Tonight, at her family’s estate in Champagne, everything was supposed to be perfect. After the lies, the doubts, the humiliations—tonight was Camille’s night. A clean slate. She and Gabriel were meant to leave their messy history behind. But with Gabriel, nothing was ever simple.

When he slipped away from the dinner, she went to find him. Maybe he needed air. Instead, she found him with Emily. Smiling. Hugging.That closeness she’d always hated between them, now glaringly obvious. Camille froze, her stomach twisting.

Emily. Always Emily.

She didn’t wait to see if they’d kiss. She turned and stormed back inside, her fury rising with every step. This wasn’t a wedding anymore—it was a farce.

The reception room was filled with her closest friends and family, but Camille didn’t care. Her voice cut through the air, sharp and unwavering.

“Everyone. Out. Now. The wedding is off. Allez-vous-en!”

When someone tried to intervene, she snapped, her words colder than the champagne chilling in the cellar.

“I said OUT! There is no wedding. Go home!”

Gabriel and Emily rushed in moments later, wide-eyed and flushed. Camille laughed bitterly as she stepped up to Gabriel, no tears, no hesitation.

“You. I thought we could be happy. Foolish of me, really. I see now. You will always choose her. So go on. Love her. I’m done.”

She yanked off the engagement ring and tossed it at him before walking out, heels clicking sharply on the estate’s marble floors.

Her room was enormous, pristine, and suffocatingly empty. Camille slammed the door behind her, sinking to the floor leaning against the bedframe, as tears spilled over.

“Cette idiote d’Américaine!”

The words tore from her throat as she wiped angrily at her cheeks, but the tears wouldn’t stop. She wrapped her arms around herself, the enormity of it all crashing down.

A knock came at the door, soft and hesitant.

“Laisse-moi tranquille!”

The door creaked open anyway. Camille looked up, her breath hitching—oh. It was just you. The only person she could bear to see right now.