I don't remember how I made it away from that door.

When I came to my senses, I had already crashed into someone. Expensive whiskey splashed across my clothes, leaving me a mess.

I kept my head down, stammered an apology, and fled before the person could say a word.

The winter rain hammered against my skin. I felt none of it. The voices from that room echoed on and on inside my skull.

For the past two years, Daryl had taken me abroad for treatment, accompanied me on trips to lift my spirits.

Even when he was clearly exhausted, he would smile and reassure me:

"Josephine, as long as you're okay, I'm okay."

But now I understood. All of it had been nothing more than a tool to keep me useful.

The rain fell harder. The bone-deep cold jolted me fully awake.

At that wedding in one week, the ones left in ruins would be the Sanchez family.

I got into my car, pulled out my phone, and did three things in rapid succession:

I scheduled a termination procedure, hired someone to uncover the truth behind that car accident years ago, and accepted the collaboration offer from the luxury jewelry brand Bellerose.

The moment I finished, a notification popped up on my social media: someone had followed me.

Along with it came several direct messages:

Mrs. Sanchez, I know today is your anniversary with Daryl. I told him he didn't need to come pick me up, but he insisted. So I can only tell you this way: what we have is a pure friendship between a man and a woman. Nothing more.

At the end, she'd sent a cat sticker, the same one Daryl always used.

It was Sarah Simmons.

I tapped into her profile, and it all clicked. The cat Daryl was so fond of was a birthday gift he'd given her.

A message from Daryl arrived on my phone:

Babe, sorry, something came up with an important client. I'll make the anniversary up to you later.

I let out a bitter laugh and didn't bother replying.

When I got home, the housekeeper greeted me at the door.

"Ma'am, the food's gone cold. Would you like me to reheat it?"

"Even the best dishes don't taste the same after reheating. Throw it all out."

Ignoring the housekeeper's startled expression, I turned and went upstairs to wash up and rest.

I didn't sleep well that night.

In the haze of half-sleep, the scent of roses drifted to my nose.

My heart ached. I pulled away from Daryl's embrace.

"Josephine, what's wrong?"

"You've been coming home later and later." My throat tightened. "Daryl, is work really that busy?"

Daryl sat up and pulled off his shirt. The marks on his neck and shoulder, unmistakably intimate, stung my eyes.

"I know you've got a lot on your plate with the wedding planning, and it's easy to overthink. But trust me, okay?"

I bit down hard on my lip, rolled over with my back to him, and said nothing.

After a long silence, a delicate, glittering bracelet dangled before my eyes.

"Are you angry?"

Sensing something was off, Daryl leaned in, wrapped his arms around me, and pressed a soft kiss to my temple.

"I had your anniversary gift ready ages ago. Try it on?"

He clasped the bracelet around my wrist.

His warm breath brushed against my neck and shoulder. I looked down at the bracelet, and tears blurred my vision before I could stop them.

In Sarah's latest social media post, she was wearing the full jewelry set from this exact brand.

This bracelet was nothing more than a freebie, a gift-with-purchase thrown in after a thirty-million-dollar spending spree.

So that was what I was worth to Daryl.

And there was something else. When my mother died, the force of the crash had caused her bracelet to sever her wrist completely.

Even now, bracelets still cast a shadow over my heart.

"Josephine, you're so beautiful."

Daryl's thumb traced circles on my wrist, and his other hand moved to slide my robe off my shoulder.

I turned away, my voice flat.

"I think my period came early. I've been too tired lately."

He opened his mouth to say something, but his phone rang at just the right moment.

Within minutes, he'd changed his clothes and was heading for the door.

"Something urgent came up. I'll explain everything later, Josephine."

Seeing my silence, he paused mid-step and added:

"Tomorrow I'll go with you to try on wedding dresses. Consider it making up for our anniversary."

"I've also got a surprise for you."

The word "surprise" struck me like a bolt of lightning.

I forced a smile. "Okay. Sounds good."

The room fell silent again.

I buried my face in the pillow and let the tears soak through.

All those years of love had been nothing but a lie from start to finish.

And I was only seeing it now.

When I lifted my head, I unclasped the bracelet and tossed it into the trash.

A notification lit up my phone: my appointment with a divorce attorney had been confirmed.

The name of the law firm struck me as oddly familiar, but I couldn't place it no matter how hard I tried.

