Chapter 1

My sister, the eternal favorite, not only announced at my wedding that she’d already eloped with my fiancé and was pregnant with his child, but she also pressured me to have a hysterectomy. Her demand? That I promise to take care of her child for the rest of my life.

My dream wedding, a love story that started in high school and was supposed to end at the altar, turned into a living nightmare in front of over two hundred guests, all thanks to my sister.

She stood there in a pristine white wedding gown, clinging to Brandon, the man who should have been standing beside me, and walked straight up to me.

“Stella, I’m pregnant with Brandon’s child.”

“We’re already legally married. He’s your brother-in-law now.”

Amber’s words hit me like a bomb, exploding in my ears.

Casually, she projected their wedding certificate onto the big screen behind us, then handed me the physical copy, as if worried I wouldn’t see it clearly enough.

Underneath the crimson banner, their smiles were radiant, like a picture-perfect couple deeply in love.

The date on the certificate? Just yesterday.

“Why?!” I choked out to Brandon, the simple question catching in my throat multiple times.

Brandon furrowed his brow, a flicker of guilt in his eyes, quickly replaced by a sigh. His voice dripped with feigned sympathy, “Stella, Amber only has a year left.”

“This is her last wish—to marry the man she loves and have a child before she dies…”

“Stella, Amber is your sister. You’d understand, right?”

But who would understand *me*?

I looked at his hypocritical face and suddenly found it utterly laughable.

Utterly heartbreaking.

Tears streamed down my cheeks as I screamed in anguish, “I’m supposed to understand her by letting my boyfriend sleep with her and giving up my own wedding?”

Growing up, my sister had always monopolized our parents’ favoritism. And what she loved most was snatching away everything that was mine.

My clothes; my toys; my friends…

Until I met Brandon. I thought I’d finally found a love that was solely mine. But of course, she had to take even that!

“Amber, please, just get out of my wedding! Get out of my life, okay?!”

“Enough! Don’t talk like that!” Brandon snapped, his eyes flashing angrily. “If it weren’t for Amber, how do you think I would’ve ended up with you?”

“What do you mean?” I stared at him, stunned and disbelieving.

“Stella, I’m sorry. Please, don’t fight because of me anymore.”

Suddenly, Amber burst into tears. “I just worried Mom and Dad would be devastated with no hope after I’m gone, so I wanted to leave them something to hold onto. Marrying Brandon was a last resort; I didn’t want the child to be born without a mom, or a dad.”

“If you can’t accept this, then I’ll just go die right now!”

With that, Amber suddenly charged forward, head first towards the wall!