Chapter 1

On the day of my wedding, my brother Ethan came back from overseas to steal my bride.

"Ava, I've always loved you! I didn't leave you back then because of the car accident—I left to build something for myself, to become a man who could truly protect you! Now I'm ready."

My fiancée, Ava, stopped walking toward me.

My mother, her eyes red, took Ava's hand. "Ava, Ethan has always had feelings for you. Now that he's back, and the engagement was originally between the two of you, Ethan should be the one standing at the altar."

"Luke, take a step back," my father said as he walked over, his tone leaving no room for argument. "You were only filling in for Ethan. Now that he's back, it makes perfect sense for him to take over the wedding."

I stared at them in disbelief.

It was absurd. That wasn't what happened at all.

Three years ago, after the accident destroyed Ava's voice and left her unable to speak, Ethan smashed a wineglass and shouted at our parents, "I'm not marrying a cripple! If you force me, I'll walk out of this family for good!"

That same night, he got on a plane to Paris, leaving both families on the verge of a full-blown scandal.

To calm the Hart family's outrage, my parents had all but begged me to step in and take Ethan's place in the engagement.

I took care of Ava for three years. I helped her through rehab. When she broke down and started throwing things, I quietly cleaned up after her. I even learned sign language so I could communicate with her.

And now that she could finally speak again because of my care, he came back to take her from me.

But it didn't matter. I believed Ava would choose me.

Instead, Ava ran straight to Ethan and threw her arms around him. "I knew you wouldn't abandon me."

I froze.

It felt like an invisible hand had wrapped around my heart and squeezed until I couldn't breathe.

Three years of devotion, and all of it lost to a few sweet words from Ethan.

"Why are you still standing here?" my father said coldly. "We just got word there's trouble at the docks. Go deal with it. Or are you planning to stay here and marry your brother's bride?"

The words hit me like a slap across the face.

But it wasn't anything new.

In this family, Ethan had always been the center of everything.

Before he was born, my parents had loved me too. But the month my mother was pregnant with Ethan, my father took several bullets protecting the Godfather during a shootout with a rival crew.

The doctors said he wouldn't make it through the night.

Then, that very evening, Ethan was born early.

Maybe it was the sound of a newborn crying through the hospital halls that sparked something in my father, but somehow, he pulled through.

From that day on, Ethan became the family's lucky star. My parents poured all their love, attention, and resources into him.

No matter how hard I worked or how well I did, all my father had to say was, "Give it to your brother," and whatever I had was gone.

This time, it was my fiancée too.

"Fine. I'll go," I said with a bitter smile. I ripped the groom's boutonniere from my lapel and tossed it onto a pew.

Then I turned and walked toward the chapel doors.

"Luke!"

Ava called after me.

I stopped and looked back to see her signing to me.

"Luke, you're the one I truly want as my husband."

"I only agreed to go with Ethan because I want to know why he really came back this time."

"Once I find out what he's after, we'll get married at St. Margaret's Cathedral, okay?"

St. Margaret's Cathedral.

The moment I understood what she meant, the tiny spark of hope that had just lit inside me went cold.

St. Margaret's had never been my dream wedding venue.

It was Ethan's.

He'd said it countless times growing up—one day, he was going to kiss his bride beneath the stained glass of St. Margaret's.

After Ava accepted my proposal, I had told her I didn't even want a church wedding. I wanted an outdoor ceremony on the lawn.

She had never remembered what I wanted.

I let out a quiet, bitter laugh. "I need to go deal with the situation at the docks."

The moment I got into the car, my phone rang.

It was the Godfather.

"Luke, I heard there's some trouble at the docks."

"Yes, sir. I'm on my way there now."

"Good. But that's not the only reason I'm calling." He paused. "I'm planning to expand north. The new district needs someone dependable in charge. I think you're the right man for it. But this kind of opportunity doesn't wait. If you take it, you'll need to leave within three days. Are you willing to go?"

I was silent for only a few seconds before answering.

"Yes, sir. I am."