Chapter 1
Outside, the sun was blazing, and I was sweating like crazy.
Inside, the AC made the room cool, while my fiancé and my best friend were making out like crazy.
The thick blackout curtains swayed wildly. From behind them came Aria Mercer's suppressed gasps and Asher Chandler's hoarse, smug voice.
"Easy... What if Nova hears us?"
"That i***t is probably too caught up in hiding. Just focus."
I raised my phone and tapped the record button. The camera focused on the entwined silhouettes on the curtains, clearly capturing this sickening scene. My heart was racing. My hands stayed steady.
That evening, when the game ended, I tapped Save, pocketed my phone, pushed open the balcony door, and walked inside.
Asher and Aria had just stepped out from behind the curtains.
Seeing me get out, Asher froze for a moment, a flicker of panic flashing through his eyes.
But the next second, he walked toward me, fretting as he dusted off my clothes.
"Why were you hiding on the balcony? Look at you, sweating buckets. You'd give yourself heatstroke!"
Aria stood to the side, smoothing her rumpled skirt, and quipped with a grin, "Oh my, Nova really went all out to win the game. Look how Asher dotes on his fiancée."
I looked at Aria's slightly swollen lips. Then I looked at Asher's unbuttoned collar, smudged with a faint trace of lipstick. It was the exact same shade Aria had on today.
I didn't call them out. Instead, I smiled and played along, "Yeah, I almost died from the heat out there trying to win."
In the car on the way home, Asher drove while enthusiastically discussing next month's wedding details with me.
"Nova, that island hotel you booked, what theme did you want for the wedding there?"
The anticipation in his voice was so genuine that I couldn't help but feel a little dazed.
I remembered the year we first started our business, when we were crowded together in that narrow attic without air conditioning.
He held me, drenched in sweat, pointing to a picture of an island wedding in a magazine, swearing that once we had money, he would make me the happiest bride.
Back then, we would hesitate over a $10 fast food meal, yet he only had eyes for me, his love so pure.
I turned my head, watching the night view stream past outside the window, my voice calm. "The wedding video might need to be changed."
Asher didn't pick up on the subtext at all. One hand on the wheel, he reached over to take mine, readily agreeing, "Sure, whatever you say."
I avoided his touch, pretending to tuck my hair back. A change was definitely in order. Not only did the video need to be changed, but also the groom. I didn't plan on keeping him.
