Chapter 1

A week before my wedding, Jacob Murphy, my fiance, claimed that he could only marry me after he had a wedding with his first love. His first love, Megan Lawson, had recently lost her mother, whose dying wish was for the two of them to get married. "Mrs. Lawson had always hoped that Megan could marry a good man. I'm just trying to fulfill her last wish. Don't read too much into this." Meanwhile, my company had already decided to launch the Eternal Love jewelry collection on the day of our grand wedding ceremony. "It's only a few hundred thousand dollars," he snapped impatiently. "In comparison, Megan's obligation toward her mother is way more important. If you care so much about the money, you can marry someone else." Upon hearing his heartless comments, everything finally became clear. Subsequently, I left and called my family. "Alex? I want to marry someone else. Can you introduce me to another man?" I asked. "Did you have a change of heart?" my older brother, Alexander Robinson, asked in disbelief. I smiled bitterly and replied, "No, Jacob is marrying someone else." In order to be with Jacob, I overcame strong opposition from my family, before I finally got my parents' approval. On top of that, I'd even decided to launch the Eternal Love jewelry collection on the day of our wedding. Unfortunately, my efforts were all for naught. Alex fell silent. After a long pause, he said, "I'm afraid your only option is Zane Smith. His family is pressuring him to get married. So, he's been looking for a partner too." I frowned. Zane was my archnemesis. On the day of my engagement, he sneered at me and said that my marriage would end up in shambles. Back then, I didn't think his words would actually come true. Since I was short on time, I had no choice but to say, "So be it. Can you check if he's okay with the arrangement? If he doesn't agree to it, I'll come up with another solution." "That won't be necessary. He'll definitely agree to this," Alex replied immediately. "What?" I was just about to ask a follow-up question when I was suddenly surrounded by a group of people. "You're Jacob's fiance, right? You're so pretty!" "Are you here to pick Jacob up from work? He'll be down in a minute. The two of you have such a loving relationship." I gripped the steering wheel and looked down to hide my wry expression. Jacob had already introduced me to his friends and colleagues early on. To them, we were the perfect couple. They had no clue that he was about to marry someone else. After bidding everyone goodbye, Jacob got into the car and handed me a necklace. "Megan told me to give this to you. Since you embarrassed her at the funeral yesterday, you should apologize to her when you have the chance to do so," he instructed. The necklace was obviously a free gift that came with a purchase. I saw it in his online shopping cart two days ago. "I don't want it," I said emotionlessly. Jacob frowned. "Why are you throwing a fit again? You embarrassed Megan at the funeral by publicly declaring that I wasn't her fiance. Instead of holding a grudge against you, she brought you a gift. Are you really rejecting her gesture of goodwill like this?" Jacob had changed. He was no longer looking out for me like he used to. Now, he only had eyes for someone else. Feeling irritated, he rolled down the window to get some fresh air. When I made no attempt to pacify him, he said, "Forget it. Since we're trying on our wedding outfits today, I'll let the matter go." That was the first time he'd backed down since the start of the year. Once we got to the bridal shop, one of the staff approached us and said, "Hello, Mr. Murphy, Ms. Robinson. All 20 of your custom-made dresses and tuxedos are ready." Instead of looking at the clothes, Jacob was anxiously glancing at his phone. Once he realized I was staring at him, he instantly tucked his phone away. "Megan is in trouble, Olivia. I'm afraid I need to head over immediately," he said apologetically. "You can try on the dresses by yourself. I trust your judgement. Go ahead and pick out a tuxedo for me, too." Then, he hastily left in a taxi, leaving me all by myself. "Do you want to pick out a tuxedo, Ms. Robinson?" the staff member walked over to me and asked carefully. I averted my gaze and nodded. I was definitely going to choose a tuxedo, but it wouldn't be for Jacob. I was marrying someone else, after all. Afterward, I got into my car and headed home. I didn't expect Jacob to come home that night. So, I was surprised to see that he returned before dinner. He marched over to me with a takeout box and declared, "Here. I made a trip across the entire city to get you a snack from Frevo." I glanced at the box of mini lobster rolls. Compared to the usual portion, three were missing. On top of that, one of the pieces even had teeth marks on it. Someone had clearly taken a bite out of it before it was handed to me. Half an hour ago, I saw a photo of these lobster rolls on Megan's social media page. "Thank you for getting me a late-night snack, honey! You're the best!" the caption of her post read. I scoffed inwardly and set down my fork. I had lost my appetite. "I don't feel like eating this. Just throw it away." Jacob immediately shot me an irritated look. Suppressing his annoyance, he sat next to me and said, "You have no idea how miserable Megan felt today. My parents went to her place and berated her for being poor. They even insulted her for not having any expensive wedding gifts, leaving her deeply upset." Then, he added, "Megan just returned to the country, so she doesn't have a lot of money with her at the moment. I'd like to lend her your wedding gifts for the time being." His imperious tone made me feel sick. I stared at him with a mocking expression and asked, "Are you asking me to fund your wife's wedding gifts?"