The night before the wedding, our friends were playing truth or dare.
First round, my fiancé lost. The slip he drew said to kiss a bridesmaid.
He looked around the room and chose my best friend.
“You two are practically the same person, right? Kissing her is the same as kissing you.”
Everyone was egging him on. Bella Malone tried to push him away.
“I can't, I have a boyfriend now……”
Before she could finish, Ezra Stephens gripped the back of her neck and kissed her, deep and rough.
“Boyfriend? I thought I was the only man in your life.”
“If you don't want me marrying her, I won't. Why would you say something like that just to hurt me?”
The room detonated.
Silence first, then the murmuring, and every pitying glance landed on me.
Ezra turned to look at me too.
“Don't misunderstand. I knew Bella before I ever met you. She's not the other woman.”
“She held back all this time for the sake of our arrangement. You should be thanking her.”
“If you can't even handle that, we can always swap brides.”
I laughed. The kind of laugh that comes when the anger is so absolute it flips over into something cold.
He was right about one thing. This was an arranged marriage.
Which meant the groom was mine to choose.
……
The room went quiet for one beat, then erupted.
“Holy shit, Ezra, you were hiding her this whole time? No wonder every time Bella lost a dare you jumped in to drink for her.”
“First couple years, Alexis put the word out that nobody was allowed to let you touch alcohol. We couldn't even invite you to a business dinner.”
“That's rich. Alexis Henson would rather die than let her father's mistress into the house, and she turns out to be the third wheel herself?”
Ezra raised an eyebrow.
Didn't confirm. Didn't deny.
I looked down at the row of empty glasses in front of me.
Bella had lost six rounds. I had lost twelve.
Years ago, Ezra ruined his stomach drinking. I nursed him back to health over three years and banned alcohol for him, at home and everywhere else.
He'd obeyed, mostly because he didn't want me angry.
Twelve drinks were nothing to me. I never expected him to take them for me. But he'd taken every one of Bella's.
I'd thought he was doing it so I wouldn't worry about her. Turns out he was playing hero for the one he actually wanted.
Bella glanced at me, guilt flickering across her face, and quickly waved her hands.
“Lexi is wonderful, you guys shouldn't talk about her like that.”
“Besides, she's the Henson heiress. How could I ever compete……I'm happy just being able to see Ezra now and then.”
Her eyes reddened, her teeth pressing into her lower lip, the picture of quiet suffering.
As if I'd used my name and my family's money to steal her boyfriend, and she was too afraid of retaliation to do anything but swallow it.
Right on cue, the room turned on me.
“Someone acts all high and mighty, but behind closed doors she's as dirty as anyone.”
“I always thought Alexis was a control freak. Won't even let the man drink. Who'd actually want that? Ezra had no choice before—he needed the arrangement. But things are different now.”
“No kidding. Ezra just landed the development rights for that south-side plot yesterday. A deal that size? From now on, it's the Hensons answering to the Stephens.”
My head snapped up, eyes sharp.
“What did you just say?”
The bid meeting for that land wasn't supposed to be until the day after tomorrow.
Someone let out a snide laugh.
“That meeting ended yesterday. Ezra fed you the wrong date on purpose. That's what you get for trying to compete with him.”
“But hey, your proposal didn't go to waste. Bella gave it to Ezra. Now that's a power couple. Unstoppable.”
My eyes went wide.
My father had promised me. If I landed that project, he would never let his mistress and her illegitimate son through our door.
