I stood frozen in the doorway, the champagne flute trembling in my hand. Jeffery’s laugh—so familiar, so warm—echoed through the dim bedroom, but it wasn’t meant for me. His arms were around Anna, my best friend since college, his lips pressed to her neck like he’d never touched me at all.\n\nMy breath caught, sharp and painful. This had to be a joke. A sick test. We were supposed to be getting married in three weeks.\n\nThen Anna looked up. Saw me. Didn’t push him away.\n\nSomething inside me snapped—and then settled into icy clarity. I stepped back, silent, and slipped out. Down the hall, Edward stood by the balcony, watching me with those dark, unreadable eyes.\n\n"You saw," he said, not a question.\n\nI lifted my chin. "I did."

He offered his arm. "Let them think you’re broken. Let them believe they’ve won."

I took it. "I’m not broken. I’m just getting started."\n\nNow, standing at the edge of the party, the music pulsing around us, I have to decide: do I play the wounded fiancée and retreat, or do I let Edward lead me onto the dance floor—where everyone will see us, where the game truly begins?