Chapter 2

I don't know how long I stood there. Seconds. Minutes. Time didn't feel real anymore.

The stall door opened. Val walked out, phone in hand, and froze when she saw me.

For one horrible moment, we just stared at each other.

"Dee!" She recovered fast, plastering on that bright smile. "I didn't hear you come in. Were you waiting long?"

She's checking how much I heard.

"Just got here." The lie came out smooth. Automatic. "Needed a break from all the toasts."

Val laughed, already moving to the mirror to fix her lipstick. "God, tell me about it. Dad's stories are getting longer every year."

I watched her reflection. The casual way she reapplied her makeup. The steadiness of her hands. Like she hadn't just been planning to destroy my life.

"Who was that on the phone?" I asked.

Her hand paused for half a second. "Oh, just a client. You know how real estate is. They call at all hours."

Liar.

"We should get back." Val dropped her lipstick in her clutch and turned to me with a smile that didn't reach her eyes. "Big day tomorrow, right?"

"Right." I forced myself to smile back. "Big day."

I followed her out of the bathroom on legs that didn't feel like mine.

The rest of the dinner passed in a haze. I laughed when I was supposed to laugh. Smiled when Garrett kissed my cheek. But I was watching now. Really watching.

The way Garrett's gaze tracked Val across the room when he thought no one was looking.

The way Val's hand lingered on his shoulder when she passed his chair.

The way my parents looked at Theo—Val's "godson," playing quietly in the corner—with a strange tenderness. Like they knew something.

Did everyone know except me?

I thought about all the times Val had shown up at family dinners with that little boy. The way Garrett always found an excuse to play with him. The way Theo's gray eyes lit up when he saw my fiancé.

I'd thought it was sweet. Garrett was so good with kids.

God, I'm an idiot.

When the dinner finally ended, Garrett drove us home. I stared out the window the whole way, answering his questions with one-word responses.

"You okay, babe?" He reached for my hand. "You seem quiet."

His touch made my skin crawl.

"Just tired," I said. "Long day tomorrow."

"The longest." He smiled, that charming smile I used to love. "But worth it, right?"

I looked at him—really looked—and wondered how I'd missed it. The cracks in his perfect facade. The lies behind his easy words.

"Worth it," I echoed.

At home, Garrett fell asleep within minutes. I lay beside him in the dark, listening to his breathing, waiting.

When I was sure he was out, I slipped out of bed.

His briefcase sat by the dresser. He was protective of it—always had been. I used to think it was just work stress. Now I wondered what else he was hiding.

I found it in the side pocket. A second phone. Cheap, prepaid, the kind people used when they didn't want to be traced.

My hands were shaking as I turned it on.

The passcode was Theo's birthday. Of course it was.

Messages filled the screen. Hundreds of them. All from "V."

Miss you already.

Can't wait until this is over.

Theo asked about you today. I told him soon.

I scrolled further. The messages got worse. Photos. Things I couldn't unsee. Val in lingerie. Val in what looked like our bed.

Our bed.

My stomach turned, but I kept going.

Then I found the bank transfers.

Thousands of dollars, sent to an account in Val's name. Every month for the past three years. I recognized the amounts—they matched the "bonuses" Garrett said he got from work.

But that wasn't what made my blood run cold.

There were other transfers too. Larger ones. From an account labeled "Corporate Holdings." The notes said things like "consultant fee" and "marketing expense," but I knew what this was.

Eight years of planning weddings for rich clients had taught me a lot about money. About how people hid it. About how they moved it when they didn't want anyone to know.

Garrett wasn't just cheating on me. He was stealing from his company to do it.

I sat on the bathroom floor for a long time, phone in hand, staring at the evidence of everything I thought I knew falling apart.

Three years together. A year of planning this wedding. And the whole time, he was building a life with my sister behind my back.

I could cancel the wedding.

The thought floated up, obvious and simple. Call it off. Tell everyone what they did. Play the victim, let people feel sorry for me.

But then what? Val would cry and spin some story about how Garrett seduced her. My parents would take her side—they always did. And I'd be the pathetic little sister who got dumped at the altar.

Again. The fool. Again.

Something shifted inside me. The shock was fading, replaced by something colder. Harder.

They wanted a wedding. They'd been counting on it. Six months of playing happy couple, Val had said. Then the divorce, the payout, and they'd ride off into the sunset with my money and my dignity.

They thought I was naive. Clueless. Too trusting to see what was right in front of me.

They were wrong.

I could cancel the wedding. I could cry, scream, make a scene.

Or I could give them exactly what they wanted—a wedding they'd never forget.

I picked up my phone and started making calls.