The Fortune Camera Kept Heartbreak Away

My camera could show what a person would look like three days in the future. When I photographed my parents, the picture showed them seated together at the wedding, hands clasped and pride shining on their faces. When I photographed my twin brother, he was bending down with a smile, arranging the train of the gown. When I photographed my best friend, Jessica, she wore a bridesmaid dress and recorded the ceremony through tear-filled eyes. Everyone looked radiant. The future seemed perfect. Thrilled by what I saw, I turned the camera toward my fiance, Mason Carter. The moment I pressed the shutter, everything inside me went still. I stopped breathing. In the photograph, three days from now, he was sliding a ring onto a woman's hand. It was not mine. The scar between her thumb and forefinger could belong to only one person. My adopted sister, Lily Reynolds. She was the bride at the wedding three days away. And everyone I loved had spent an entire year making a fool of me. Chapter 1 The photographs developed one by one. Morning came, but no matter how many times I looked at the image, the scar remained unmistakable between the woman's thumb and forefinger. Only Lily Reynolds had a mark like that. Barely able to breathe, I carried the camera to her bedroom. Her door stood open. Lily sat at her vanity, her face turned partly away from me. I pressed the shutter. A new photograph appeared, showing Lily and Mason kissing passionately on the bed meant for my wedding night. "No..." Something snapped inside me. I stared at the picture and forgot how to breathe. "Lily, why are you still awake?" The familiar voice came from the staircase. It belonged to my twin brother, Owen Reynolds. I drew a shaky breath and slipped into the shadows around the corner. "Owen, I'm nervous," Lily said softly from inside the room. "Are we really doing the right thing? What if Amelia gets angry?" "She won't," Owen said without hesitation. "She has given you everything you've wanted since you were children." Tears spilled down my face as I bit hard into my lower lip. He was right. Ever since my parents had brought Lily home from a foster agency, nearly everything that belonged to me had been handed over to her. When we were young, Lily was afraid of the dark, so I had to surrender the largest, brightest bedroom. When we were older, Lily claimed her depression would worsen if she fell behind, so my parents pressured me to give up a coveted graduate fellowship and let her take the opportunity. Birthday cakes, dolls, holiday money... I thought I had already given her enough. Now they wanted me to give her my fiance too? "It's her birthday wish. Of course we're going to make it happen." Owen's voice softened even more. "Mom and Dad are backing you. Amelia won't dare cause a scene. "When Mason's wedding convoy arrives in three days, I'll bring her a bridesmaid dress. "If she behaves, we'll let her attend your ceremony. "If she refuses, we'll lock her upstairs. She won't get anywhere near you or Mason." "You're the best!" Lily threw herself into his arms. Standing alone in the dark, I suddenly understood what a joke my life had become. Lily had made a wish, so everyone had decided to fulfill it. But what about me? Mason had sworn I was the only woman he would ever love. He had promised me the wedding of my dreams. What did he think I was? I stumbled back to my room. Mason called a few minutes later. "Amelia, did you get the gift I sent tonight?" He sounded unusually cautious. That only made the whole thing crueler. No wonder he had arranged for a diamond necklace to be delivered without warning. Was it compensation, or just another way to keep his favorite fool quiet? I had already seen Lily's social media post. The necklace was merely a complimentary piece bundled with the collection of jewelry she had purchased that afternoon. "Mason, why would you send me a gift right before our wedding?" I forced a light laugh. "You haven't done something you feel guilty about, have you?" "Of course not." He chuckled. "Stop imagining things." I wiped away my tears in silence. "Okay. "But Mason, I only intend to have one wedding in my life. "If I'm not happy with the ceremony three days from now, I won't marry you." His breathing faltered for a fraction of a second. Then his voice filled with absolute confidence. "That won't happen." He did not mean the ceremony would satisfy me. He meant I would never have the courage to leave him. "Be reasonable, Amelia." His voice hardened. "A wedding is only a ceremony. Don't make it more important than it is. "All you need to know is that you're the woman I love." The photograph of him kissing Lily flashed through my mind again. At last, my frantic heart went cold. I did not cry. I did not confront him. I simply ended the call. Then I called that person. If they could replace the bride... Then I could replace the groom. Chapter 2 Jessica Lane arrived at the Reynolds house early the next morning. She was a wedding planner and had personally handled every part of my ceremony. Only two days remained, and the venue was already fully decorated. Yet she sat on my parents' couch and announced that she wanted to replace every flower. "The roses and peonies we chose feel dated. "What about purple hydrangeas? They would look softer and more luxurious." She eagerly showed me a new digital rendering. After what the camera had revealed, I immediately pictured the pots of hydrangeas lined beneath Lily's bedroom window. They were her favorite flowers. "We should add a few dishes to the reception menu too." My mother emerged from the kitchen