A searing gaze pressed down on me from above.
Memories of last night's recklessness flooded back, and heat rushed to my face in an instant.
Geoffrey broke the silence.
"Cindy, you knew it was me from the very beginning, didn't you?"
I nodded.
"I've never once mixed the two of you up. Not since we were kids."
They had the exact same face.
But one glance was all it took for me to tell them apart.
"Then why did you choose me yesterday?"
I caught the faint hope flickering in Geoffrey's eyes and answered honestly.
"Because the groom I chose was always you."
Geoffrey blinked, stunned for a beat, then let out a quiet laugh.
"So Cornelius thought he was so clever, thought he'd fooled you. Turns out the only one who got played was him."
But that same afternoon, Cornelius showed up at the bridal suite out of nowhere, when he was supposed to be on a cruise with Desiree.
He grabbed Geoffrey by the shoulders and shoved him into the bathroom.
"Geoffrey, swap clothes with me. Now. I'm taking my identity back!"
At the same time, Desiree pushed past the housekeeper and burst into the room.
She walked right past me as if I didn't exist, stopped at the bathroom door, and knocked.
"Today's my birthday. Can't you just stay and spend it with me?"
Her voice trembled with a thin, practiced whimper.
"This was my birthday wish last year. We promised, remember? Just be selfish with me one last time."
A year ago today, I'd been rushed to the hospital after a car accident.
Cornelius had claimed he was on a business trip overseas and couldn't make it back. The truth was he'd been celebrating Desiree's birthday.
The bathroom door swung open.
Cornelius walked out.
He saw the tears clinging to Desiree's lashes and pulled her into his arms, his expression soft with concern.
"Don't cry. I promise."
Desiree nestled against his chest, her shoulders trembling with small, delicate sobs.
"I knew you wouldn't have the heart to leave me."
Geoffrey spared the two of them a flat, indifferent glance and walked toward me.
"Cindy."
Only then did Cornelius notice that I'd been sitting on the sofa the entire time, watching them in silence.
A flicker of conflict crossed his eyes before he spoke.
"Since today's Desiree's birthday, why don't the four of us celebrate together?"
He looked at Geoffrey. "'Bro,' Desiree's just your college friend. You wouldn't mind, right?"
The look he gave Geoffrey carried a clear warning.
Geoffrey didn't spare him a response. He turned to me instead.
"Babe, what do you think?"
I stood, looped my arm through Geoffrey's, and shook my head.
"No thanks. We have an appointment at the courthouse this afternoon to get our marriage certificate."
In my previous life, Cornelius had been so afraid of upsetting Desiree that he called marriage certificates "shackles" and kept dragging his feet, never once registering our marriage.
But Geoffrey was different. He wanted that certificate. He wanted the proof that he was mine.
Cornelius's eyes went wide.
"You're getting a marriage certificate?"
His face darkened, but only for a second. He smoothed it over just as fast, a thin smile curling at the corner of his mouth.
"Well, if you're heading to the courthouse, we won't hold you up."
Before he left, he slipped his ID card into Geoffrey's jacket pocket.
Keeping his voice low so I wouldn't hear, he muttered to Geoffrey:
"I know you're standing up for Cindy. That fake audio you played this morning was just to get under my skin."
"But I have never betrayed Cindy. I only wanted to help Desiree fulfill her dream of traveling the world, as a friend."
"I promise, after today we'll swap back. I'll make it up to Cindy, every bit of it."
"Get the marriage certificate for me, and I'll let your little stunt slide."
After they left,
Geoffrey pulled Cornelius's ID from his pocket and tossed it into the trash.
Watching him do it, everything clicked into place.
Cornelius still thought Geoffrey was playing his part in the charade.
So sure of his own cleverness.
He had no idea that his former fiancée and the Harding Group would both slip through his fingers.
At the courthouse, the marriage registration went quickly.
Forms filled out, signatures penned, photos submitted.
The official seal pressed down.
Two red booklets were placed in our hands.
The names printed in those two columns read: Cindy Henson and Geoffrey Harding.
Right on cue, a message from Cornelius popped up.
"Geoffrey, did you and Cindy get the marriage certificate?"
"Hurry up and send me a picture."
"You're doing me a huge favor here. Once I inherit the Harding Group, we'll split the empire down the middle."
Geoffrey snapped two photos of the certificate and sent them over.
A second later,
Cornelius's call came through.
