Chapter 1

On my wedding day, my fiancé Tyler Rhodes left me at the altar for his first love. He was sure I was too ugly to ever leave him.

The wedding march stopped halfway through.

In the silence, the whispers hit me from every side.

"Oh my God. She couldn't even keep him until the vows."

"Told you. Tyler Rhodes, the Rhodes heir, marrying that? It was never going to happen."

"Honestly, can you blame him? Imagine waking up next to that face every morning."

I squeezed my bouquet so hard the stems bent.

Tyler was staring at his phone. On the screen was a photo of a cut wrist, blood all over a white sink.

He looked up, panicked. For half a second he looked guilty. Then he gave me that pleading look, the one that always got me to give in.

"Viv, Chloe cut her wrist. They rushed her to the ER, and they're still working on her. I have to go. Wait for me, okay? I'll make it up to you, I swear."

Chloe Vance. His first love, back in town with a brand-new face.

I looked at him. I didn't raise my voice, but the room was so quiet that everyone heard me anyway.

"Walk out that door today, Tyler, and we're done."

He stopped. He turned back, torn.

"Viv..."

Before he could say anything else, Kyle Benson, his best man and his friend since grade school, called out, "Just go, man! She's crazy about you. She's not going anywhere. And come on, with that face, who's gonna steal her?"

Laughter broke out all over the hall, loud and mean.

I didn't look at any of them. I kept my eyes on Tyler and said it slowly, so he couldn't miss a single word. "If you leave me here, I'll marry someone else."

He went still for a second. Then his mouth curled into a smile I'd never seen on him before.

"Stop making a scene, Viv. Who else would even want you? Just wait for me. I'll make it up to you."

Then he ran. He didn't look back once.

The doors swung shut behind him, and I thought about how this all started.

I was promised to Dominic Kane, heir to the Kane family, before I was even born. Everyone in Westbridge knew two things about him. He was the most wanted man in the city, and he couldn't stand an ugly face. People said if anyone who didn't meet his standards got within arm's reach of him, his bodyguards dragged them out of his sight.

I didn't want that marriage. So I begged Dad to send the Kanes a photo of some plain girl covered in acne. After that, I kept up the act every single day: fake breakouts, dull foundation, thick, heavy brows.

Then, three years ago, I met Tyler.

Some people had shoved me into a puddle on the street and were standing around laughing at my face. He pushed through them, wrapped his suit jacket around my shoulders, and wiped the mud off my cheek with his handkerchief.

"Don't listen to them," he said softly. "You're beautiful."

The night he proposed, he held my hand and told me he didn't care what I looked like. He'd love me with any face.

His eyes looked so honest back then. I believed every word. I fought Dad tooth and nail just so I could marry him.

And now...

I laughed under my breath.

In his eyes, a girl with my face had nowhere else to go. That was why he could stomp all over my pride without a second thought.

Some of the guests stared at me with pity. Others didn't bother hiding their disgust. I pulled off my veil and dropped it on the floor.

Then I walked straight back to the bridal suite.

I sat down at the vanity, grabbed a makeup wipe, and started scrubbing.

The fake breakouts came off bit by bit. Underneath was clear, pale skin without a single flaw.

The door opened. Dad came in, took one look at me, and sighed.

"Viv, the Kanes sent someone over. Dominic's grandmother wants to know about the marriage..."

My phone buzzed before he could finish. It was a text from Tyler.

Chloe's stable now, but she's really scared. I need to stay with her tonight. Let's do the wedding another day, okay?

A second later, a notification popped up. Chloe had posted.

It was a photo of Tyler sitting by her hospital bed, feeding her a pudding cup, his face soft and focused.

The caption read: All I ever needed was someone who'd drop everything for me.

I let out a cold little laugh. I was about to block them both and delete them from every app I had when Tyler called.

"Viv, post something saying we called off the wedding because you suddenly got sick. Chloe can't handle any more stress right now. I won't let people blame her for ruining our day. Besides, you hate being in the spotlight anyway."

I hated the spotlight, huh?

Unbelievable. Because I was ugly, my reputation didn't matter to him at all?

I didn't even bother answering. I hung up, turned back to the mirror, and kept wiping.

When the last fake blemish was gone, the face looking back at me was the kind people stop on the street to stare at.