His Heart Is Another's

My fiancé leaves me jilted on our wedding day and marries my sister.

As I stand there, feeling humiliated, William Sterling gets on one knee before me and asks me to marry him.

Everyone in my city knows of him—he's an elite bachelor and every woman's dream. Yet now, he slips a wedding band onto my ring finger and confesses his love for me. "I've always loved you, and I thank the heavens for giving me the chance to spend my life with you."

We get married, and he treats me well. Everyone knows that he won't fall for anyone other than me.

Everything changes when I accidentally enter his studio in the seventh year of our marriage.

I see that he's painted thousands of portraits of my sister, Ivy Winslow. Each one is a tender confession of his love for her.

The man I love with all my heart earnestly prays to the heavens and utters his wish. He's willing to sacrifice anything for Ivy to be happy, including his life.

It turns out what I thought was seven years of love was nothing but a lie. Ivy is the one he's loved all along.

If that's the case, I'll back out. I'll leave in three days, and I hope he and Ivy can be happy together.

I booked a flight for three days from now. Once the three-day countdown ended, I'd leave right on time and never see William Sterling again.

The door to the study opened, and William entered. "I just heard you on the phone with an airline. What are you doing?"

I put away my phone and calmly explained, "I request an invoice from our last trip to be emailed to me."

He didn't seem suspicious. "What do you want to eat later? You've been sick lately, so something light would be good. How about a creamy mushroom and vegetable soup?"

We'd been married for seven years, and William had always been this gentle and attentive. Everyone believed I was the only one he'd ever love.

I used to thank the heavens every day for blessing me with such happiness. But it took me seven years to realize that William did love only one woman, but that person wasn't me. He married me just to protect Ivy Winslow's happiness.

When I didn't answer, he came over and wrapped his arms around me. "There's one more thing; Ivy's pregnant, and one of her compositions was selected for an international music competition. Her husband threw her a party and sent us an invitation.

"But I know you never feel happy around Ivy, so you won't wanna go. Just stay home and wait for me, okay?"

I was surprised. "The results are out? Why haven't I heard back yet?"

I'd joined the same competition.

William gently caressed my face, and his eyes were filled with tenderness.

"I canceled your application. You've always wanted a child, and if you'd gone ahead with the competition, you'd be spending all your time practicing and composing. When would we start having a family?"

I lowered my head and smiled bitterly as my eyes shut to stop the tears from falling. For seven years, I'd always wanted a baby, but he refused every time and said he was enjoying our time as just the two of us.

But now that I might be competing against Ivy, he suddenly changed his mind and wanted a child just to hold me back. He was willing to give up anything for Ivy, and even having a child was just another excuse.

Seeing I still didn't respond, William leaned in by my ear and whispered, "I'm sorry I didn't discuss it with you beforehand.

"Don't be mad at me, okay? We'll have our seventh wedding anniversary three days from now, and I promise I'll make it up to you.

"I'll do anything, honey, as long as it makes you happy."

I knew those words weren't meant for me; they were for Ivy. He'd do anything as long as Ivy was happy.

I swallowed the bitterness in my throat and looked up at him with a smile. "So we've been in love for seven years now, so I'd better prepare a huge surprise for you. No matter what happens, you're not allowed to miss it, okay?"

He seemed pleased that I'd given up the competition and kissed my forehead. "I'll be looking forward to it, honey."

I believed he'd love it. Soon, he'd completely lose me and finally be free.

When he went into the kitchen to start chopping vegetables, his wedding ring sat quietly on the table. I stared at our rings as tears slipped down silently.

For the first time, I noticed that Ivy's name was engraved in the inner band of his wedding ring. For every single day and year of our marriage, he'd always been in love with someone else.