Ava pov
The wedding invitation arrived on a Tuesday afternoon.
I almost ignored it.
I had just gotten home from work, my feet aching from standing all day and the last thing I wanted to deal with was another bill or advertisement stuffed in my mailbox. But the envelope was a different thick, creamy white paper sealed with a gold emblem that looked very expensive for something meant for me.
My name was written neatly across the front.
Ava Cole.
I frowned as I turned the envelope over in my hands.
Who would send me something like this?
Curiosity eventually took on, I slipped my fingers under the seal and carefully opened it. Inside there was a beautiful card designed with elegant and gold lettering.
The moment my eyes landed on the names printed in the center of the card, my chest tightened.
Mia Cole and Daniel Brooks request the honor of your presence at their wedding.
For a moment, I just stare at the words.
My brain refuse to process the words
Mia Cole.
My younger sister.
Daniel Brooks.
My ex boyfriend.
A strange ringing filled my ears as if the world around me had suddenly gone quiet.
I read the names again, slowly this time, hoping that I have not misunderstood something.
I hadn't.
A short, humorless laugh escaped my lips.
“ Well," I muttered under my breath, dropping onto the couch . “ That didn't take long”.
Two years ago, Daniel and I stood in my kitchen promising me that I was the only woman he wanted in this world. Two months later, I found out he had been secretly seeing my younger sister behind my back.
That had been the day I learned two important things.
First my sister had no problem stealing things that belonged to me.
Second, Daniel Brooks wasn't worth the tears I cried over him.
At least that was what kept telling myself.
I looked down at the invitation again, the gold lettering seemed to shine mockingly under the light.
Of all of the people in the world Daniel could have married, he chose her.
My sister.
Mia had always been the golden child in our family, pretty, charming, effortlessly liked by everyone she met. Growing up, people were always comparing both of us.
“Mia is so lively.”
“Mia is so beautiful.”
“Why can’t you be more like your sister, Ava?”
I had spent my childhood standing quietly in the background while Mia soaked up all the attention.
Apparently. Adulthood hadn't changed much either.
My eyes drifted to the bottom of the invitation card where a small handwritten message was added there.
You better come, big sister. It wouldn't be the same without you.
I could almost hear Mia's voice when I read the words.
Sweet.
Playful.
And completely fake.
I leaned against the couch and stared at the ceiling.
Part of me wanted to throw the invitation straight into the trash and pretend it never arrived.
But the other part of me, the stubborn part that hates backing down, knew exactly what Mia was doing.
She wanted me there.
She wanted an audience.
My humiliation had always been Mia's favorite form of entertainment.
“She probably expects me to cry, ” I murmured to myself.
The thought irritated me more than the invitation itself.
I wasn't a girl anymore.
I reached for my phone and checked the printed date on the card.
Three weeks.
The wedding was in three weeks.
Plenty of time to come up with an excuse not to attend the wedding.
Yet strangely enough, the more I thought about it, the less I liked the idea of avoiding it.
Why should I hide?
Daniel was the one who cheated on me.
Mia was the one who betrayed her own sister.
If anyone should feel awkward at the wedding, it wasn't me.
A sudden memory flashed through my mind.
Daniel was standing beside me at a family dinner two years ago.
Mia was sitting across the table watching him with a smile that lingered too long.
I remember the uneasy feeling in my stomach that night.
Back then I ignored it.
Big mistake.
I signed and rubbed my temples.
“Fine,” I said to the empty apartment,“ I will go”.
I picked up the invitation again, examining the elegant design.
The wedding was clearly going to be extravagant. A luxury venue, formal dress code, hundreds of guests.
Exactly the kind Mia loved.
My phone vibrates as a call enters it.
I answered the call, as Mia voiced enters
“ Did you get the invitation I sent?,” Mia asked
I stared at the wall of the apartment for a moment.
Of course she could not even wait for the day to pass before asking.
I replied to her shortly back.
“yes I got it” I answered calmly.
Her response came almost instantly.
“Good, I was worried you might ignore it,” Mia said.
I rolled my eyes.
“Why would I not come?,”I replied calmly back at her.
A few seconds passed before she replied back at me.
“Because it might be awkward for you to come,"Mia said calmly.”
My jaw tightened as I heard what she said.
There it was the fake concerned
The subtle reminder me that the groom used to be mine.
I replied back to her.
“Don't worry about me”, I replied.
“Great, I can wait to see you there”, Mia added.
Her voice followed immediately.
“By the way are you still single”?, she asked.
I stared at the wall, as I heard the word, feeling a familiar irritation building up in my chest.
Of course she would ask that.
Mia had always loved pointing out my lack of a love life.
For a moment, I consider telling the truth.
Yes, I was single.
Yes, my career wasn't exactly glamorous.
And yes, my younger sister was about to marry the man who once promised to marry me.
But something inside me refused to let her win so easily.
A reckless thought formed in my mind.
Before I could overthink it, I replied back to her.
Actually,no I didn't have, I said.
Oh?, Mia she replied.
I stared at the wall, my heart beating a little faster.
I hadn't planned this, far ahead.
But if Mia wanted a show, maybe I could give her one.
I slowly replied back to her.
“I am actually engaged”,I said.
Then Mia finally replied back at me.
Really? To who?, She said.
I leaned down against the couch, staring at the ceiling again.
One name surfaced in my mind almost immediately.
A name I hadn’t thought about in years.
Lucas Hart.
My childhood best friend.
The boy who used to promise he would always protect me.
The boy had disappeared from my life, ten years ago without a word.
And now.
One of the most powerful men in the city.
Slowly a smile creeps up to my face.
Lucas Hart, I replied to Mia calmly.
The moment I saw it finishes, reality finally caught up with me.
Then my smile slowly faded away as I realized what I said.
What did I just do, I whispered quietly.
Because if Mia believed me and knowing her, she would definitely check
Then sooner or later, I was going to have to explain why a billionaire CEO was supposedly my fiancé.
And there was just one tiny problem with that lie.
I hadn’t spoken to Lucas Hart in ten years.
