"I'm sorry, ma'am, but this marriage certificate is a forgery. I can't book a table for you."

The receptionist kept her tone polite, but the contempt underneath it cut like a blade. "And also, Mr. Thompson is currently upstairs on the terrace garden, dining with his wife."

"I'm sorry, what?" Chloe Bradshaw stared at her own marriage certificate, completely lost.

The receptionist looked her up and down and rolled her eyes. The message was clear: I already know exactly what you're pulling here.

"Ma'am, you're not the first woman to show up with a fake certificate trying to take advantage of our anniversary promotion."

Chloe frowned. Something was wrong.

She had come to this restaurant for one simple reason: to plan a celebration for her third wedding anniversary with her husband, Liam Thompson, which was only ten days away.

"What do you mean Mr. Thompson is here with his wife?"

The receptionist pressed her lips together, then turned the monitor slightly so Chloe could see. "See? Liam Thompson and Melanie Harper. Seven-thirty, terrace garden, table for two. Already checked in."

Chloe's expression froze. She leaned in and read the screen again, hoping she'd misread it.

She hadn't. The words were right there.

Melanie.

Her best friend. Her closest friend in the world. And she was upstairs right now, celebrating a third anniversary with Chloe's husband.

What the hell was going on?

Could that person have been telling the truth?

Chloe had to know. She had to see it for herself.

She slipped away from the front desk, found the fire exit, and climbed the stairs up to the terrace.

Her heart was slamming against her ribs. Come on. I must be wrong. This has to be a mistake. Liam and Melanie? No way.

But when she burst through the door onto the rooftop, she saw them. Together. Kissing deeply.

Liam looked polished in a tailored suit, bow tie perfectly knotted, completely at ease. Melanie wore a red evening gown, her eyes bright, her smile soft.

They kissed like they couldn't get enough of each other, as if the whole world had disappeared and only the two of them were left.

The waitstaff applauded around them, warm and genuine, and every single clap hit Chloe like a punch to the chest.

Then the large screen behind them lit up. Soft music drifted through the air. The title card read: Time Music Box.

Photos started playing one by one.

At first, they looked a little stiff and awkward, then slowly relaxed, then close. Dinners out, shared laughs, quiet ordinary moments that had somehow piled up into years.

One of the photos really caught Chloe's attention.

That was a picture from a cruise.

She had that photo on my phone too. Only in her version, there were three people in the frame.

In this version, she had been completely cut out.

Chloe stared at the screen, suddenly feeling the whole thing was absurd. She had planned that entire cruise. The white dress Melanie wore in the picture had been a gift from her.

Yet in this carefully edited memory, not even the edge of her sleeve remained.

What’s more, there was even a photo of them tangled together in bed, laughing. And that was clearly taken after, Melanie curled against Liam's chest, a bruise of a hickey visible on her neck.

The last photo was Liam sliding a diamond ring onto Melanie's finger.

At the exact moment that image filled the screen, Liam picked up a massive bouquet of roses from the table and dropped to one knee in front of her.

"Mrs. Thompson," he said, "you are absolutely breathtaking tonight. I love you."

Chloe stood there and stared. She forced herself to stay still. She stepped back into the stairwell and made a call. "I need you to pull the marriage registration for a Liam Thompson."

The call came back fast.

"Ms. Bradshaw, we've confirmed that Mr. Thompson legally registered his marriage to Melanie Harper on June sixth, three years ago."

June sixth?

Chloe and Liam had gotten their marriage license on June sixteenth.

Her throat tightened. Something inside her chest cracked wide open.

So her husband was never really hers. He'd belonged to her so-called best friend the entire time.

The sound of a violin pulled her back. Out on the terrace, under the stars and surrounded by flowers, Liam took Melanie's hand and they began to dance.

God.

The fury building in Chloe's chest was close to unbearable. She balled her hands into fists and stepped forward.

She was done. She wanted to hear it out loud. She wanted to rip the masks off both of them and make them look her in the eye and explain themselves.

She was almost close enough when Melanie suddenly reached into her purse and held something up in front of Liam's face.

He caught one look at it and his eyes went wide. He snatched it from her hands and stared at it, then broke into the biggest, most childlike grin she'd ever seen on him.

"I'm going to be a dad!" he shouted. "I'm finally going to be a dad!"

He looked like he wanted to scream it from the rooftop.

Years ago, Chloe had been in a car accident while saving Liam's life. The damage had been permanent. Getting pregnant would be next to impossible for her now, maybe completely impossible. It was something she'd never fully stopped grieving.

But now, watching her husband celebrate another woman's pregnancy, she only felt her stomach turn.

She covered her mouth as tears slid down her cheeks. Then she slowly walked to the parking lot and got into her car.

---

Two hours later, Chloe followed Liam's car back to the Thompson estate.

Melanie had barely stepped out of the vehicle when the Thompson matriarch swept out the front door with her arms open wide, her voice carrying across the driveway.

"Melanie, my sweet girl! Liam just called and told me you're pregnant. Oh my God, this is just the most wonderful news!"

She took Melanie's hands in both of hers and guided her toward the door.

"You know, I never approved of Liam marrying Chloe. Not after that accident. The damage she sustained, not being able to have children... I couldn't accept that. But you're different. You've always been sensible. Thoughtful."

Chloe stood beside her car and watched.

The same woman had always been cold and distant with her. But now, Mrs. Thompson fussed over Melanie like she was something precious and priceless, carefully leading her into the house.

Three years.

They'd played her for a fool with a fake marriage license for three years.

She had almost died saving Liam's life. And he had tucked her away like an afterthought because of something that wasn't even her fault.

Just then, her phone rang.

The number belonged to the same person who had called her three days ago. A person she had thought was completely insane.

Mr. Morris.

The head of the Morris family, one of the most powerful families around. She'd met him briefly during a business deal with the Tienwell Group.

Three days ago he'd reached out to tell her that her marriage was a lie. And then he'd asked her, with no apparent business motive attached, to marry his son.

Chloe took a slow breath and picked up.

"Ms. Bradshaw, have you changed your mind now?" His voice was low and steady. "The truth must have been painful. I'm genuinely sorry for that. But I think you'd rather face reality than keep living inside a lie."

He paused. "My offer stands. Marry my son, and everything our family has built will one day be yours."

Chloe looked coldly at the house she had once believed was her home. "You've done your research on me, so you already know. The accident left damage. Getting pregnant is very difficult, possibly not possible at all."

"That's not a concern.” Mr. Morris said. “I have a doctor I trust. She's reviewed your records and she believes there's still a real chance. And even if it turned out there wasn't, that changes nothing about what I think of you. You have a sharp business mind."

Chloe smiled.

Something in Chloe's chest loosened. The darkness the Thompsons had left over her seemed to vanish all at once.

He was right. A woman's worth wasn't measured by what her body could or couldn't produce.

"Then let's make it a hell of a wedding," she said.