My Fiancé’s Best Friend Tore My Wedding Dress Apart, and He Paid Her for It

Halfway through the wedding, Ethan's best friend Zoe grabbed the microphone and proposed a game. "Let's play 'Patchwork Gown,'" she announced, practically vibrating with excitement. "Everyone tears off a piece of the bride's dress and names their price. Ethan has to buy each piece back. Then we'll sew all those blessings into a brand-new gown." Before anyone could react, she reached over and ripped the thin strap off my shoulder. I nearly flashed the entire room. Zoe held up that scrap of tulle, winked at me, and aimed her phone at the big screen. "Like this. I'll start the bidding at five thousand." Ethan looked at her with that indulgent little smile of his, took the piece of fabric, and transferred the money on the spot. The payment confirmation flashed across the screen, and the banquet hall erupted in cheers. "Classic Zoe!" "True love means opening your wallet!" His friends were falling over themselves with excitement. I clenched my fists, about to refuse, but Ethan leaned in close and whispered, "Zoe just wants to make the wedding more fun. Don't be a buzzkill." I froze. Three months ago, Zoe had stuffed a balloon under her dress, pretended to be pregnant, and tricked me into listening for a heartbeat. The balloon burst right next to my ear and left me with intermittent hearing loss. Ethan said it was just a funny prank. On our engagement night, she deliberately dumped me, blackout drunk, on a street corner at three in the morning. Ethan said the same thing. She was just being playful. It was all in good fun. In Ethan's eyes, everything Zoe did was fun. The next second, someone rushed up and tore at my skirt. A swatch of white fabric was ripped away, and the person waved it triumphantly, shouting, "Quick! Thirty thousand!" I stared at Ethan and said, word by word, "You transfer that money, and this wedding is over." Ethan frowned. "Everyone's here to celebrate. Claire, be good. Don't make a scene." Zoe pouted beside him. "Exactly. So boring." The next moment, the chime of a thirty-thousand-dollar transfer rang out. Screams and laughter erupted all around me, but I felt strangely calm. Zoe was right. This really was boring. She raised the microphone and announced, "Let the game officially begin!" The crowd surged forward. I snatched the microphone and shouted, "Don't touch me! The wedding is off!" But the microphone was dead silent. My warning drowned in the frenzy around me. I stared at Ethan, stunned. He had turned off my microphone in advance. He stood below the stage as if he'd anticipated my resistance, and he even smiled. Then he stepped back twice, shielded Zoe behind him, and let countless hands reach for me. A ringing filled my ears. Yesterday, my family and friends had been lured to a private island nearby under the pretense of a wedding rehearsal, all arranged by Zoe. Right now, there wasn't a single person in this room who was truly on my side. All because she thought it would be fun. A loud ripping sound. Another large piece of my skirt was torn away. I finally snapped back to reality, stumbling backward, screaming, "Stop! The wedding is off! I'm calling the police!" The crowd went quiet for a split second. The person who'd just torn my dress froze. But Zoe threw her arms around Ethan's neck, laughing, hanging off him, waving at the crowd. "The bride's just kidding. Whoever tore that piece, come get your money!" Ethan smirked, his eyes brimming with indulgence for her. The person hesitated, then stepped forward. The chime of another transfer rang out, and the crowd screamed and lunged at me again. Soon I had nowhere left to retreat. My voice was swallowed whole. Dozens of hands grabbed, pulled, shoved, and groped. The fabric covering my body grew thinner and thinner. "Ethan!" I screamed his name, arms wrapped around myself, curling into a ball. Through the gaps in the crowd, I saw Ethan finally glance at the pile of shredded white fabric heaped beside him. The smile vanished from his face. "That's enough." The crowd was a pack of animals. They wouldn't stop. "I said that's enough!" They reluctantly pulled back. My crinoline was more than half destroyed. Someone snickered under his breath. "Didn't manage to grab any fabric from those women, but getting my hands on a bride this gorgeous wasn't a bad consolation prize." Another voice chimed in. "No kidding. Must be nice being rich..." Ethan's expression turned stone cold. "Shut your mouths!" He pulled off his suit jacket and walked toward me. When he saw the red scratches covering my arms and legs, his eyes went dark. "I told you people to have some restraint." Unease finally crossed their faces, and a murmur rippled through the hall. Then Zoe sneezed. "Is the AC set to arctic or what?" Ethan stopped mid-step. The next instant, he turned around and draped his jacket over Zoe's shoulders. A chill ran through me. Goosebumps rose along my arms. Zoe made a show of shrugging the jacket off. "Oh, stop. I'm not that delicate." Ethan pressed it back onto her shoulders. "Be good." Zoe gave a soft little hum. "Fine." I took a deep breath, tore down the floor-length curtain from the nearest window, and wrapped it around myself as I stood. I'd barely taken a step before Ethan grabbed my arm. "Where do you think you're going? The wedding isn't over." I laughed bitterly. "You think this wedding can still go on?" He studied me for a few seconds, then suddenly let go and smiled. "Fair enough. The new gown will take a little time to piece together. Go rest in the room for now." In that moment, a thousand things surged to the tip of my tongue. In the end, I said only one. "Ethan, we're done."

