The Bride He Never Chose: Married to my Dead Sister's Husband

Brianna's POV

“I’m madly madly in love with you.”

A shy smile appeared on my face but quickly disappeared when those words fully sank in. “But…but you’re Daphne's fiancé. What will people think if they find out I'm in love with my sister's—”

“So you admit you love me.” He grinned, displaying a perfect dentition that always filled me with butterflies. “I've itched to hear you say that.”

I looked down at my toes as heat rose to my cheeks. I felt that way around Nikolas even though it was wrong. There seemed to be this powerful force that nudged me towards him no matter how hard I fought.

He tipped my chin upwards so I could stare into those honey brown eyes of his. I gradually got lost in them until the smell of smoke tore me out of my fantasy.

“Shit!”

Filled with urgency, I yanked the oven open and reached for the cake only to sear my hands.

Cursing in pain, I put on mittens and drew out what was now a burnt mess.

Blistering hands and a burnt cake was a just punishment for fantasizing about my sister's fiancé on a day like this. Her engagement party.

“Quit being an idiot,” I scolded myself. Whether I liked it or not, Nikolas belonged to Daphne. The sooner I got rid of these feelings, the better for me.

But this was easier said than done. Nikolas Conti had been a household name in my family for as long as I could remember. His father and mine had been closed friends, so it wasn’t a surprise when Nikolas became bethroted to Daphne. What nobody knew was that Nikolas had been my first kiss long before this arrangement and to this day, I hadn't gotten over him.

The door swung open, cutting into my thoughts. Daphne stomped in with a frown.

Shoot. I should've been decorating the cake by now.

“I'm sorry I've taken too long. I was just about to—”

“For how long,” she said with a chilling calmness and lifted her hand when I raised my brow in confusion. That was when I saw it. A pink cover book with gold rims.

My diary!

“‘Blessed with a charm that can't be overlooked, he's just the right guy. My kind of guy. Why does he have to be with Daphne though? Why not someone else? Why not me?’ Those are your words, Brianna. You've had your eyes on Nikolas all this while.”

I opened my mouth to speak but shut them. There was absolutely no explanation to give.

“You kissed him.”

“What? No.”

“Stop lying. It's clearly written here!” She stabbed the book with her finger. Her eyes had become bloodshot.

“That was years ago. You two weren't even a thing then.” At that instant, I regretted saying those words. They only fuelled the already raging fire. I took tentative steps towards her. “Daphne…”

She held up her hand, shutting me up. “I've always known you're jealous of me.