with a list in her hand. "Cilantro steak, crab cakes, and cedar-plank salmon." I hated cilantro and had a severe shellfish allergy. Every item she named was something Lily loved. They discussed the changes with growing enthusiasm and remembered to ask the actual bride only when they were nearly finished. "Amelia, what do you think?" I did not answer. I looked from one face to another and gave a quiet laugh. "Are you planning my wedding or Lily's?" Every expression in the room changed. "What are you talking about?" Owen spoke first, but his gaze slid away from mine. "I'm sorry, Amelia." Lily's eyes immediately filled with tears. "Mom and Dad just feel sorry for me. They want to take care of me a little more. "I know I'm useless. I know I'm always making everyone worry..." Her breaths became shorter and faster until she collapsed weakly onto the carpet. The room erupted into chaos. Mason reached her first. He lifted her into his arms and helped her take her medication. Owen pointed at me, furious. "You know she is still recovering. How could you deliberately upset her?" "Get out of my sight, you spiteful girl!" my father shouted. "Amelia, how could you say that? Lily didn't mean any harm," Jessica muttered. I looked at them and almost laughed. My parents and brother had favored Lily for more than twenty years. I had learned to live with that. Mason had deceived me because I had trusted the wrong man. I could accept that too. But Jessica? When her stepfather had beaten her, I had put myself between them and taken the blows. After her car accident, I donated so much blood that I nearly passed out. She had once held my hand and promised that even if the entire world betrayed me, she would remain by my side. Now she stood with everyone else. Every person in the room had chosen the other side. Suddenly, I was too tired to keep fighting. "Fine," I said calmly. "Change whatever you want. "It has nothing to do with me anymore." I turned away. Guilt flashed across Mason's face, and he followed me toward the stairs. "Amelia, that isn't what I meant." I gave him a humorless smile. "It isn't? "Then leave the wedding exactly as we planned it." "No." The answer burst from him before he could stop it. He frowned. "Jessica's ideas are good, and adding a few dishes won't hurt anyone. We can afford it." I smiled faintly and pulled my hand free. "Then do whatever you like." "Amelia!" When he realized I would not argue, his face darkened. "Could you stop with the passive-aggressive attitude? "Lily has depression, and somehow she is still more stable and considerate than you." He walked away in anger. Without expression, I raised the camera and photographed everyone gathered in the living room. The image showed the second morning after the wedding. Mason stood beside Lily at a celebratory family brunch, their hands linked while my parents raised champagne glasses to the happy couple. Jessica, who had once promised to film my ceremony, sat nearby editing Lily's wedding video. The scene was picture-perfect. There was only one thing missing from it. Me. That was fine. I sent a message to the man who had agreed to come for me. "After you pick me up, take me straight to the private terminal. "I want the wedding in Stonebridge, New Albion. I don't want to stay in Ridgehaven another day." Chapter 3 His reply came almost immediately. "Okay." I collapsed onto my bed and closed my eyes, exhausted in every possible way. People came looking for me throughout the day. Mason apologized and told me not to overthink things. He insisted he treated Lily like a younger sister. Jessica sent message after message, claiming I had pre-wedding anxiety and offering to take me to a movie. I knew exactly what they were doing. They wanted to keep me calm. They were terrified I would discover the truth, create a scene, and ruin Lily's wedding. I had no time for any of them. I began sorting my belongings for the trip two days away. Then I emailed my resignation, and my supervisor immediately called me in a rage. "Amelia, the client discovered that your campaign proposal was plagiarized, and now you're trying to disappear?" "You're not leaving until you cover the company's losses." I froze. I had spent three months developing that proposal. Every concept and every line had come from me. How could I have plagiarized it? I searched for the person who supposedly owned the original work. The name that appeared was Lily Reynolds. Years earlier, my parents had forced the same company to hire Lily because they wanted me to "look after her." She lacked the experience for promotion and had been passed over several times. Now, using my proposal, she had jumped straight into an associate director position. "Jessica, thank you so much!" Lily hugged Jessica in the living room, glowing with excitement. I carried the proposal downstairs and threw it onto the table in front of them. Jessica's face went white. "Explain." I stared at the woman I had considered family, each breath scraping through my chest. "Only two people outside the company have been inside my office: Mason and you. "He never knew the security code. You did, because you claimed you had an emergency the last time you visited." "I-I don't know what you're talking about." Jessica forced herself to look composed and lifted her chin. "Amelia, you can be unbelievably stubborn. "It's one proposal. Why couldn't you be generous and let your sister use it to build her career?" I could hardly believe what I was hearing. "Jessica, you're my best friend-" "She's right. Why shouldn't an older sister help her younger sister?" Owen interrupted as he entered the