Chapter 2

Serena's POV

On our fifth wedding anniversary, I watched my own husband drop to one knee in front of another woman and slip a diamond ring onto her finger.

Ethan and I had been secretly married for five years.

For five years, he had kept me hidden like something shameful that couldn't be brought into the light.

His excuses never changed. Year after year, the same lines.

"Serena, the company is in a critical funding stage right now. I have to keep up the image of a wealthy, unattached man. I can't afford any missteps."

"Be patient. The moment this round closes, I'll tell the whole world about you."

"Serena, I know I'm asking too much of you. I owe you the most magnificent wedding, and I promise I'll make it up to you a hundred times over."

I believed him for five years. I endured it for five years.

Then came tonight. The victory gala celebrating the company's latest funding round.

I had ordered his favorite lisianthus flowers days in advance. I had pressed my couture gown myself. I had even tucked both of our marriage certificates into the hidden pocket of my clutch, my heart full, ready to walk in and bring my husband home to celebrate.

Then my phone lit up on the car seat.

A social media post from Cassandra hit me like a slap.

The banquet hall was blazing with light in the photo.

Ethan, wearing the custom suit he had made just for tonight, was down on one knee in front of Cassandra, cradling a brilliant diamond ring with both hands, his eyes full of something I used to believe was only for me.

Cassandra had her hand pressed over her mouth, tears shining on her cheeks, surrounded by the applause and cheers of the city's elite.

The caption was only one line.

"He said this is something he has owed me all along."

I stared at that ring on my screen until my fingertips went white and I forgot how to breathe.

For five years, he told me he owed me a wedding.

Tonight, he took everything he had promised me and slid it onto another woman's finger.

I don't know how I made it to the venue.

When I pushed open the heavy doors, Ethan had just risen to his feet after putting the ring on Cassandra. She leaned into him, her eyes soft and red-rimmed, the diamond scattering sharp light across the room under the spotlights.

Someone recognized me. The laughter in the hall went strangely quiet.

The warmth on Ethan's face froze the instant he saw me. His brow pulled tight with something close to disgust.

"What are you doing here? Who told you to come?"

I ignored every pair of eyes watching for a scene. I walked to the main table, reached into my clutch, and pulled out the certificate.

I brought it down hard on the table.

"I'm here for my husband. I'm taking him home."

My voice wasn't loud. But it landed.

Every eye in the room swung toward me.

Cassandra's face went pale. She shrank against Ethan like a startled deer, clutching his sleeve with both hands.

"Ethan, who is she?"

Ethan didn't push Cassandra away. He pulled her closer.

I watched that hand settle over another woman's shoulder, and something in my chest tore open. But I kept my spine straight.

"Serena Walsh. Ethan's legal wife. He committed bigamy in front of this entire room tonight. I can call the police right now."

The room exploded.

Camera flashes started firing from every direction.

Ethan's face went ashen. He crossed the stage in a few strides and reached for the documents on the table.

I pressed my hand down over them.

"Touch it, and I will make sure every journalist in this room photographs every word and every official seal on that certificate."

The look in Ethan's eyes turned dark and cold. His jaw worked.

"Serena, have you lost your mind?"

"You went to the registry yourself. You signed it with your own hand. You were smiling when they took the photo for it."