HER FALL, HIS DESIRE

Some betrayals don't begin with a broken promise. They begin with a promise you believe too much.

---

The woman staring back at me in the mirror looked like a dream.

And for once, I wasn't afraid to admit that the dream was mine.

My wedding dress hugged my waist before falling into a magnificent train of ivory silk. Delicate lace covered the bodice, embroidered with tiny pearls that caught the light whenever I moved. My hair was styled into soft waves, with a few strands framing my face, and a diamond necklace rested against my collarbone.

My mother's necklace.

I touched it gently.

"You're going to ruin your makeup if you keep doing that," Ava said from behind me.

I laughed, quickly withdrawing my hand.

"I'm not crying."

"Of course not. And I'm the Queen of England."

"Ava!"

"What? I'm just saying, if you start crying now, I'll have to fix your face, and I refuse to be responsible for ruining the most expensive wedding makeup I've ever seen."

I turned to look at my best friend.

She stood near the window in her champagne-coloured bridesmaid dress, holding a glass of water in one hand and her phone in the other. Her dark hair was swept into an elegant updo, and she looked annoyingly beautiful for someone who had spent the morning complaining about her heels.

I smiled.

"You're happy for me, right?"

Her teasing expression softened.

"Aria, I've watched you talk about this man for four years. I've listened to you defend his terrible jokes, tolerate his ridiculous habit of stealing food from your plate, and spend hours deciding what to buy him for birthdays."

"His jokes aren't terrible."

"They're criminal."

I rolled my eyes.

"But yes," she continued, stepping closer. "I'm happy for you. I want you to be happy."

Something in her voice made me study her face.

"What is it?"

"Nothing."

"Ava."

She sighed.

"Nothing, Aria. It's your wedding day. I'm not going to ruin it by giving you another lecture about Adrian."

I frowned.

"You promised you'd stop doing that."

"And I have. Mostly."

"Ava!"

"Fine." She raised both hands in surrender. "Today is about you. Go marry your man."

I laughed, and just like that, the tension disappeared.

Adrian Cole.

My fiancé.

My best friend.

The man I had loved since I was seventeen.

Four years ago, he had taken me to a little Italian restaurant in Manhattan for our first proper date. He had been so nervous that he knocked over his glass of water before the waiter had even brought our food.

I'd laughed at him.

He'd laughed at himself.

Then he'd looked at me with those warm brown eyes and told me he wanted to remember that evening for the rest of his life.

He still remembered it.

Every anniversary, he found some way to bring it up.

That was Adrian. He remembered the little things.

He remembered that I hated roses with too many thorns. He remembered how I liked my coffee. He remembered the first time I told him about my mother and how I'd cried so hard that I could barely finish the story.

He had held me that night and promised that I would never have to face the world alone.

And I had believed him.

I still did.

"Mrs. Cole," Ava said dramatically, breaking into my thoughts. "How does that sound?"

I smiled at the mirror.

"Mrs. Montgomery-Cole sounds better."

"Of course it does. We can't have you abandoning that famous last name."

I threw a tissue at her.

She dodged it, laughing.

A knock sounded at the door.

Before either of us could answer, it opened, and my stepsister walked in.

Sienna Bennett was beautiful in the effortless way that made people look twice. Her long brunette hair fell over one shoulder, and her pale pink bridesmaid dress complemented her skin perfectly.

She was two years younger than me, although sometimes it felt as though we'd spent our entire lives competing over things neither of us had chosen to compete for.

Attention.

Approval.

Our father's affection.

I had never wanted to compete with her.

She was my sister, even if we shared only one parent through marriage.

At least, that was what I'd always believed.

"Aria," she breathed, staring at me. "You look incredible."

I smiled.

"Thank you."

She walked closer and adjusted the edge of my veil.

For a moment, her expression was difficult to read.

Then she smiled.

"Adrian is going to lose his mind when he sees you."

Warmth spread through my chest.

"I hope so."

Sienna laughed softly.

"Trust me. If I were marrying you, I'd be waiting at the altar already."

Ava made a choking sound behind her.

I turned sharply.

She suddenly became very interested in her phone.

"Sienna," I said, shaking my head, "you're impossible."

"Someone has to make you laugh before you become too important for the rest of us."

She hugged me.

Her perfume was familiar, expensive, and sweet.

