"“Let me have him—I’m pregnant,” my sister announced as she walked down the aisle at my wedding in a dress nearly identical to mine, expecting me to fall apart, but instead I looked toward the billionaire who had agreed to officiate the ceremony, smiled, and said, “Since today’s plans have changed, how about you marry me instead?”—and suddenly nobody in the room knew where to look.

“BILLIONAIRE SEBASTIAN STERLING MARRIES ARCHITECT VICTORIA MENDEZ IN SHOCKING ALTAR SWAP!” read the front-page headline of the Wall Street Journal.

Photos of me walking out of the cathedral on Sebastian’s arm were everywhere. Social media was flooded with videos taken by wedding guests showing Danielle’s dramatic entrance and my calm, triumphant counter-proposal. The internet instantly crowned me a legend, while Ryan and Danielle were unceremoniously branded as the most hated couple in the tri-state area.

At 10:00 a.m., dressed in a tailored navy silk jumpsuit and high heels provided by Sebastian’s personal stylist, I arrived at my former apartment in Midtown.

Sebastian had insisted on coming with me, accompanied by Marcus and two legal representatives.

When the elevator doors opened on the sixth floor, Ryan was standing in the hallway outside my apartment door, surrounded by cardboard boxes. He looked like a ghost—disheveled, unwashed, wearing the same crumpled shirt from yesterday.

Danielle was sitting on one of the boxes, sobbing into her phone, arguing with our mother.

When they saw Sebastian and me step out of the elevator, Ryan leaped to his feet.

"Victoria!" Ryan rushed forward, but Marcus stepped in front of him, a giant wall of muscles and dark suit fabric. "Victoria, please! You have to talk to your firm! You have to stop this!"

I stopped, looking at him calmly. "Stop what, Ryan?"

"My job!" Ryan panicked, his hands shaking. "My firm... my managing partner saw the news this morning! They canceled my promotion! They told me my personal ethics are a risk to the firm’s reputation and put me on administrative leave!"

"Actions have consequences, Ryan," I said coolly.

Danielle stood up, marching toward me, her eyes red and furious. "You did this! You leaked the video to the press! My boutique modeling agency dropped me this morning! They canceled my contract! They said I was a PR nightmare!"

"I didn't leak anything, Danielle," I replied truthfully. "Your own friends were recording your grand entrance, remember? They posted it to TikTok before we even left the church foyer. It has twelve million views. You wanted attention. Now you have it."

"Vicki, please!" Danielle broke down, clutching her stomach. "I'm pregnant! How am I supposed to afford doctors? How are we supposed to live?! Mom and Dad said they can't take us in because of the shame!"

I looked at my sister. A small part of my old self wanted to feel pity, but the memory of her smug expression as she walked down the aisle in my wedding dress burned brightly in my mind.

"You have a college degree, Danielle," I said flatly. "And Ryan has a job—for now. Figure it out, just like I had to figure out how to rebuild my life when you stole eight months of it."

Sebastian stepped forward, holding out a sleek black pen and a legal document.

"Mr. Vance," Sebastian’s attorney said smoothly to Ryan. "This is a formal release of lease agreement, along with a non-disclosure and non-disparagement contract. You will sign over full rights to the apartment, surrender your keys, and agree never to contact Mrs. Sterling again. In exchange, Mr. Sterling will agree not to pursue civil litigation against you for tortious interference and fraud regarding the wedding expenses."

Ryan stared at the document, his hand shaking. "And if I don't sign?"

"Then my legal team will file suit by 2:00 p.m.," Sebastian said, his voice as cold as absolute zero. "And I will personally ensure you never work in corporate finance in North America again."

Ryan swallowed hard. Without another word, he snatched the pen, signed his name on the dotted line, and threw the keys onto the floor.

"Pack the rest of your things and leave," I said, stepping past them to unlock my apartment door.

Inside, the apartment was quiet. I walked straight to my desk, retrieved my personal hard drives, my architectural portfolio, and my late grandmother’s jewelry box. I didn't take a single thing Ryan had ever given me.

As I walked back out into the hallway, Ryan looked up at me with raw, pathetic regret.

"Victoria..." he whispered. "Did you ever really love me?"

I stopped at the elevator doors, turning to look at him one last time. I looked at Sebastian, who was standing beside me, holding my hand with quiet, unwavering strength.