Sierra hangs Hannah’s wedding dress on the wardrobe door inside the bridal suite and smiles at it.

“You’re going to look beautiful in this.”

I immediately shake my head and begin pacing nervously.

“No. She’ll be here any minute now. There’s no way she’ll let Ares marry someone else — especially not me.”

My best friend watches me with obvious frustration.

“I seriously don’t understand you,” she says. “You’ve been in love with Ares your entire life. Why would you want Hannah to show up?”

I stop pacing and look at her helplessly, my chest tightening painfully.

“Because he’s always been hers, Sierra.”

My voice breaks slightly.

“Even if he marries me, the woman he truly wants will still be Hannah.”

I wrap my arms tightly around myself.

“It already hurts enough watching him love her the way he does. But legally being allowed to call him mine while knowing his heart still belongs to her?”

I shake my head miserably.

“That would destroy me.”

I force myself to meet Sierra’s eyes.

“I’d rather stay his friend than become the woman standing between him and the person he actually loves.”

A bitter laugh escapes me.

“I don’t want to be a replacement. A reminder of Hannah. If we get married like this, I’ll never escape her shadow. I’ll just become a cheap imitation of her. A stand-in.”

Sierra studies me quietly before shaking her head.

“I’ve always thought that was so strange,” she says softly. “Someone who shines as brightly as you somehow convinced herself she belongs in someone else’s shadow.”

She smiles gently.

“Hannah is like the moon, Raven. Beautiful on lonely nights, but distant and cold.”

Then she reaches for my hand.

“You? You’re the sun. You’re warmth and happiness and everything good.”

Her expression softens even more.

“And if you give Ares a chance, his whole world will eventually revolve around you too.”

I groan softly and drag a hand through my hair.

“Sierra,” I warn weakly, “today is really not the day for your romantic speeches.”

She just laughs quietly and pulls me toward the vanity prepared for Hannah.

“You’ll see,” she promises. “This is the beginning of something new.”

Then she grins.

“He’s going to fall in love with you, and when he does, I fully intend to say I told you so.”

A knock sounds at the door, and I glance up in surprise when my favorite makeup artist walks in with his team.

“Enrique?” I blink. “What are you doing here?”

He smiles warmly before nodding toward Sierra.

“Leave everything to me.”

Sierra squeezes my shoulders reassuringly before stepping aside, and I stare after her in disbelief.

What exactly has she done?

She can’t honestly believe I’m really going to walk down that aisle today… can she?

I watch through the mirror while Sierra casually steams Hannah’s wedding dress, smiling to herself the entire time.

More than ever, it becomes painfully obvious just how insane my best friend actually is.

She should be horrified by this situation.

Instead, she looks weirdly excited.

Enrique starts working on my makeup while another stylist curls my hair, and suddenly the reality of everything crashes down on me.

This can’t actually be happening.

Can it?

I grab my phone and try calling Hannah again for what feels like the fifty-seventh time today.

No answer.

After I left her apartment, she disappeared completely.

The last thing I heard was that someone spotted her on a beach in St. Tropez.

God.

I really hope she comes to her senses before it’s too late.

Because if she doesn’t arrive within the next hour…

She’s going to make a mistake she can never take back.

“You look beautiful,” Enrique says softly as he finishes the final touches on my makeup.

He’s done my makeup for countless galas, premieres, and award ceremonies over the years.

But today?

He somehow outdid himself.

For one reckless second, I wonder what Ares will think when he sees me.

Then I immediately shut the thought down.

Today must be torture for him.

Until the moment I appear at the end of that aisle, he’ll still be expecting Hannah.

When he looks at me, it won’t be wonder in his eyes.

It’ll be disappointment.

Resentment.

A knock sounds at the door, and my heart instantly sinks.

The moment my mother steps inside, I search her face desperately.

She hesitates for only a second before slowly shaking her head.

My shoulders sag as a wave of horrible relief crashes through me.

Hannah still isn’t here.

“I’m sorry,” Mom says quietly.

She glances briefly toward Enrique and the stylists before pressing her lips together.

“I’m sorry your sister won’t be here for such an important day.”

Her voice trembles faintly.

“I don’t know what’s gotten into her lately. I just hope she doesn’t regret this someday.”

“Me too,” I whisper.

Because what happens if Hannah changes her mind afterward?

What if she goes after Ares and begs him to forgive her?

What is his promise to me compared to all the promises they must’ve made each other over the years?

Am I destroying myself by agreeing to this?

Mom walks over to Sierra, and together they carefully help me into Hannah’s wedding dress.

I designed this gown for her body, not mine, but thankfully the fit is close enough.

Still…

This isn’t my dress.

It isn’t what I would’ve chosen for myself.

And every second I wear it reminds me that I’m standing in someone else’s place.

Everything happening today should’ve belonged to Hannah.

And somehow that realization makes me feel physically sick.

“You look gorgeous,” Mom whispers softly.

But she still can’t quite meet my eyes.

“Thank you, sweetheart,” she says quietly. “I know this isn’t easy for you.”

Her voice wavers.

“I’m sorry it came to this.”

She hesitates briefly before continuing.

“But maybe this really is fate. Ares was originally supposed to marry you, after all. Maybe Grandma Anne was right. Maybe this will eventually work out the way it was always meant to.”

I stare at her coldly.

“Is that what you tell yourself to ease your conscience?”

Mom flinches immediately.

“Is that how you justify putting me in this position?”

She lowers her gaze and draws in a shaky breath.

“Raven,” she whispers, “I truly am sorry.”

Her voice cracks.

“If your father and I hadn’t spoiled Hannah so much, none of this would’ve happened.”

Then she finally looks at me directly.

“I wish I’d treated you better.”

My breath catches.

“I wish I hadn’t taken you for granted.”

Tears shine in her eyes now.

“Maybe if I hadn’t… this moment between us would feel different.”

Her lips tremble.

“It wouldn’t erase what you’re sacrificing today. But maybe I’d at least know how to comfort you properly. Maybe I’d know how to be the mother you actually needed.”

I stare at her in stunned silence.

Out of everything I expected my mother to say today…

This wasn’t even close to being on the list.

She cups my cheek gently.

“I knew,” she whispers. “Of course I knew.”

Pain flashes across her face.

“I knew your father and I favored Hannah. I knew how isolated you felt.”

She looks away briefly.

“But she was so sick as a child, Raven. She spent years trapped at home while other children were making friends and building normal lives.”

Her voice grows quieter.

“We felt guilty all the time. And instead of balancing things fairly, we overcompensated.”

Then she shakes her head sadly.

“I see it now. I see what we did to both of you.”

My eyes burn violently, but I force the tears back.

I don’t even know what to say.

Mom squeezes my shoulders gently and manages a small smile.

“Come on,” she whispers. “Your father is waiting outside.”

I nod silently and follow her toward the door, unease twisting violently inside my chest.

Because once I walk down that aisle…

There’s no turning back anymore.

And with every step closer to that ceremony, I pray harder and harder that I won’t spend the rest of my life regretting this choice.