After watching my boyfriend walk into his brother's wife, Rowena's bedroom for the tenth time, I didn't cry or scream anymore. I calmly told him I wanted to break up.

He agreed—but with conditions. "We can break up," Stellan said, "but the apartment you bought for our marriage is mine. And don't even think about touching the savings we have."

A few days before the wedding, the planning company had us rehearse. When Stellan knelt down to make his vow, Rowena suddenly lost it.

Rowena said, "I didn't even get a wedding ceremony when I got married! Are you guys doing this on purpose to piss me off?"

Stellan immediately dropped my hand and rushed over to apologize to her. Then he turned to me and said we should cancel the vow part.

"She's been alone ever since my brother died. We need to look out for her," Stellan said seriously. "If you're gonna insist on all these unnecessary formalities, then maybe we just shouldn't get married at all."

Before I could say anything, Elysia jumped in. "Postponing the wedding is for the best. Let Rowena get pregnant first. You know she's always wanted a baby."

I stared at Stellan in disbelief. "It's totally normal for a couple to have vows at their wedding. I don't get why Rowena's reacting like this."

Rowena's eyes were red and she screamed, completely unhinged, "They already signed the marriage certificate! Why do they have to exchange vows in front of everyone? Are they trying to hurt me on purpose?"

Stellan quickly pulled out tissues and gently dabbed her tears. "Don't cry, Rowena. You know I panic when you cry. It's supposed to be a happy day, no crying allowed."

Rowena cried even harder, pounding on his chest with her fists. "This is your big day with Lyra, not mine! Why can't I cry? How is that fair?"

Stellan pulled her into his arms, whispering softly, "I didn't think this through. Don't be mad, Rowena. Getting upset like this will give you wrinkles."

Stellan and Rowena were wrapped up in each other, like this wedding was about them, and I was just some extra.

Fuming, I dragged Stellan aside. "What the hell are you doing with her? I'm the one you're supposed to be marrying, remember?"

Annoyed, Stellan said, "Didn't you see she was crying? She's had a tough time. Why are you picking a fight with her? You're being childish."

Rowena leaned into him, voice all sweet and fake. "Stellan, tell her to cancel the vows. I don't like them. Don't say those vows with her."

Stellan turned to me, cold-eyed. "You heard what Rowena said, right? Drop the vow thing."

I clutched the white paper I'd handwritten my vows on, gripping it so tight my knuckles turned white.

Swallowing my rage, I tried to talk to him. "Everyone includes this part in their ceremony. Why can't we? I stayed up two nights writing this—every word comes from the heart."

Stellan yanked the page out of my hand, crumpled it without a second thought, and tossed it straight into the trash.

"Weddings are just for show. Why are you taking it so seriously?" Stellan said coldly.

I stared at that crumpled paper in the trash, completely stunned.

Rowena tilted her head slightly, looking at me with a smug, triumphant smirk. Like she'd just won.

Right before Stellan and I were about to get married, I found out he actually had an older brother—someone who'd died in an accident a few years back.

His sister-in-law, Rowena, never remarried. She was still living in their house.

Every time relatives or family friends talked about her, they'd all say the same thing—that Rowena was a loyal, decent woman. Her husband was gone, but she stayed behind to take care of her husband's parents and help out her husband's brother.

But to me, Rowena was even more fake than a glass of sweet tea with poison at the bottom.

"This is my wedding," I said through clenched teeth. "Why does she get to cancel anything just because she doesn't like it?"

Stellan glared at me. "If you can't even respect Rowena, and still insist on all these unnecessary rituals, then maybe we shouldn't get married at all."

Elysia quickly stepped in when she saw us locking horns. "Lyra, honey, don't take it so hard with her. She didn't go to school like you. You're educated, reasonable—you understand these things better."

Then Elysia lowered her voice and leaned in a little. "After your brother passed, I've always felt something wasn't quite right in her head. Probably the shock. Just go along with her, okay? Do it for me."

That sweet-smiling guilt trip hit hard. I didn't even know how to respond.

