Chapter 1

The day Luke and I were supposed to get our marriage license was the day Leah got out of prison.

Luke always said he only felt truly alive when he was with her.

Even though Leah smoked, drank, did time, and was a total wild child, she made his soul feel free.

So I guess… I had to let them have each other.

……

On the way to City Hall to make it official, Luke got a call.

His voice cracked with excitement, "Okay, just wait there. I'm on my way to get you."

He didn't even seem to remember I was in the passenger seat.

He just whipped the car around and floored it until we screeched to a halt in front of the state penitentiary.

Seeing Leah again, I had to admit she’d changed a lot.

The three of us—me, Luke, and Leah—all went to the same high school.

The difference was that Luke and I were the golden kids, the straight-A students every parent and teacher loved.

Leah was the notorious bad girl.

Her dad was some kind of small-time crook, and her mom ran one of those seedy massage parlors on the edge of town.

Her dad got into a fight once, stabbed a guy, and after he got out of jail, he just took off with another woman.

As for Leah's mom… well, she had a reputation.

It wasn't uncommon to see angry wives screaming at her on her own doorstep for messing around with their husbands.

And Leah was just as wild.

Back in school, she’d pile on the black eyeliner and rock some crazy punk hairstyle.

She knew a lot of shady people outside of school, always skipping class to go smoke and drink and get into fights with them.

She almost got expelled more than once after her mom got called in.

Right before the SATs, she got into a brawl with some local thugs.

She swung a brick, and a guy ended up in a coma.

That's how Leah ended up in prison, with a six-year sentence.

Now, her hair was cut in a short, choppy bob.

She was thinner, her face scrubbed clean.

For once, she actually looked… fresh.

The only thing that hadn't changed was the way her smile exploded with this raw, untamable energy when she looked at Luke.

It wasn't until Leah was in the car that Luke finally snapped out of his daze.

That's when he remembered me.

He went quiet for a second, then explained awkwardly, "Chloe, it's Leah's first day out. Maybe... maybe we can do this another time?"

I glanced at Leah.

She looked surprised for a second too.

Then a flicker of resentment crossed her face as she looked at Luke.

"You're getting married?" she asked.

Luke couldn't meet her eyes.

He just mumbled a soft, "Yeah."

"It's what our families wanted," he added. "And, you know, I'm not getting any younger."

Hearing that, a bitter laugh escaped my lips.

So that was his reason for marrying me?

Just two months ago, on Valentine's Day, he was the one on one knee with a bouquet of roses and a diamond ring.

He said he loved me.

He said he wanted to give me and our baby a home.

Now that Leah was back, our engagement was suddenly a cage, a burden.

He couldn't even admit he'd ever loved me.

I stared straight at him. "So, are we getting this license today or not?"

He still wouldn't look at me, fumbling for another excuse. "How about... we wait a couple of days?"

He looked over at Leah. "Today is a big day for Leah. We should celebrate her."

Leah tilted her head, sizing me up with that same old smirk.

"It's a great day," she said. "But what if I only want to celebrate with you, and not with some... outsider?"