Chapter 37

ALINA

I stared at myself in the mirror, barely recognizing the woman looking back at me. My hair was pulled back, my face carefully made up, and the dress I wore felt heavy with the weight of expectations and decisions I wasn’t even sure I believed in. It was surreal, but here I was, getting ready for a wedding. Again. I almost could not believe this was my life. It was almost as if I was a spectator in it, because I simply could not believe all of this. Two weddings in one month. It almost felt like a sick joke. Like I was watching myself from the third person point.

I let out a shaky breath, my gaze drifting down to my stomach. My hands automatically pressed against the slight bulge there, a reminder of the child growing inside me. What would my baby think of me if they knew I had resorted to something so petty? That I was going through with a wedding, not out of love, but out of spite. Out of anger.

My heart twisted as I thought about it. I was sure it was not going to affect th