Elysia lit up and called Stellan over. "Lyra said she's fine with canceling the vows. Look how understanding she is. You'd better treat her right after you two get married."

Then Elysia pulled Stellan aside and whispered, "Hurry up and finish the wedding. Once that's locked in, we can finally move ahead with the other thing—honoring your brother's memory properly."

I blinked. "Wait—what does our wedding have to do with your brother's memorial?"

Stellan didn't answer me. He just said coldly, "My brother's gone, but Rowena is still part of this family. After you marry into it, I hope you can be more understanding and show her the respect she deserves."

Stellan's words sounded so proper and polite, but something about them felt completely off.

That weird vibe between Stellan and Rowena, and the strange things Elysia kept saying—it was all making my skin crawl. Something about this just didn't feel right.

That strange feeling never went away—not even on the actual day of the wedding.

From the moment I woke up, my chest felt tight and unsettled. My mom tried to soothe me. "Of course you're nervous," she said. "It's your wedding day. Totally normal."

I told myself the same thing. 'Calm down, Lyra. You rehearsed everything. Nothing's gonna go wrong.'

We got to the part of the ceremony where we were supposed to raise a glass and thank our parents.

Suddenly, Rowena snatched the champagne flute from the groomsman's hands and walked up to stand on Stellan's other side, sandwiching him between us like it was her damn wedding.

Rowena was wearing a dramatic floor-length red gown with intricate embroidery—at a glance, she could've been mistaken for the bride.

Lowering my voice, I snapped, "Stellan, what the hell is she doing now?"

Stellan didn't respond. Instead, he turned to her and they exchanged some weird, intimate smile.

The officiant smiled and invited our parents up to the stage for a special moment. "Now let's take a moment to honor the ones who raised us," he said.

Then Rowena stepped out from the side and took the gift box from the groomsman's hands, standing on the other side of Stellan. She positioned herself like she was the bride too.

Before I could even move, Rowena raised her glass right along with me, bent slightly at the waist, and sweetly said, "Mom, Dad, cheers."

My feet felt like they were bolted to the ground. My face burned as if I'd been slapped in front of everyone.

Stellan instantly reached out to steady her arm, like he was terrified she'd fall. "Careful," he murmured. "You're in heels. You'll twist your ankle."

Rowena giggled, acting all delicate. "Well, I had to dress up for your wedding, didn't I? Gotta match your style."

They bowed to Elysia and Dorian together like a real couple. Then Stellan guided her back to her seat with his hand gently on her back. "Stay put, okay? It's crowded and I don't want to worry about you getting hurt."

At that point, everything around me went dead silent. I couldn't even hear the music. My body was moving, but it felt like I was watching from somewhere far away.

The bridesmaid had to practically hold me up as we stumbled through the rest of the ceremony. Any happiness I'd felt about marrying him was already gone.

Finally, the officiant stepped onto the stage and announced, "And with that, I now pronounce this wedding ceremony complete. Please raise your glasses and join me in congratulating the newlyweds!"

As the room filled with clinking glasses and cheers, a woman suddenly shrieked, "Oh no!"

I turned instinctively. It was Rowena again. Her wine glass had slipped from her hand and shattered on the floor. She crouched to pick up the shards, and one of them sliced her finger open.

Stellan ditched the stage like I didn't exist and ran straight to her.

I stood frozen. The officiant had declared the ceremony over, but everyone was still raising glasses. I forced a smile, downed my champagne in one gulp, and stepped off the stage.

I found him crouching in front of Rowena, gently cradling her hand, completely focused on her like she was the only person in the world.

"You didn't have to pick that up," Stellan said softly. "The staff can handle it. I've never let you do chores at home—look what happened. You're bleeding. God, I hate seeing you hurt."

Rowena pouted and sucked air through her teeth like she was in so much pain. "You're hurting me. Be gentle. I don't even know what happened—I saw you about to drink with her, and my hand just… shook. I dropped it by accident. You're not mad, are you?"

Stellan chuckled and brushed her hair like she was some fragile little thing. "You're still such a jealous baby, huh? Always overthinking. You're the last person I'd ever blame."

