Chapter 1

As I stepped into the room, the soft rustle of my gown echoed in the silence. At 28, I'd grown used to the way people watched me, their expectations always pressing down, like a weight I couldn't shake.

I hadn't planned to go upstairs that afternoon. I just wanted to grab my earrings. But as I turned the corner, I froze.

Alexander and Amanda.

Locked in an embrace that knocked the air out of me.

My fiancé.

My sister.

"I've never felt this alive, Amanda," Alexander's voice was low, filled with a passion I had never heard before. "Being with you... it's like nothing else matters."

Amanda's laughter echoed in the dimly lit corridor, "I know what you mean, Alex. It's like the whole world fades away when we're together."

I didn't move. Couldn't. Their words echoed in my head, over and over. My stomach twisted. How long had this been going on? How long had I been the fool?

The pain was sharp, but the shame cut deeper.

My heart didn't break with a crash- it cracked in slow, silent fractures. My sister. And the man I was supposed to marry.

For one suspended second, I wanted to scream, cry, collapse.

But something inside me shifted.

Rage, cold and precise, surged through the numbness. No more pretending. No more protecting anyone but myself. If they could betray me so easily, then they could face the consequences just as publicly.

I turned on my heel, walked back into my room, and reached beneath the layers of silk and lace. My fingers closed around the hidden tape recorder I'd stashed hours earlier- paranoia then, clarity now.

My hands trembled, not with fear, but with purpose.

If truth was going to ruin this day, it would be me who delivered it.

The ceremony had already begun. Flowers bloomed in perfect symmetry, the scent of roses heavy in the air. Guests filled the hall with hushed anticipation, all eyes fixed on me as I stepped down the aisle.

My smile was steady. Too steady.

Beneath layers of ivory satin, my fingers found the recorder. I reached the altar. Alexander stood there, looking every bit the devoted groom. I looked him dead in the eyes as the officiant asked if anyone had any objections.

I raised the recorder.

Click.

"I've never felt this alive, Amanda,"

"Being with you... it's like nothing else matters."

Gasps broke the silence. Murmurs rippled through the crowd.

Amanda paled. Alexander's smile faltered.

"You lying bastard, Alexander! The night before our wedding, with her? My sister?"

"Seraphina, please-"

"Don't. Don't say my name like you still have the right."

"I made a mistake-"

"A mistake? You didn't trip and fall into her bed!"

"It wasn't what it looked like-"

"Oh, save it for someone who didn't watch the whole damn video!"

"And you. Amanda. What, cat got your tongue now? Were you this quiet when you were moaning his name?"

"I never meant for this to happen... Sorry Seraphina..."

"Oh please! Spare me the guilty act. You weren't crying last night."

"Seraphina, let's talk about this privately. Not here. Please."

"Now you care about appearances? In front of our families, our friends? You cared nothing for that when you screwed my sister!"

"I didn't mean to hurt you-"

"Well, congratulations. You did. You both did."

"Please, let me explain-"

"No. You had your chance. Now they get to hear it too."

The audio cut out, but the silence that followed hit harder.

And then... the air shifted.

"Seraphina, darling," my mother says, her voice shaking from emotion. "We understand this is difficult, but we cannot afford to cancel the wedding.

My eyes widen with disbelief, and my heart sinks as I realize the enormity of their position. My parents want this marriage to happen, no matter what the cost. My heart falls as I realize the depth of their despair. They're willing to compromise my happiness and dignity for their financial stability. The discovery leaves me with a painful sense of betrayal and abandonment that cuts deeper than any knife.

"But how can you ask me to marry him after everything he's done? I mean... You just watched in 4K..." I protest, my voice shaking with fury and anguish.

My father's expression is anguished as he reaches out to gently touch my trembling hands. "Listen, we're going to pretend that didn't happen. We have no choice, my dear," he says, his voice strained with emotion. "The future of our family hangs in the balance."

My mother's eyes brim with no emotion, her voice choked with assertiveness. "I know it's not ideal, my dear," she says, her voice barely above a whisper. "But sometimes we have to make sacrifices for the greater good. Please, Seraphina, for the sake of our family, for the sake of everything we hold dear, we must go through with this wedding."

Tears well up in my eyes as I gaze into my parents' faces, seeing the desperation and fear reflected at me. I know they're clinging to this marriage as their last hope for financial security.

My mind reels at the thought, my heart torn between duty to my family and the betrayal I feel at the hands of my fiancé and sister. But before I can respond, my mother continues, her voice trembling with desperation.

"There is another option," she says, her words hanging heavy in the air. "If you cannot bring yourself to marry Alexander, then perhaps... Perhaps Amanda could take your place. That sounds like a good idea..right?"

My breath freezes in my throat at the proposal, and my mind races with astonishment. The prospect of my sister, who did something as horrible as that, stepping into my shoes and marrying the guy who betrayed me is almost unbearable.

"... I can't believe what I'm hearing... You don't even care about how I feel... Uhn!? Please, Excuse me!" I can't bear to entertain my parents' offer any longer, fueled by rage and betrayal. I stormed out of the room without saying anything.

"Seraphina..." I hear my parents' desperate and imploring calls, but I can't take hearing their pleas and attempts to excuse their conduct at my expense.