ballroom, in my wine-stained dress, the entire party staring at me. The whispers started immediately. I had become a joke, the clumsy, out-of-place fiancée who had almost killed the groom' s fragile childhood friend.

That was the moment I should have walked away. But I was still tangled in the web, still hoping it was all a terrible misunderstanding.