Six years ago, my sister stole my millionaire fiancé, the man I was about to marry.…

«‘Rebecca, are you eating properly? Your mother says you’ve lost too much weight. We’re concerned. I’m fine, dead, elite.

Just pre-wedding jitters. I’m actually bringing Nathan lunch right now. Good.

That boy better be treating my daughter like a queen. If only he knew.’ The security guard at Nathan’s building recognized me and waved me through with a smile. On the elevator ride to the twelfth floor, I checked my reflection in the mirrored wall, trying to smooth the worry lines that had formed between my eyebrows.

The lunch bag in my hand contained Nathan’s favorite sandwich from the deli across from my office. When I reached the reception area, Nathan’s secretary Margot looked up from her computer, her eyes widening with surprise. «‘Rebecca, we weren’t expecting you today.’ Her gaze darted to Nathan’s closed office door, then back to me.

«‘Nathan is, um, in a meeting right now.’ «‘That’s okay,’ I said, lifting the lunch bag. «‘I just brought him lunch. I can wait.’ Margot stood quickly, walking my path.

Actually, he specifically asked not to be disturbed. «‘Perhaps I could let him know you’re here?’ Something in her nervous manner triggered my suspicions. «‘Is he alone in there, Margot?’ Her hesitation told me everything.

Before she could respond, I walked past her and pushed open Nathan’s office door. The scene burned into my memory forever. Nathan leaning against his desk, his hands on my sister’s waist, her arms wrapped around his neck, their lips locked in a passionate kiss.

Neither noticed me at first, giving me several excruciating seconds to absorb every detail. Stephanie’s skirt pushed up, Nathan’s tie loosened, the familiarity in their embrace that spoke of countless similar moments. When the door clicked shut behind me, they sprang apart, three faces frozen in a tableau of shock.

«‘Rebecca!’ Nathan recovered first, straightening his tie. «‘This isn’t what it looks like.’ Stephanie didn’t even attempt such a transparent lie. Instead, she lifted her chin defiantly.

«‘We didn’t plan this. It just happened. The calm that washed over me was surprising.

«‘How long?’ Nathan glanced at Stephanie, then back to me. «‘Rebecca, let’s discuss this privately.’ «‘How. Long?’ My voice remained steady.

«‘For months,’ Stephanie answered. «‘Since the engagement party. For months.

Nearly half our engagement. «‘While I’d been selecting wedding invitations and choosing floral arrangements, they had been betraying me.’ Nathan moved behind his desk, distancing himself physically as if preparing for a business negotiation. «‘I didn’t mean for this to happen, Rebecca.

Sometimes feelings change. I was going to tell you after.’ «‘After what? After the wedding? After our honeymoon?’ «‘I was trying to find the right time. His voice had the practice smoothness he used for difficult client meetings.

The lunch bag dropped from my hand. «‘I trusted you. Both of you.

«‘Stephanie at least had the decency to look uncomfortable. «‘It just happened, Becca. We tried to fight it.

«‘Don’t call me Becca.’ «‘The childhood nickname felt like another violation. «‘And nothing just happens for four months. You made choices.

«‘Every secret call. Every lie. Every time you looked me in the eye knowing what you were doing.

«‘Nathan pressed the intercom button. «‘Margo, please come in.’ «‘Moments later, Margo appeared, pointedly avoiding my gaze. «‘Please escort Rebecca out.

She’s upset. «‘I’m escorting myself out,’ I said, my dignity somehow intact despite feelings shattered inside. «‘You deserve each other.’ «‘In the elevator, the tears finally came.

«‘By the time I reached my car, I was struggling to breathe between sobs. «‘The drive home remains a blur in my memory. «‘I only remember calling my mother from my apartment, «‘curled on the bathroom floor, unable to form coherent sentences through my crying.

«‘Mother and father arrived within the hour, «‘using their emergency key to enter when I couldn’t bring myself to open the door. «‘Mother held me while I told them everything, «‘father pacing the living room, his face growing redder with each detail. «‘I’ll kill him,’ he muttered, hand over his heart.

«‘Both of them. «‘Thomas, your blood pressure,’ mother warned, though her own face showed equal fury. «‘The next days passed in a haze of pain.

«‘Mother helped me call vendors to cancel wedding arrangements «‘while father handled the financial aspects. «‘When I returned the engagement ring to Nathan’s apartment, «‘left with the doorman, I couldn’t bear to see him. «‘I found Stephanie had already moved her things in.

«‘Most of her clothes were there, «‘family photos arranged on shelves that once held mine. «‘Nathan’s email about dividing our shared assets was coldly efficient, «‘mentioning that Stephanie had helped him catalog my remaining belongings. «‘The betrayal ran deeper than I initially realized.

«‘Through mutual friends, I learned they had been meeting secretly «‘whenever I worked late or traveled for business. «‘Stephanie had pursued him deliberately, «‘finding excuses to see him alone, «‘sending texts and photos when I wasn’t around. «‘The scandal spread quickly through our social circle…