Chapter 1

Claire's POV

I stood at the altar holding white roses, and Derek was right there across from me in his tuxedo, looking at me with those dark eyes.

Finally. Two years and we're finally doing this.

Three hundred people packed into the pews behind us. I barely knew half of them, Derek's family friends, his business contacts, people from his world that I was about to officially join. Mom was in the front row crying into a handkerchief. Derek's mother sat next to her in some cream suit.

I heard whispers floating up from the guests. "Beautiful couple." "She's so lucky." "The Hamiltons always throw the best weddings."

Lucky. Right. I'd quit my job in Boston for this. Left my apartment, my friends, everything. Moved to New York because Derek said his career was here, said we'd build our life here. And I did it because I loved him, because I thought this was what I wanted.

The organ music got louder and Father Michael started talking in that formal voice priests use. "Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today..."

My heart was pounding so hard. Derek squeezed my hand and I squeezed back, trying to ground myself. In five minutes I'll be Mrs. Hamilton. Mrs. Claire Hamilton. That's going to be my name.

Everything was perfect. The readings, the hymns, all those hours of wedding planning coming together exactly like we'd planned. This was supposed to be the happiest day of my life.

Father Michael's voice cut through my thoughts. "Claire, do you take Derek Hamilton to be your lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold, in sickness and in health, for richer or poorer, as long as you both shall live?"

Just say it. Say I do. That's all you have to do.

I opened my mouth—

The cathedral doors slammed open.

The sound bounced off the walls. Everyone's head whipped around. The organ music just stopped, mid-note, and suddenly it was dead silent except for this little kid running down the aisle.

A little girl in a pink dress, covered in mud, hair all over the place, running and gasping for breath.

What the actual hell?

"Daddy!"

Her voice was high and loud and wrong, so completely wrong for this moment. She ran straight past all the shocked guests, past my parents, headed right for us.

Derek's hand went stiff in mine. When I looked at his face, all the color had drained out.

"Daddy!" The girl grabbed Derek's other hand, and that's when I really saw her. Her eyes. Brown, dark brown, exactly like Derek's. And her chin had that same little dimple his whole family has.

"I'm Mia!" She was talking so fast, words tumbling over each other. "I'm your daughter with Isabelle! I come from the future! It wasn't Mom's fault she left, it was Grandma! Grandma threatened her!"

I heard Derek's mother make this weird choking sound behind us.

"Mom came back because she heard about the wedding," Mia kept going, looking up at Derek with those eyes. "She's at JFK right now, Daddy. She's waiting for you. But if you don't go right now, she'll leave forever!"

My bouquet fell. I didn't even realize I'd dropped it until I heard the roses hit the floor.

Isabelle. I know that name. He's mentioned that name before, said it was nothing, said it was over.

Derek was staring at this kid. His mouth opened but nothing came out. And his face, God, his face was doing this thing, changing right in front of me. The shock melted away and turned into something else. Something that made me feel sick.

He looked hopeful. He looked like someone just told him everything he'd ever wanted was waiting for him at JFK airport.

"Derek?" I said.

He wasn't listening to me. He was looking at Mia, at this little girl claiming to be his daughter, and his hand started slipping out of mine.

"This is impossible," Derek's father said from somewhere behind us.

"Derek, don't listen to her, she's clearly—" his mother started, but Derek wasn't paying attention to her either.

"Isabelle," he whispered. Right then I knew everything.

He's leaving. Oh my God, he's actually leaving me at the altar.

"Derek, wait—"

But he was already moving. He yanked off his tuxedo jacket and just let it fall on the floor. Sunlight hit his face through the windows and I could see everything there, guilt, yeah, but also excitement. Like he couldn't wait to get out of here.

"I'm sorry," he said. Not to me. He was looking at Mia when he said it. "I have to know."

And he ran.

He actually ran down the aisle, past three hundred people, past my mother who was crying for a completely different reason now, past everyone. The doors slammed shut behind him.

Gone.

He's gone. Derek just left me standing here in a wedding dress and he's gone.

Nobody moved. Three hundred people just stared at me standing alone at this altar, roses all over the floor, no groom. I could feel every single pair of eyes on me. Some looked sorry for me. Some looked excited, like this was the best gossip they'd get all year. All of them were staring.

Derek's mother stood up, her face white. "Isabelle was... there was a girlfriend. Seven years ago. We had a misunderstanding with her family. I thought... oh God, this is a disaster."

My dad was already yelling at Derek's parents. Mom was crying. Everyone was talking at once, their voices getting louder and louder, but I couldn't hear any of it clearly. There was this ringing in my ears, blocking everything out.

Don't cry. Don't you dare cry in front of all these people.

I forced my face into a smile. It felt wrong.

"The wedding is canceled." My voice came out steady somehow. "Thank you all for coming. Please enjoy the reception lunch."

Everyone started moving, talking, some people coming toward me with pity faces, others whispering to each other. I just stood there, frozen, watching it all happen around me like I wasn't really part of it.

That's when I saw her.

Mia.

She was standing in the corner by herself, and everyone had already forgotten about her. They were too busy gossiping or fighting or whatever. This little kid in a pink dress with mud on it, looking tiny and lost in the middle of all this chaos.

She was watching me with those big eyes and she looked sad. Not smug or happy about what she'd just done. Just sad, this deep kind of sad that seemed wrong on a five-year-old's face.

She's just a kid. Whatever mess is happening with Derek and this Isabelle person, this kid didn't ask for it.

I don't even know why I did it. Maybe because she looked as alone as I felt. Maybe because Derek just abandoned her here without a second thought. Maybe I was in shock and not thinking straight at all.

I walked over to her. Up close, I could see she'd been crying, there were clean streaks through the dirt on her face.

"I'm sorry," she whispered.

I knelt down. My dress was probably getting ruined but I didn't care anymore. "What's your name?"

"Mia."

Mia. The kid who just destroyed my entire life.

I should hate her. I should be furious. But looking at her scared little face, I just felt... I don't know. Tired. Sad. And weirdly protective of this kid who had nowhere to go.

"Okay, Mia." I took her hand. It was small and sticky and real. "Your 'daddy' and 'mommy' both ran off and left you here. So tonight, you're staying with me."