Chapter 1

Three days before my wedding, my fiancé eloped with my best friend.

My best friend. Wearing my wedding dress. In my marital home. And she was "unlocking new positions" with my fiancé.

I caught them red-handed, but she just shrugged it off, completely unfazed.

"Oh, don't be so dramatic, daughter-in-law," Ashley purred, a smirk playing on her lips. "My boy was just nervous about his first wedding. I was simply giving him some pointers to make your married life… more satisfying."

Blake Blackwood, my fiancé, was equally dismissive. "Don't be so jealous, Chloe. She's just my buddy. If there was anything serious between us, you wouldn't be the bride."

I let out a harsh, bitter laugh. "Seriously? You'd marry your 'buddy' then?"

"Our marriage is a dynastic alliance, a mere formality for our parents' sake," Blake explained, as if I were too simple to grasp it. "You people from a lower background wouldn't understand. Stop being so possessive. After we're married, I'll be with her on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays for family appearances. Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays will be all for you."

I felt like I was going to explode, my eyes burning with unshed tears. Was it just about an arranged marriage?

How many other arranged marriages had I turned down for him?

In fact, one of them was with his own older brother, Julian Blackwood—the Blackwood family's designated heir!