Chapter 1I Helped My Fiancé’s Female Best Friend Become the Bride

The night before my wedding, my fiancé’s female bestie posted online, looking for a sugar daddy.

“Not into dating, definitely not into marriage,” she wrote. “That piece of paper is just a cage. It turns you into a man’s property—laundry, cooking, popping out kids, and breastfeeding for the rest of your life! But being the other woman? Totally different. You don’t even have to shower first.”

The comments section exploded with people calling her shameless.

My fiancé, Alex, just printed out a sponsorship agreement and dropped it on the table.

“Cara,” he announced, “Jenna’s parents are driving her crazy about getting married. They’re pushing her to the breaking point. I have to help her.”

“Don’t worry,” he added quickly, “it’s just an act to get her parents off her back. It won’t affect our wedding.”

I glanced at the agreement—five thousand dollars a month—and asked him if he was actually going to pay her.

He stared at me like I was an idiot. “Of course, it’s real. It’s for her reputational damages.”

A slow, knowing smile spread across my face. I picked up my wedding dress from its hanger and shoved it into his arms.

“In that case, why don’t you be a real hero and just marry her instead?”

* * *

Alex clutched the gown, a confused frown creasing his forehead. “Cara, what are you talking about?”

“I’m just doing a friend a favor. Why are you getting so upset?”

A favor?

We had been together for five years. Five years leading to this moment, and on the night before our wedding, he was brazenly telling me he was going to become his best friend’s sugar daddy.

He knew better than anyone that this was no act.

We’d met each other’s parents a year into our relationship and had been planning our wedding ever since. But every time we set a date, Jenna would find a way to sabotage it. A sudden car accident. A drunken night out that required Alex to rescue her. Each time, she’d guilt him into postponing, claiming that if he got married, her parents would ramp up the pressure on her. If we had a child, she’d wail, they’d probably marry her off to the first old man they could find.

And Alex, her loyal shield against parental pressure, had made me compromise, again and again.

If I hadn’t finally given him an ultimatum—get married this year or we’re through—he would have kept dragging his feet. I thought this time, finally, our wedding would actually happen.

I never expected Jenna to pull a stunt like this.

My silence must have made Alex realize this wasn’t just a passing mood.

“Are you serious?” he asked, his voice uncertain. “If I do this for Jenna, you’re really not going to marry me?”

“Nothing is going to happen between us! We’ll just take a few pictures to fool her parents, that’s it. I swear I’ll be completely faithful to you.”

I rolled my eyes. “Are you even listening to yourself?”

“I’m not even your wife yet, and you’ve already lined up your mistress. What kind of pathetic doormat do you think I am?”

Alex rubbed his temples and gestured toward the house next door, where a shouting match was in full swing. “Cara, just listen to them. Her parents yell at her like that every single day because she’s single. Don’t you feel bad for her?”

“No, I don’t.”

A flicker of relief crossed his face, thinking he’d won me over. He moved to pull me into a hug, but I sidestepped him.

“That’s why I’m letting you go,” I said, my voice cold. “From now on, you can be her husband. Then maybe her parents will finally leave her alone.”

The smile vanished from Alex’s face, replaced by a dark glower. “Cara! You’re a woman! Your parents have been pushing you to get married for years. You of all people should understand what she’s going through! Why can’t you just help her out?”

I stared at the man I had loved for five years and suddenly had nothing left to say.

So, he knew. He knew how much pressure my parents were putting on me. And he had still made me wait, time and time again, all for Jenna. He was so focused on being her hero that he never once considered my own struggle. He had no idea that his constant delays had made my parents despise him. I had fought tooth and nail for him, defending his character every time they urged me to leave him, assuring them—and myself—that he loved me.

I convinced myself that a man so loyal to his friend would surely be a devoted husband.

But the sponsorship agreement on the table was a slap in the face.

“Alex, let me ask you this. As long as Jenna is single, you’re just going to keep running to her rescue?”

“Of course! She’s my best friend. When your friend is in trouble, you drop everything to help.”

That was all I needed to hear.

I turned and started packing my suitcase.

Alex, convinced I was just throwing a tantrum, grabbed the agreement and headed next door.

“Cara, the invitations are out,” he called over his shoulder. “Tomorrow is the wedding you’ve always dreamed of. Don’t you dare ruin it.”