Everyone took Rosalie's smile as a sign she was fine and launched into more comfort and suggestions for "excellent bachelors".

Rosalie answered each one politely, the perfect debutante on the surface, but impatience gnawed at her.

They were William's relatives, always leaning on him for favors yet resenting every success he and his family had.

Now that Rosalie's wedding had fallen through, they spoke of pity while secretly enjoying the show.

In Claver, there was hardly another man with Lucian's pedigree and promise.

It had been the same in her previous life.

When she struggled to conceive, those relatives, pretending it was out of concern, spread her private business all over the city until it hit the trending feed and made her a laughingstock.

The hypocrisy made her stomach turn.

When she finally saw the relatives out and the living room grew quiet, her smile faded and her eyes 

Rosalie's lashes trembled, but she said nothing.

Hilda lifted a pair of ruby drops from the tray.

"And these," she murmured, "you stayed up all night finishing an AI demo for Mr. Fenwick and worked yourself sick. He sat by your bed for days.

"He bid on these earrings to cheer you up. He said they were the fire you burned for him, and the promise his love would never burn out."

Rosalie's fingertips curled.

Piece by piece, Hilda recalled the sweet memories behind every jewel. Each had once carried a rush of tenderness, a vow, a future she had believed would last a lifetime.

Hearing it now felt like a set of sugar-coated blades, each one sliding sharply into her chest.

Her eyes stung red. She couldn't make sense of it.

Lucian, who used to fuss over her cramps, would clatter around the kitchen making her hot tea with honey and run out at midnight to buy a heating pad.

How had that s

They had their two certified copies of the marriage certificate in no time.

As soon as Julian carried Rosalie out of the courthouse, he slipped one copy from her hand. Then, he held out his palm. "Give me your phone."

Rosalie blinked, confused, but passed it over.

His long fingers moved quickly across the screen. Then, he handed it back. "Here's my number and the code to my apartment. Stay there if you want. If you don't, that's fine."

He pulled a bank card from his pocket and held it out to her. "My pay card. PIN is six nines."

Rosalie glanced from the plain bank card to his simple T-shirt and jeans. She didn't take it.

One of her limited-edition bags probably cost him months of salary.

"You don't have to do that. We agreed to keep finances separate."

"That was your rule." Julian paused, his voice low. "On my squad, everyone turns their pay card over at home."

Rosalie went quiet for a beat. So, he wanted the marriage to look real.

Maybe he didn't want her holding leverage later, or maybe this was his idea of covering a husband's basics. Either way, the money wasn't what she lacked.

"Alright. I'll keep it safe." She nodded and tucked the card away.

Julian sounded satisfied. "Good. I've got work at the station. I'm off."

Rosalie stood there with the certificate in her hand, feelings all over the place.

In her previous life, she had twisted herself in knots for this flimsy piece of paper.

She had dropped hints and pushed for months. In the end, she and Lucian only got the marriage certificate because the doctor mentioned it during a prenatal visit.

Lucian must have wanted it as little as possible.

Who would have thought she'd get the certificate so easily in this life?

She let out a cold, mocking laugh and slipped it into her bag.

She was pulling up a ride when a black sedan eased to the curb.

"Are you Ms. Ashford?" the driver asked.

"Yes, I am," Rosalie answered, a little surprised.

"Your husband called it in," the driver said with a polite smile. "Asked me to get you home."

Rosalie was caught off guard. She hadn't expected Julian to be so thoughtful. Clearly, his "boyfriend" had taught him well.

...

The moment Rosalie stepped into the Ashford residence, she sensed something was off. The living room was crowded and noisy, livelier than most holidays.

She had barely stepped inside when her relatives swarmed around her.

"Oh, there she is!"

"Sweetheart, you've been through so much! Lucian is trash! How could he call off a wedding like that?"

"Exactly! Camelia has no shame! She even had the nerve to steal your fiancé!"

"Rosalie, don't let it break you. There are plenty of fish in the sea. Let him go and find someone better."

On and on they went. It took Rosalie a few seconds to catch up.

It was May 20, the day she and Lucian were supposed to get married.

He had booked the most extravagant ballroom in the city, with invitations sent all through high society. It was meant to be a spectacle for the ages.

In her previous life, that splashy wedding had dominated the headlines for a week. She had become Lucian's wife and lived what seemed like a fairy-tale romance.

Now, it all just felt like a joke. If Lucian had chosen Camelia this time, that grand wedding would have been for her.

"Rosalie, don't be too upset," a distant aunt she rarely saw chimed in with feigned concern. "Maybe it's a blessing in disguise. Better to cut your losses now than suffer later. My neighbour's son just got back from overseas. He's handsome and decent. Want me to introduce you?"

Rosalie came back to her senses, her face showing just the right hint of weakness and confusion.

Her first instinct was to flash the marriage certificate and make it clear she wasn't unwanted. Then, she caught the barely hidden glee in their eyes and changed her mind.

She smiled and said, "Sure. I'd appreciate it."

Everyone took Rosalie's smile as a sign she was fine and launched into more comfort and suggestions for "excellent bachelors".

Rosalie answered each one politely, the perfect debutante on the surface, but impatience gnawed at her.

They were William's relatives, always leaning on him for favors yet resenting every success he and his family had.

Now that Rosalie's wedding had fallen through, they spoke of pity while secretly enjoying the show.

In Claver, there was hardly another man with Lucian's pedigree and promise.

It had been the same in her previous life.

When she struggled to conceive, those relatives, pretending it was out of concern, spread her private business all over the city until it hit the trending feed and made her a laughingstock.

The hypocrisy made her stomach turn.

When she finally saw the relatives out and the living room grew quiet, her smile faded and her eyes turned cold.

She pulled out her phone and called her lawyer, Nathan Pierce.

"Mr. Pierce, I need to

Chapter 11 I'm Already Married