Then Stellan brought her finger to his lips and started sucking the blood off.

It felt like someone cracked a bat against the back of my skull. My whole body went cold.

I exploded. "Stellan! This is our wedding! The ceremony isn't even really over yet—what the hell are you doing?"

Stellan turned and gave me the most annoyed look. "The officiant said we're done. What, you need more screen time? You really gotta make everything about you? Didn't you see her hand got cut?"

I grabbed Stellan by the arm and yanked him up. "Are you serious right now? This is still the wedding! The toasts aren't even over yet!"

Stellan shook me off. "I didn't say I wasn't gonna do the toasts. You're the one standing around—go change your dress. You're just in the way."

Looking at the way Stellan and Rowena were all over each other without a shred of shame, I was beyond furious. But I couldn't blow up in the middle of the wedding, so I swallowed the fire burning in my chest and stormed off to the dressing room to change.

The wedding coordinator trailed behind me, helping fix my hair. She was a young girl, probably the type who believed love had to be pure and flawless. "Bridey, your husband's unbelievable! It's your wedding day! How can he be that flirty with another woman? There's definitely something going on."

'They're way too close, Stellan and Rowena. But they've been living under the same roof for so long—if there really is something between them, there's no way Elysia and Dorian wouldn't have noticed.'

My head was a tangled mess, thoughts all over the place like a ball of knotted string, when the coordinator suddenly shouted, "Oh my god! Who did this?!"

I turned around and saw her holding my dress. The skirt was shredded—torn into strips of useless fabric.

She quickly called out to a colleague, "Go get the hotel staff to pull the security footage! We need to find out who did this!"

One of the bridesmaids said helplessly, "There's no backup dress. What do we do for this part of the ceremony?"

My chest hurt from how angry I was. I grabbed the bridesmaid's hand. "Go get Stellan. If he won't come, drag him here."

It took forever before Stellan finally strolled in, looking annoyed. "What now? You're throwing a fit just 'cause I was taking care of Rowena, right? You just got married and you're already being petty? You better remember—Rowena's been part of the Rookwood family longer than you."

I just stood there, stunned, staring at him. I only wanted to talk about the dress, but before I could say anything, Stellan tore into me like it was all my fault, without even trying to understand what was going on.

The bridesmaid couldn't take it anymore and shoved Stellan. "Stellan, are you out of your damn mind? You're the groom today! You're the one marrying Lyra! You keep jumping to defend your precious Rowena—if she's that important to you, why didn't you just marry her instead?"

Stellan exploded. "Who do you think you are? You have no right to butt into my family's business."

I threw the torn dress into his arms. "Why are you yelling at my friend? If you've got so much energy to worry about Rowena, maybe start worrying about our wedding and how we're supposed to move forward from here!"

Right then, Rowena walked in too. "Stellan, today's your wedding. Don't let me come between you two and ruin the day."

With that, Rowena smoothed a hand over his chest and turned to me with a sickeningly sweet voice. "Lyra, it's your big day. Don't make a fuss, just be understanding."

I was so furious my vision literally blurred. "Rowena, this is my wedding! Can you not make everything about you for once?"

Rowena bit her lip like she was about to cry. "Lyra, did I do something wrong? I'm trying to help, and now you're yelling at me like I did something terrible."

'God, what a performance. Bitch!.'

Stellan, seeing her poor-me act, immediately stepped in front of her like a shield. "Lyra! That's enough! Apologize to Rowena right now!"

A staff member from the wedding team came running back, holding a phone. "Ms. Merri, we found out who cut your dress."

She glanced nervously at Rowena, then hesitated before handing the phone to me.

On the screen, Rowena was clearly holding a pair of scissors, aggressively slashing my dress into ribbons.

My hands started to shake as I stared at the footage. "Why did you do this to my dress?"

I shoved the phone into Stellan's face. "Look at what she did! She ruined it on purpose!"

Stellan took the phone, watched for a few seconds, his brows slowly tightening.