room. "Consider the proposal your promotion gift to Lily. "This discussion is over. No one will mention it again." They moved in front of Lily. One was my twin brother. The other had once been closer to me than family. Both had betrayed me to protect her. I let out a bitter laugh. Then I noticed the heavy gold bracelet around Lily's wrist. It was supposed to be part of my wedding gift from my mother. She had claimed she was short on funds and persuaded me to transfer twenty-eight thousand dollars toward a set of family jewelry that would be returned to me after the ceremony. Apparently, the bracelet had belonged to Lily all along. "It wasn't safe in your room, so we asked your sister to hold it," my parents said without a trace of shame. "So what if you contributed twenty-eight thousand dollars? Raising you cost us far more than that. "Lily can keep the bracelet for now. We'll discuss the money later. Why are you being so impatient?" Their voices were loud. Not one of them dared meet my eyes. I studied my family and the woman I had called my closest friend, and the last of my hope disappeared. "All right." I smiled faintly. "The proposal, the jewelry, the money... "If you want them, keep them. "From this moment on, I am no longer part of the Reynolds family." The room erupted behind me. They demanded answers, cursed me, and accused me of being ungrateful. A roaring filled my ears until I could no longer understand a word. I returned to my bedroom and turned the camera toward myself. After seeing the photograph, I finally felt at peace. Tomorrow was the wedding. It was also the day I would leave. I had not expected Mason to spend the night before our wedding at my parents' house. And I certainly had not expected to find him around the hallway corner, holding Lily as they kissed like they could not get enough of each other. Chapter 4 I had prepared myself for the truth. Even so, seeing them together made me turn aside and vomit. "Amelia!" Mason rushed after me. His shout quickly drew the rest of the family into the hallway. "Let me explain. Lily had too much to drink..." Owen came out first. One look at the lipstick smeared across Mason's mouth told him everything. "Enough. The wedding is tomorrow, and since you've already seen this, we may as well tell you now." He stepped in front of me. "Lily will take your place in the ceremony tomorrow. "Her mental health has been fragile, and her birthday wish was to wear a wedding dress and experience a wedding. "You will serve as her bridesmaid and help us give her that memory." The moment he finished, my parents closed ranks around Lily. Even Mason shifted toward her without realizing it. "Amelia, it is only one ceremony. We can hold another one for you later." He met my eyes. "You've never cared about appearances, but Lily cannot handle another emotional shock. "You understand, don't you?" "Amelia, marrying Mason has always been my dream." Lily looked at me through trembling tears. "Please let me have this one thing." Some of them were guarding against me. The others were pressuring me. They watched me as though I might start screaming or attack Lily at any moment. Nothing happened. My face remained strangely calm. I looked at them and smiled. "My wedding will take place tomorrow as planned. "It simply has nothing to do with any of you." They stared at me. I walked past them, returned to my bedroom, and shut the door. "Stop acting like a child, Amelia!" Owen yelled after me. "If you refuse to be Lily's bridesmaid, don't expect to attend when we hold your ceremony next year!" I did not answer. The next morning, I opened the door for the hair and makeup team. "The gown is here, Lily. Would you like us to take it upstairs or-" "I'm sorry," the lead stylist said politely. "There seems to be a misunderstanding. Our client is Amelia Reynolds." My parents' faces tightened as they turned toward me. Jessica had arrived early. She was the first to realize that the gown was not the one Mason had ordered for me. This dress was far more elegant, with hand-sewn crystals scattered across a train three times as detailed as the original. "Amelia, please don't do this to yourself." Jessica approached with an awkward expression. "No matter how beautiful your dress is, there can only be one bride today. Why humiliate yourself?" Contempt spread through the room. They looked at me as though I were delusional, and the more magnificent the gown appeared, the more pathetic they believed I was. "She has no idea how embarrassing she looks." Owen muttered the insult under his breath. I offered no response and sat quietly before the mirror. Two hours later, everyone surrounded Lily and escorted her downstairs like a princess. Confetti burst through the air, but when Mason stepped from the limousine outside, his gaze went straight to me. He stared at my dress, stunned by what he saw, before forcing a bitter smile and approaching. "Amelia, this isn't going to work. "No matter what you do, Lily is the only bride I am marrying today." He extended his hand toward a blushing Lily. Owen's face darkened beside her. "You've made enough of a scene. Stop humiliating the family. "Someone close the door. Do not let her-" The low rumble of engines cut him off. A convoy of sleek black vehicles turned onto the private drive and stopped outside the Reynolds estate without warning. A tall man stepped out of the lead car carrying a bouquet. "Mr.— Mr. Whitmore?" Mason's eyes widened in shock. "What are you doing here?" The man did not spare him a glance. He walked directly toward me. "I came for my bride," Gabriel Whitmore said. Then he smiled and held out his hand.