But as she pulled away, her phone vibrated.

She glanced at the screen.

The smile disappeared from her face.

Only for a second.

Then she turned the phone over and slipped it into her handbag.

"Everything okay?" I asked.

"Of course."

"You look worried."

"I'm fine, Aria. Just wedding nerves."

I accepted the explanation.

Why wouldn't I?

It was my wedding day. Everyone was nervous.

My father appeared in the doorway a few minutes later.

Richard Montgomery was a tall man with silver beginning to spread through his dark hair. He looked distinguished in his black tuxedo, but I noticed the exhaustion around his eyes.

He had been working too hard lately.

The doctors had told him to rest more, but my father had never been particularly good at listening to doctors—or anyone else who suggested he slow down.

"May I steal my daughter for a moment?" he asked.

Ava immediately stood.

"Absolutely. I need to make sure the guests haven't eaten all the food before the bride arrives."

She pointed at Sienna.

"You're coming with me."

Sienna hesitated.

"I'll be there in a minute."

Ava gave her a look I didn't understand, then left.

My father stepped inside and closed the door behind him.

For a moment, he simply stared at me.

Then his eyes softened.

"Your mother would have loved this."

My throat tightened.

I looked down at the necklace resting against my dress.

"I wish she were here."

"So do I, sweetheart."

He came closer and kissed my forehead.

"She would have been proud of the woman you've become."

I swallowed the lump in my throat.

"Thank you, Daddy."

He held my hands.

"Marriage is a beautiful thing, Aria. But I need you to remember something."

I smiled faintly.

"You're about to give me a speech, aren't you?"

"Probably."

"Daddy."

He chuckled, but the sound faded quickly.

"Never lose yourself trying to make someone else happy."

I blinked.

The words felt strangely heavy.

"I won't."

He studied me for a moment, as though he wanted to say something else.

Instead, he squeezed my hands.

"Good. Now, I believe your groom is waiting."

He kissed my forehead again before leaving.

I watched the door close behind him.

For the briefest moment, I wondered whether something was troubling him.

Then my phone buzzed.

A message from Adrian.

Adrian: I can't wait to see you, beautiful. Today, you become mine forever.

I smiled so widely that my cheeks hurt.

Me: You'd better not be late.

His reply came almost immediately.

Adrian: Never. I promise.

I pressed the phone to my chest.

Four years.

Four years of dates, arguments, laughter, apologies, and whispered promises.

In less than an hour, he would be standing at the altar, waiting for me.

And I would walk toward him.

Toward our future.

Toward forever.

I didn't know that sometimes, forever was the most dangerous promise a person could make.

---

Twenty minutes later, Ava returned to help me with my veil.

Sienna was nowhere to be seen.

"Where's your sister?" Ava asked, fastening the final pin into my hair.

"I thought she was with you."

"She said she needed to take a call."

I glanced toward the door.

"From whom?"

Ava shrugged.

"She didn't say."

I almost asked another question, but the wedding coordinator appeared before I could.

"Miss Montgomery, we're ready for you."

My heart began to race.

This was it.

I took one final look at myself in the mirror.

The dress.

The necklace.

The flowers.

The woman I had dreamed of becoming.

A wife.

A partner.

Someone's forever.

I picked up my bouquet and walked toward the door.

Then I heard a voice from the adjoining corridor.

Sienna's voice.

I stopped.

"Adrian, you need to stop calling me."

My fingers tightened around the bouquet.

A pause followed.

Then Sienna spoke again, quieter this time.

"You promised me this would be over after today."

My heart gave one hard, painful beat.

Adrian?

I took a step toward the corridor.

Perhaps I had misunderstood.

Perhaps she was talking about something else.

Then she said the words that made the entire world seem to stop.

"What happens after you marry my sister?"

Silence.

I couldn't breathe.

I stood frozen in my wedding dress, my bouquet trembling in my hands.

And then Adrian's voice came through the phone.

Clear.

Familiar.

The voice I had loved for four years.

"After today, Sienna, everything changes."

My stomach twisted.

"Just trust me."

I stared at the closed door between us.

Outside, music began to play.

Guests were taking their seats.

Somewhere, a hundred people were waiting for me to walk down the aisle.

But all I could hear was the man I was about to marry telling my sister to trust him.

And suddenly, I wasn't sure which of them had been lying to me.