For a second, I actually thought Stellan might stand up for me. But then he clicked the screen off and said flatly, "I thought it was something serious. It's just a dress. No big deal. You don't have one? Then don't change."

I stood there stunned. "Stellan! Are you serious right now? This is our wedding! Rowena destroyed my dress!"

Stellan said every word slowly and clearly. "The dress is ruined. Just wear something else. What, you want her to apologize or something?"

I hurled the shredded dress to the floor and stomped on it hard. "I'm done. I'm not doing this wedding!"

Elysia pushed the door open at that moment, annoyed. "Why aren't you out doing the toasts? What's taking so long?"

Elysia saw the destroyed dress at my feet and immediately jumped in to scold me. "Lyra! I've always thought you were a reasonable girl. What's this tantrum? Why are you stepping on the dress like that?"

"Perfect timing, Mom," I said. "Maybe you can explain why your favorite daughter-in-law cut up my dress. How am I supposed to go back out there like this? Why would she do something like that?"

Elysia glanced at Rowena, then at me, and let out a long sigh. "Lyra, you and Stellan are married now—you're one of us. I think… it's time we told you the truth."

Stellan stepped in quickly. "Mom, are you seriously bringing this up now? I told you—I'd take care of it after the wedding. It wouldn't be fair to Lyra if she found out today."

Elysia raised her voice. "It's good you remember. Your brother didn't leave behind any children. That family name won't carry itself. You need to help take care of that."

Rowena batted her lashes and said sweetly, "Stellan, I understand. No matter how long it takes, I'll wait for you."

I stood there like I was watching the most insane scene in some twisted soap opera. None of them were making any sense. "What are you even talking about?" I asked.

Elysia wiped the corners of her eyes, looking mournful. "Lyra, your brother-in-law passed so suddenly. He didn't have any kids. And in our family, we have a tradition. If a man dies without children, someone in the family needs to help carry on the legacy."

I blinked hard. "Wait. What? Are you saying you want Stellan to… have a baby with Rowena?"

Elysia grabbed my hand, eyes full of faux sincerity. "I know it's asking a lot. But I can't bear to think of his legacy dying out. All I'm asking is for Stellan to give Rowena a child, just once. After that, it's done. He'll still be with you."

I actually laughed from how absurd it all was. "You're kidding me. This is real life, not some ridiculous novel."

Elysia pressed on like she was giving some heartfelt wisdom. "I wanted this done last year, but Stellan insisted on getting married first. He said it wouldn't be fair to you otherwise. He wanted to make it official with you before helping Rowena."

Stellan looked me in the eye like he was making some solemn vow. "Lyra, I swear. Once she has a child, it'll all be over. She's been through a lot. I just want to be there for her, and I hope you'll support me in that. Support us."

I honestly wanted to crack all three of their skulls open just to see what kind of garbage they had for brains.

'It's 2025. This woman actually thought her younger son should help his late brother "continue the family line." Rowena, the widowed sister-in-law, wasn't even trying to hide it—she was just standing there, waiting to sleep with her unmarried brother-in-law.'

'And Stellan? Talking like he respected me, then turning around and agreeing to give Rowena a baby—he cared more about her than the woman he just married.'

This level of insanity had my brain short-circuiting. They didn't tell me any of this while we were dating. Now, during the actual wedding, they drop this? This wasn't just betrayal—it was fraud.

I thought I'd be the one throwing things and screaming, but somehow I was eerily calm. I even smiled. "Since the ceremony's still going on, why don't we finish the wedding first?"

Elysia nodded quickly. "Yes, yes! I knew you were mature and thoughtful. You're the perfect daughter-in-law. Go on, both of you—get back out there and finish the toasts."

I sighed, pretending to be conflicted. "But I don't have a dress. The train on this wedding gown is way too long for mingling."

Stellan, clearly annoyed, asked, "So what do you want to do?"

I glanced over at Rowena, smug and glowing in her perfectly intact outfit. "Rowena's dressed nicely today. Why don't you take her with you instead? Have her walk around and entertain the guests."