Chapter 1

Today was my four-year anniversary with Chace. He told me to wear my white dress for a surprise he had planned. I spent all afternoon getting ready, practicing my "Yes," certain he was finally going to propose.

But when I arrived at the hotel ballroom, the banner read, "Congratulations, Chace & Karyn."

In front of all their friends and family, he got down on one knee and proposed to his childhood friend, Karyn Warren.

He used his mother's heirloom ring-the one he once showed me, saying it was for the woman he would spend his life with.

He then introduced me, his girlfriend of four years, as "a very good friend." His new fiancée smiled sweetly and told me their marriage would be an open one, giving me permission to stay on as his mistress.

I overheard him telling his friend his real plan: "Karyn is my wife for show, but Ember can be my woman on the side for fun."

He thought I would just accept being his toy. He was wrong.

I pulled out my phone and texted a number I'd never dared to call before-the executor of my estranged father's will.

"I need to claim my inheritance."

His reply was instant. "Of course, Ms. Ford. The stipulation is a marriage to me. Are you ready to proceed?"

"Yes," I typed back. My life with Chace was over.

Chapter 1

Today was my four-year anniversary with Chace Mcfarland. It was also the day he was coming back from his three-month business trip. The dual significance of the date made my heart beat faster.

He had texted me this morning, his words simple but full of promise: "Ember, wear the white dress. I have a surprise for you."

I knew what that meant. We had talked about marriage, about a future, about spending the rest of our lives together. The surprise had to be a proposal.

I spent the entire afternoon getting ready. I styled my hair, did my makeup with extra care, and finally put on the white dress he mentioned. It was a designer piece he' d bought for me last year, elegant and simple. I stood in front of the mirror, practicing my smile, practicing the word "Yes."

My mind raced with scenarios. Would he get down on one knee? What would he say? Would he cry? I felt a thrill of anticipation, a nervous energy that made my hands tremble slightly.

Finally, the time came. I drove to the Grand Lux Hotel, the place he' d specified. The entire top-floor ballroom was booked. My heart swelled with joy. He had gone all out. This was going to be the most romantic night of my life.

I stepped out of the elevator, my smile ready, my "Yes" on the tip of my tongue.

But the scene that greeted me made my smile freeze on my face.

The ballroom was indeed stunning, filled with white roses and soft, glowing lights. A banner hung across the back wall, but the words on it were not what I expected. "Congratulations, Chace & Karyn."

Chace stood in the center of the room, but he wasn't looking for me. He was holding the hands of another woman, Karyn Warren, his childhood friend and a well-known socialite.

He got down on one knee.

The crowd of friends and family, their families, gasped in delight.

"Karyn," Chace' s voice was thick with emotion, the same voice he used when he whispered sweet things to me. "We' ve known each other our whole lives. You' ve always been the one for me."

Karyn' s eyes filled with tears. She looked beautiful and triumphant.

Chace opened a small velvet box. Inside was a ring, but it wasn't just any ring. It was his mother' s, a family heirloom he had once shown me, telling me how much it meant to him.

"This ring belonged to my mother," he said, his voice echoing in the silent room. "She always wanted me to give it to the woman I would spend my life with. That woman is you, Karyn. It has always been you."

Karyn let out a sob of happiness.

"Will you marry me?" he asked.

"Yes! A thousand times, yes!" she cried.

The crowd erupted in applause.

I remembered him showing me that ring. He had held it so carefully, almost reverently. He told me it was for his future wife. I had thought he meant me. Now, I realized the truth. I had been a fool.

Someone in the crowd whispered, "I always knew he'd end up with Karyn. He's been obsessed with her since they were kids."

The words confirmed the cold dread filling my chest. My four years with him, our entire relationship, had been a lie.

Only after he had slipped the ring on Karyn' s finger and kissed her deeply did Chace finally see me standing by the entrance. His eyes widened for a second, a flicker of surprise before his expression smoothed over.

"Ember," he said, walking over, pulling a still-beaming Karyn with him. "There you are. I want you to meet someone."

He gestured between us. "Karyn, this is Ember Ford, a... a very good friend of mine."

"And Ember," he continued, his voice casual, as if he were introducing a stranger, "this is Karyn Warren, my fiancée."

The word "fiancée" was a physical blow. I struggled to breathe.

Karyn smiled at me, a sweet, polished smile that didn't reach her eyes. "It' s so lovely to finally meet you, Ember. Chace has told me so much about you."

Her words were like honey laced with poison.

I just stood there, unable to form a single word, my face a mask of forced calm.

Then I noticed the bracelet on Karyn' s wrist. It was a delicate diamond chain, identical to the one Chace had given me for our second anniversary. He had told me it was one-of-a-kind.

Another lie.

Chace seemed to notice my silence. He put a hand on my shoulder, his touch now feeling foreign and unwelcome. "Karyn' s family is moving back to the city. She' ll be staying with us for a while until the wedding."

He said "us" as if it were the most natural thing in the world. As if he expected me to share our home with his new fiancée.

I was so numb, so completely shattered, that I just nodded. I couldn't process the sheer audacity of his request.

"I need some air," I managed to choke out, turning away from them before they could see the tears welling in my eyes.

I stumbled toward the restroom, my legs unsteady.

In the cold, sterile light of the bathroom, I stared at my reflection. The hopeful, happy woman who had arrived an hour ago was gone. In her place was a pale, hollow-eyed stranger in a white dress that now felt like a costume for a joke.

As I splashed cold water on my face, I heard voices from the hallway. It was Chace, talking to his best friend.

"Dude, are you insane? Proposing to Karyn right in front of Ember? That was cold."

I froze, pressing my ear against the door.

Chace laughed. It was a cruel, dismissive sound. "What' s the big deal? The Warrens and the Mcfarlands are merging. This marriage is a business deal. It secures my position as CEO."

"And Ember?" his friend asked.

"Ember? She' s not going anywhere," Chace said with sickening confidence. "She loves me. She' ll get over it. Karyn is my wife, but Ember... Ember can be my woman. The one who actually satisfies me. Karyn knows the deal. A pretty, high-society wife for show, and a passionate woman on the side for fun. It' s perfect."

He called me his woman, a tool for his pleasure.

The words slammed into me, each one a hammer blow to my already broken heart. Tears streamed down my face, hot and silent.

I remembered his promises. "Ember, I'll love you forever." "You're the only one for me." "I'll never let you go."

Forever, for him, had a shelf life of four years.

His love was a lie. His promises were worthless.

The man I loved, the man I had devoted four years of my life to, saw me as nothing more than a disposable toy.

A cold rage began to burn through the pain. He thought I would just accept this? He thought I would stay and be his mistress while he flaunted his "proper" wife?

No.

I pulled out my phone, my fingers shaking. I scrolled through my contacts until I found a number I had never dared to call. A number given to me by my estranged father' s lawyer just before he died. "Call this man if you are ever in inescapable trouble," the lawyer had said. "He is the executor of the will."

My father and I had been estranged for years, a painful consequence of lies that had destroyed my mother. I never wanted anything from him. But now, I was in inescapable trouble.

I typed a simple message: "Mr. Mosley, this is Ember Ford. I need to claim my inheritance."

I hit send.

A moment later, a reply came. It was formal, direct, and promised a way out.

"Of course, Ms. Ford. The stipulation in your father's will is a marriage to me. Are you ready to proceed?"

I stared at the message, the words blurring through my tears. Marry a stranger? It was insane. But staying with Chace, being his secret, his toy, was a fate worse than death.

This was my only escape.

I typed my reply.

"Yes."