Priscilla Trivett had loved Algernon Buckley for more than ten years. At fifteen, she’d hidden her flutter when she saw him cornered and kissed by her older sister Matilda Trivett; at eighteen, she’d stifled her joy as she watched him discuss marriage with Matilda; at twenty, when Matilda escaped marriage to grab a study-abroad spot, Priscilla mustered all her courage to confess her love, and became his wife in name only. For three years of marriage, she’d poured her heart into making it work, clinging to the hope that she might earn even a scrap of his approval. But his heart had always belonged to Matilda. Priscilla finally woke up: she was just a stand-in for her sister, a disposable speck of dust in his eyes. She left with scars covering her heart, never guessing that the cold, distant man would fall apart completely after she was gone. Algernon went crazy searching for her, chasing all the way from the city to a remote small town, only to see her standing beside another man, with a new ring on her ring finger. His eyes red with tears, he begged for forgiveness. Priscilla just smiled softly: “Algernon, my love burned out long ago, right when you chose to hurt me over and over again.”

Chapter 1

At fifteen, Priscilla Trivett watched her sister pin Algernon Buckley, the boy next door, against the wall and kiss him. Algernon stood completely frozen, his ears turning bright red, yet he didn't push her away.

At eighteen, Priscilla witnessed her sister and Algernon, their fingers tightly locked, talk to their parents about getting married.

When Priscilla was twenty, her sister, Matilda Trivett, ran off the day before her wedding for a precious chance to study abroad.

Priscilla ran after Matilda to the end of the alley, her voice trembling as she called out, "Mattie, since you don't want him anymore... Can I... be with him?"

Matilda paused, then turned and waved dismissively. "Sure. He's all yours."

So, for the sake of both families' reputations and her own hidden desires, Priscilla put on a wedding dress that was never meant for her, rode in the jeep sent to fetch the bride, and became Algernon's wife.

Three years passed in the blink of an eye. She'd learned to mak