Dayeong stood on the altar, side by side with Eric. 

The wedding was perfect. Though she was frightfully nervous, that couldn't stop her from admiring the beauty of the place. It was gorgeous. She heard that Kevin was the main designer and planner again, and she remembered him from the many photoshoots she'd had with Eric. He'd always managed to transform even the most mundane spaces into something magical, and he'd managed to do it again. 

The wedding was perfect. It was everything Dayeong had dreamt of as a child. 

Except that she wasn't in love with the man standing by her side. 

The wedding was perfect, but all she could think about was Juyeon. His presence in the crowd was part comfort, part worry. Because she was worried about how he was feeling. More than that, she was worried about what his reaction would be to her plan. 

She hadn't told anyone yet, though she probably should have told Juyeon. But she couldn't. She was just too scared. 

Glancing at Eric, she briefly considered it. She considered going through with the marriage as they talked about. She considered pretending, again and again. 

But she couldn't do that either. 

She couldn't stand at the altar and pretend this wedding didn't mean anything to her, because it did. It was breaking her heart. Hers, and so many others. 

A wedding should be one of the best days in her life. It should be a sacred moment. 

She couldn't stand here and lie. 

And so she hid her shaking hands in the folds of her dress and waited, waited for the words she'd been dying to hear all week. 

"If anyone objects to this wedding..." 

Dayeong closed her eyes. She balled her hands into fists, digging her nails into her palms and trying to muster her strength and her courage. 

"Please speak now or forever hold your peace."

"I object," she said, opening her eyes. Her words rang loud and clear throughout the room. 

"I object to this wedding," she said again. "I can't marry Eric. Because I'm pregnant with someone else's child." 

- end of book one -