Chapter 1

• Valerie Ashford smoothed her hands down the elegant white lace of her wedding gown, her heart fluttering with excitement. After years of pining for David Westbrook since their high school days, she could scarcely believe this moment had finally arrived.
• She stole a glance at her delicate diamond solitaire engagement ring, the stone glittering under the harsh lights of the courthouse ceremony room. This was really happening. Soon she would officially be Mrs. David Westbrook.
• Valerie paced the short length of the room, her satin heels clicking against the linoleum floor. David was already thirty minutes late, but she tried to push away the nagging sense of dread. He probably just got caught in traffic - it was the middle of the day after all.
• Another ten minutes ticked by in tense silence. Valerie couldn't sit still, her stomach tying itself into tighter knots with every passing second. She finally caved and pulled out her phone, fingers trembling as she tapped David's number.
• "Hello?" His deep voice rumbled after two rings, providing momentary relief.
• "David? It's me. Are you okay? You're running really late..."
• "Yeah, yeah I'm fine. I'm actually just around the corner. Be there in five minutes tops," he replied in a curiously dismissive tone.
• Valerie frowned at his cavalier attitude but decided to give him the benefit of the doubt. "Okay... I'll be waiting right here."
• She ended the call and resumed her pacing, the knot in her belly loosening slightly. He was almost here, just like he said.
• Fifteen more minutes crawled by before the door finally burst open. Valerie spun around, her heart leaping...only to have it plummet straight through the floor.
• Because David wasn't alone. He strode into the room with a smirking Bianca Reynolds on his arm, her slim figure encased in a skintight red dress that left little to the imagination. Richard and Camilla Reynolds followed close behind, their expressions unreadable.
• "Wh-What's going on?" Valerie stammered, panic and confusion swirling through her. Why was her stepsister here, hanging all over her fiance? And her family too?
• David leveled an icy glare at her, all traces of warmth or affection absent from his chiseled features. "You didn't really think I was going to go through with this joke of a wedding, did you Valerie?"
• She recoiled as if he'd slapped her. "What...what are you saying?"
• "I'm saying this is over," he stated flatly. "I've been seeing Bianca for months now behind your back. She's the one I want, not you."
• Bile rose in Valerie's throat as her worst nightmares coalesced into reality. Her stepsister, the woman she considered a sister, had been sneaking around with her fiance?
• Bianca released a theatrical sniffle, burying her face in David's chest in a show of faux remorse. "I'm so sorry, Valerie. I never meant to fall for David, it just...happened. Can you ever forgive me?"
• Her saccharine words were a sickening contrast to the triumphant gleam in her eyes peeking out at Valerie.
• "You...You knew about this?" Valerie demanded, whirling on her stepmother and father with hot betrayal burning through her veins.
• Camilla pursed her lips in distaste but said nothing. Richard simply gave a curt nod.
• "Of course they knew," David sneered. "Did you really think they'd let their precious Bianca marry a ditzy nobody like you?"
• The vicious insult lashed against Valerie like a whip, dredging up every insecurity she'd ever felt under her stepfamily's cold disdain. Before she could formulate a response, David pressed on.
• "This is me being kind, Valerie. Calling it off now before you embarrass yourself any further. I don't love you, I never have. I was just too nice to tell you to your face."
• Valerie's throat constricted with a swell of emotion - anger, desolation, utter devastation all crashing over her in a relentless wave. Tears blurred her vision but she blinked them back fiercely.
• No. She would not allow them to see her broken, to give them that satisfaction.
• "Get out," she bit out in a voice that didn't sound like her own. "All of you get out of my sight immediately!"
• "With pleasure," Richard spat, looping a possessive arm around Bianca's waist and steering her towards the exit. "Don't forget, the inheritance is only yours if you meet the terms. Good luck with that."
• Valerie's fists clenched until her nails dug painfully into her palms. Of course, her stepfather had to twist the knife deeper by reminding her of the archaic marriage clause. Without a husband, she would lose everything her beloved grandfather Henry Ashford had bequeathed her.
• David paused in the doorway, his cold eyes raking over her with naked revulsion.
• "Don't worry. This just spared both of us from making a huge mistake. You can thank me later."
• The door slammed shut behind them, leaving Valerie utterly alone amidst the wreckage of her shattered dreams. At long last, the dam broke and she crumpled to the floor in a puddle of white satin and heartbreak.
• Valerie hugged her knees tight to her chest as sobs wracked her body. She didn't care who saw or heard her anguished cries echoing through the empty courthouse room. All she could process was the excruciating ache of betrayal and humiliation.
• How could David, the man she'd loved for years, be so unforgivably cruel? To not only cheat on her with Bianca but to ambush her like that on what was supposed to be the happiest day of her life? The image of their smug, satisfied faces as they revealed the treachery plagued her mind, inflicting fresh stabs of pain.
• And her own family...her father and stepmother were in on it. They had to have known David's intentions all along and let her walk blindly into this mortifying situation. Was she truly so unworthy in their eyes that they happily fed her to the wolves?
• "Miss? A-Are you alright?" An elderly woman's voice called out tentatively.
• Valerie peeled her face off her knees, realizing her very public breakdown was disturbing the courthouse operations. Sure enough, a elderly clerk shuffled towards her down the aisle wearing a pinched expression of concern.
• "I'm so sorry," Valerie managed between hiccuping breaths. She must have looked a fright - the jilted bride, crumpled on the floor in her ruined white gown. "I'll get out of your way."
• She struggled to push herself to her feet, humiliation heating her cheeks. The clerk frowned, wringing her bony hands.
• "Did someone hurt you, dear? Do you need me to call the police or an ambulance?"
• "No, no I'm...I'm fine. Physically, at least." The last word emerged as a broken whisper. She may have escaped without bodily injury but her heart and pride were tattered remains.
• The clerk seemed to piece together what happened if her crestfallen expression was any indication. "Oh, you poor thing. Weddings should be a joyous occasion, not...whatever that was."
• Tears burned fresh trails down Valerie's cheeks as the reality continued crashing over her in relentless waves. There would be no joyous wedding day, no loving husband to build a life and family with. Not for her.
• Not after that devastating public humiliation.
• "Thank you for your concern," Valerie choked out, mustering what little dignity she had left. "But I should...I need to go."
• Clutching the tattered skirt of her gown, she fled down the aisle towards the exit. The few scattered onlookers openly gawked at the tear-streaked, despondent bride, fanning the flames of embarrassment searing her face.
• Only when the cool spring air hit her did Valerie draw a shuddering breath. Her steps slowed, the weight of her predicament crashing over her anew.
• What was she going to do now? With no husband, she would lose everything her grandfather left her, including the beautiful brownstone townhouse she called home. Worse, she would be at the mercy of her stepfamily's vindictiveness.
• Fresh sobs tore from her throat, drawing bewildered looks from passersby on the sidewalk. Just like that, her life as she knew it had shattered into a million pieces.
• All because the man she loved revealed himself as the cruelest Judas of all.