A flicker of unease passed through me, but given that this firm was the best in the city for divorce cases, I dismissed the thought of switching.

The next morning, I was woken by commotion downstairs.

From the hallway landing, I looked down to see Daryl on the sofa with his arm around Sarah, his face soft with adoration.

Sarah was directing a row of models to parade outfit after outfit while a sales associate stood by, awaiting her orders.

When she saw me coming down the stairs, she leaned closer to Daryl, pressing herself tighter against him.

"You must be his wife? I'm sorry for moving in without asking. I barely slept all night worrying about it. You don't mind, do you?"

She wrung her hands, looking up at me with wide, anxious eyes.

I smiled faintly.

"You've already made yourself at home and called in a personal shopping team. Do you really still need my permission?"

Daryl cleared his throat and was about to speak when someone who looked exactly like him walked in from outside.

"Josephine, don't get the wrong idea."

"Let me formally introduce you. The one sitting with Sarah is my twin brother, Vincent. He's the surprise I mentioned last night."

The three of them exchanged a glance and broke into laughter.

I stood rooted to the spot, feeling like a complete fool.

That night at the lounge, Daryl had told everyone how to tell the brothers apart.

Vincent had a tiny mole at his hairline, nearly invisible unless you looked closely. Daryl didn't.

So I knew with absolute certainty: the man sitting with Sarah right now was Daryl.

"Vincent is the most important family I have. His work was classified, so he couldn't appear publicly before. That's the only reason I never told you."

Vincent stepped forward and took my hand.

"And Sarah is like a sister to us. She just got back to the country and hasn't found a place yet. She's staying with us temporarily. You won't be upset, will you?"

All three of them performed flawlessly.

I swallowed the nausea rising in my stomach and forced a smile.

"Of course not. She can stay as long as she likes."

Sarah's smile turned smug. She finished picking out her clothes and began ordering the staff around to rearrange the house, every inch the lady of the manor.

The Sanchez brothers hovered around her, catering to her every need, as if I didn't exist.

Right on cue, my attorney sent a message: the divorce papers were ready.

I slipped back to my room to review them. When I stepped out again, the staff were carrying armfuls of my old design sketches out of the house.

"What's going on?"

"Ma'am, Ms. Simmons liked your old study. Mr. Sanchez ordered us to clear out all the clutter before he left to see Mr. Vincent off."

Clutter.

I stood there, stunned, and tears fell before I could stop them.

Every sheet of paper in that study was the product of countless sleepless nights.

More than that, everything my parents had left me was stored in there.

That room held all my memories of them, and everything I'd once been.

But to Daryl, it was all just clutter.

Out in the courtyard, flames leaped high in the burn barrel. Sarah picked up my parents' framed photograph and hurled it to the ground.

"Are there more of these morbid things in the house? Get them all out. I want everything burned."

My heart splintered along with the glass of that frame.

"Sarah Simmons! You have no right to touch my things!"

I wiped my tears and rushed over, snatching the photo from her hands.

"You live in Daryl's house, you spend Daryl's money. Everything in here belongs to him." She stepped closer. "As long as he allows it, who are you to say no? Give it back!"

I shielded the photo against my body and twisted away from her reach.

Sarah glared at me with pure venom, but the corner of her mouth curled into a vicious smile.

"Ahh—!"

A sudden flare from the burn barrel scorched her arm, and she cried out in pain.

"I really didn't mean to touch your things! I already apologized! Do you have to shove me into the fire before you're satisfied?"

"Sarah!"

Daryl came rushing over, pulled Sarah into his arms, and slapped me hard across the face.

"Josephine! Have you lost your mind? Do you have any idea what you just did?"

The burning sting on my cheek confirmed that all of this was real.

"I didn't push her. She was burning my old design sketches and about to destroy my father's photograph."

"Daryl, don't I even have the right to be angry in this house?"

A second slap landed on my face.

Then the photo was ripped from my hands and tossed into the flames.

"Your hands are useless anyway. The sketches are gone, so what? Consider it supporting Sarah's career."

"And the photo? I'm the one who told Sarah she could get rid of it. They're dead. What's the point of keeping a memento? You just wanted to bring bad luck down on Sarah!"

"All this over something so small, and you still won't admit you attacked her. Josephine, you're a vicious woman! Apologize to Sarah. Now!"

