Forgotten how the Rogers were humiliated and furious. Forgotten how they withdrew every investment and nearly bankrupted us. Forgotten how my mother collapsed from stress, how my father dragged me out of the lab just days before I was to leave for a research posting abroad.
They made me stay.
Made me stand in Francis's place at the altar. Made me give up my career, my future, my dignity. They told me I had to step up for the Cole Family. That I was their last hope. My father was so desperate, he nearly got on his knees.
I gave in.
I put on that suit. I became the substitute groom.
When I first stepped into the Rogers' manor, Sara was a wreck. Her eyes were swollen from crying, her voice hoarse from screaming. She refused to work, locked herself in her room, drinking herself into a stupor. Some nights, she didn't even know where she was.
And I—I cared for the infant she didn't want to hold. I cleaned up her messes, wiped Elise's tears, fed her bottles in the dead of night. And when Elise cried for no reason, I held her close, humming lullabies until she calmed.