Chapter 1
Tessa's POV:
In the middle of my wedding ceremony, two men wheeled a gurney into the venue. A body lay beneath a white sheet.
The shoes sticking out beneath the sheet were my brother's favorite sneakers.
My vision went black. I stumbled forward and threw myself at the gurney, but two men pinned me to the floor.
Not one of the guests gasped. Instead, thunderous applause erupted around me.
Graham Pierce approached slowly with a glass of champagne in his hand. He raised it toward Camille Foster, who stood on the steps.
"Camille, was that reaction real enough? I told you using her brother would work best."
Camille pursed her lips critically. "The emotion was strong, but she looked awful when she cried. It ruined the shot."
Graham frowned, walked over, and bent down to look at me.
"Tone it down. If you cry off all your makeup, you won't look good on camera."
The bridesmaids and the wedding officiant crowded around him, praising the groom for being willing to go so far for art.
Only when I saw the scripts and storyboards in their hands did I realize this was yet another immersive theater production.
All 200 guests had been given scripts. I was the only one kept in the dark, yet I was also their leading lady.
I stared blankly at the gurney.
Over the past several years, Graham had repeatedly put me through hell so Camille could gather material for her directing career. There had been a staged car accident, a fake k********g, and a terminal diagnosis that wasn't real. Now, even our wedding had been a lie.
'If I never get a script, then I don't have to play a part in his life anymore.'
*****
Graham handed his champagne flute to the officiant beside him. Then he took a handkerchief from his pocket and held it out to me.
"Wipe your face. The floor is cold, so stop sitting there. You'll complain about feeling sick again if you catch a chill."
I didn't take it. The handkerchief slipped from his fingers and landed on the carpet.
Around us, the guests began gathering their things. A production assistant directed several workers to remove the covered gurney.
As it passed me, one corner of the sheet slid away. There was no body underneath. It was only a silicone mannequin stuffed with cotton, wearing Noah's favorite sneakers.
Camille, still dressed as a bridesmaid, looped her arm through Graham's.
"Graham, do you think she's angry? I told you this script was too intense. Tessa has always been so protective of her brother. Of course she couldn't handle it."
Graham chuckled and ruffled Camille's hair.
"She isn't that fragile. Noah is a sensible kid, and I'm the one paying his medical bills. Borrowing his name to shoot a video isn't a big deal."
He turned toward me, still sitting helplessly on the floor, and his frown deepened.
"That's enough, Tessa. Camille is trying to make the leap from viral web dramas to major theatrical releases. This project involves an investment worth tens of millions of dollars. You know how much it matters to her. She has barely slept for two weeks because of it. What is so difficult about cooperating when Noah wasn't actually hurt?"
I slowly raised my head and looked at him.
His suit was immaculate. Even the knot of his tie was perfectly centered. I had personally chosen those clothes for our wedding.
Yet the ceremony I had anticipated for six years was nothing more than a trick he had arranged to amuse his childhood sweetheart.
Bracing one hand against the cold marble floor, I slowly rose. My legs had gone numb after I sat so rigidly for so long, and I stumbled.
Graham instinctively reached out to steady me, but his hand stopped in midair.
"Fine. I know you're upset, and I admit this wedding was a little rushed. Give me a few days, and I'll make it up to you with a grand proposal. Will that satisfy you?"
He always did this. He hurt me first, then offered me a small kindness, utterly certain that I would never leave him.
I didn't look at him or at Camille, who was hiding a smirk behind his shoulder. I simply turned away.
"Where are you going?" Graham called after me.
"To change."
I entered the dressing room and stared at my reflection. In that extravagant wedding gown, I looked like a clown.
I picked up a pair of scissors and slowly cut my way out of the expensive dress.
After 10 minutes, I put on the old clothes I had worn to the venue and stepped into the hall.
Graham was leaning against the wall and smoking. The moment he saw me, his expression darkened.
"Tessa, what is this tantrum about now? I just said I would make it up to you. Where do you think you're going dressed like that?"
"The hospital."
I walked past him and headed straight for the elevator.
Graham froze for a moment before grabbing my wrist. His voice softened.
"I'll have the driver take you."
"There's no need."
I pried his fingers from my wrist one by one.
The sharp smell of disinfectant filled the pulmonology ward at Brookhaven Medical Center.
When I opened the door, Noah was propped up in bed with a book. A nasal cannula rested beneath his nose, and his eyes lit up as soon as he saw me.
"Why are you here so early, Tessa?"
He set down the book and pulled a lopsided folded paper heart from beneath his pillow. Then he lifted it toward me with a bright smile.
"Congratulations on your wedding, Tessa!"
