Chapter 1Five Years Gone, They Thought I Was Dead

Everyone thought I was dead.

Dead on the very day my boyfriend married my stepsister behind my back.

For five long years, the red roses adorning my grave never stopped appearing, not even for a single day.

Five years later, I stood before my own tombstone, and there he was again – Caleb Vance, holding a bouquet of red roses, ostensibly to mourn me.

After a brief moment of shock and awkwardness, I still managed to greet him.

"Long time no see."

He forced a smile, tucking the roses behind his back.

"Long time no see, Audrey. I thought... you were dead."

I was back in the country to help relocate my mom's memorial plot when I discovered a new grave beside hers, one that belonged to me.

It read: "Beloved Wife, Audrey Hayes."

A bouquet of roses, a necklace, and my favorite chocolate cake sat before it.

The cemetery staff followed my gaze, a flicker of surprise in their eyes.

"Ms. Sterling," one said, "don't you think the photo on that headstone looks a lot like you? If I didn't know you just returned from overseas, I'd swear we had a ghost!"

I smiled.

"It does, but it's not me."

My name is Skylar Sterling. I'm a top contributor for "MT" magazine in France, and the sole heiress of the Sterling Group. I just celebrated my third wedding anniversary with my husband, and our child is two years old.

I had it all. A truly blessed life.

The person on that tombstone was Audrey Hayes.

Five years ago, because my father's illegitimate daughter, my stepsister Maya, was diagnosed with depression, my father and brother secretly arranged a wedding for her.

The groom? The man I'd been in love with for eight years, the boy I'd grown up with.

Audrey Hayes was a complete and utter failure.

She and I, we were no longer the same person.

I pulled my gaze away, turning to the staff to discuss my mom's burial plot.

Suddenly, a familiar voice echoed behind me.

"Audrey!"

I ignored it, continuing my conversation with the staff.

A strong hand suddenly clamped onto my arm.

Under the surprised gaze of the cemetery workers, I stumbled, turning to meet Caleb Vance's eyes.

"Audrey, you... you're not dead?"

A cold smile played on my lips, but my eyes were drawn to the red roses in his hand.

Five years.

Why were Caleb’s eyes as red as those roses?