The taste of blood spread through my mouth. I stared at the man raging in front of me, tears blurring everything.

After a long moment, my shoulders dropped, and I burst into laughter.

"Daryl Sanchez, don't you ever expect me to apologize to that woman!"

"You—!"

Daryl was so furious he could barely form words. His hand rose again, but when his eyes met my shattered gaze, a flicker of guilt crossed his face.

"Josephine, you've been too spoiled." He lowered his hand and turned to the bodyguard nearby. "Take her to her room. She can stay there and think about what she's done until she's ready to apologize."

He scooped Sarah into his arms and drove away without a backward glance.

In the bedroom, I packed my bags while the staff gossiped in the hallway outside.

"Honestly, she doesn't know what's good for her. Picking fights with Ms. Simmons when everyone knows she's his first love."

"Did you hear? Every top specialist in the hospital was summoned to the VIP ward just for a minor burn on Ms. Simmons's arm. No one can compete with that kind of devotion."

"Everyone in this house knows it was Mr. Sanchez sitting with Ms. Simmons on the sofa this morning. She's the only one who's been kept in the dark all these years. And last night, the noise coming from their room was something else. But then again, can you blame him? She's so dull. What man could stand it?"

I gripped the hem of my sleeve until my knuckles ached. Darkness filled the room before the door finally opened.

"Do you really have to be this stubborn?"

Daryl walked in, picked up a cotton swab, and began dabbing at my wounds.

"Josephine, Sarah is like a sister to me. You'll always be Mrs. Sanchez. All you have to do is go apologize."

When I just sat there with my eyes lowered, saying nothing, he lost his patience.

"So you're just going to give me the silent treatment? Fine. Then don't speak for the rest of your life! Stay in here! And forget about the wedding!"

The thought of the wedding, the thought of what came next, loosened my tongue.

"I'll clear out whatever's left in the study."

"And the last piece of property my parents left me is a plot of land. Since you want to support Ms. Simmons's career, it'll be useful for building a jewelry gallery and retail center."

I produced the divorce agreement and flipped to the last page.

"I've already reviewed the transfer documents. Just sign here, and I'll have my attorney handle the title transfer."

Daryl looked puzzled. He'd been trying to get his hands on that land for years, and I had never budged.

"Daryl, let's go ahead with the wedding as planned." I smiled lightly. "Once the ceremony's done, I'll officially have a new identity. It's time to let go of the past."

"I'm glad you've come around, Josephine." He signed without reading a single line. "Sarah's already forgiven you. The burn was nothing serious. Tomorrow I'll take you to try on dresses, I promise."

"Okay."

I tucked the divorce agreement away, keeping my voice bright.

"After the dress fitting, I'd like to go home for a few days and visit my parents. It's been a while."

The termination was scheduled for the day after tomorrow. I couldn't miss it.

"Want me to come with you?"

"No, I'll be fine on my own. Ms. Simmons needs you more right now."

Daryl took in my gentle, considerate smile and left, satisfied.

I spent the rest of the afternoon clearing out the study.

"Why did you take down all our photos from the wall?"

Daryl came to call me for dinner. Seeing the bare room, displeasure flickered across his face.

"Sarah's only borrowing the space for a while. She'll give it back soon. You didn't have to strip it this clean."

"A workspace should feel like a workspace. The photos didn't belong. I've put them away separately."

I answered calmly, my hands never pausing as I erased every trace of myself from the room.

"Fine. But stop for now." He carried a box out for me. "Come eat. I had the kitchen make your favorites tonight."

He walked back over, reaching out to ruffle my hair.

I stepped aside and gave him a soft smile.

"I'm all dusty. Go ahead and start without me. I'll be right down."

"I'll wait for you."

At the dinner table, Sarah had taken my seat. She raised a glass to Daryl.

"Daryl, thanks to the hundred million you invested, my personal jewelry brand is officially off the ground. I'd say our relationship just leveled up!"

They clinked glasses and celebrated, looking every bit the loving couple.

I kept my head down, chewing food that tasted like cardboard.

"I heard you used to be quite talented in jewelry design yourself. How come you never continued?"

Sarah's smile was pure provocation. Daryl answered blandly:

"She just doodled for fun. Nothing like what you do."

"I see. Well, at least she's lucky she found you. Set for life without lifting a finger."

I set down my chopsticks, my gaze cold and level.

"You really do envy me, don't you."