Ethan opened his mouth as if to respond. "Ethan! Get over here and help me figure out this mess. I can't make sense of it!" Zoe was standing on top of the pile of shredded wedding dress, scratching her head. Ethan turned to look at her and let out a helpless laugh. "If you can't figure it out, what makes you think I can?" She was still wearing his suit jacket. That jacket, like my wedding gown, had been crafted by a reclusive indie designer who'd long since retired. All because I'd once made an offhand compliment about that designer's work. Ethan flew to Europe over a dozen times, showed up at the designer's door in person, and finally convinced him to come out of retirement. When the gown arrived, Ethan handled it more carefully than I did. He said it should be kept as a family heirloom. It didn't even survive the wedding day. Ethan and Zoe crouched on the floor talking. Suddenly Zoe picked up a piece of sheer fabric and draped it over Ethan's head, then ducked under it herself. Beneath the veil, their noses were almost touching. For a split second, Ethan lost himself. Zoe grinned, bold and bright. "Oh come on. That's all it takes to fluster you?" Ethan yanked the fabric away and laughed. "Knock it off." Zoe shoved him flat on his back, straddled him, and started tickling. "Did you just tell me to knock it off? Getting bold, are we? Let me fix that." The two of them rolled around together. Guests drifted back to their seats, and the banquet hall was far from quiet. Someone whispered, "Rich people really know how to have fun. Hiring a bunch of extras as wedding guests, throwing a fake ceremony, all just for kicks?" "I don't know about that. The bride seemed pretty serious." "She's the only one who thought it was real. Did you see any of her family or friends here?" "The groom's parents were probably hired too, right? The rest of us are just here to do a job." "Who did she piss off? That scene just now was practically sexual assault." I shut the door, sealing those grotesque images on the other side. Back in the suite, I didn't realize my face was streaked with tears until I started removing my makeup. The blessing ceremony on the wedding bed had been handled by Zoe. I couldn't bring myself to touch that bed again. I changed into my own clothes and took off the ring. It wasn't until I'd confirmed that my overseas fellowship, originally scheduled for after the wedding, could be moved up that I finally felt like I could breathe again. But I still couldn't reach a single one of my family members or friends. Staring at the hurricane warning on my phone, the dread in my chest grew heavier by the second. I immediately called the police, then prepared to head to the nearest dock. When the elevator doors opened, Ethan and Zoe were standing inside. Ethan frowned. "Zoe was right. She guessed you'd throw a fit and walk out." Zoe let out a mocking sigh. "Women. Always so difficult." Ethan gripped my wrist. "Hear Zoe out first." Zoe shrugged. "If you're upset about Ethan being late to the courthouse that day, all I can say is you have zero trust in him." "He was nervous that night. We watched those kinds of movies together just to help him relax." "He and I are friends. Don't make it dirty." I didn't respond. She grew impatient. "I recorded the video to show Ethan what a real reaction looks like versus a fake one. Honestly, I was doing it for your benefit on the wedding night. I never planned on letting you see it." By the time what she was actually saying sank in, I was so disgusted I wrenched my arm free of Ethan's grip. So that was why Ethan showed up the next day completely spent and missed our appointment to register the marriage. She couldn't have explained earlier or later. She chose this exact moment. I scrubbed the skin where he'd touched me until it was raw and red. Ethan's expression darkened. I fixed my eyes on him, my voice cold. "Ethan, the hurricane is almost here. Where are my family and friends?" He blinked, then instinctively looked at Zoe. Zoe glanced down at her buzzing phone with casual disinterest. "I sent a boat." She looked up, her smile airy and light. "Don't you think it'd be fun if all of them had to row back across the ocean together?" Then, as if she'd just noticed the weather alert on her phone, she raised an eyebrow. "Oh. A hurricane. Well, I guess they'd better be careful."

My heart dropped. I spun around and bolted for the exit. I bumped Zoe on the way out, sending her stumbling. I'd just thrown myself into the elevator when Ethan yanked me back out. "Apologize to Zoe." His grip was crushing. He pointed at Zoe's completely uninjured arm. A strangled grunt escaped me, and cold sweat instantly beaded across my forehead. Ethan faltered, following my gaze downward until he finally saw my hand. It hung limp. The wrist I'd twisted in the earlier chaos had completely dislocated under his pull. His breath caught. "I didn't mean to—" I looked at him, my voice terrifyingly calm. "Ethan, do you know what the most important thing on a surgeon's body is?" He said nothing. His lips had gone white. A long time ago, he'd shielded me from an unhinged patient's family member. The man charged at me with a knife, and Ethan took the blade for me. Afterward, he told me, "As long as you're okay. A surgeon's hands are important." After we got together, he took over every household chore. Anything he could do for me, he never let me lift a finger. Because a surgeon's hands, he said, were precious and needed to be protected. "Claire, I'm going to treat you this well for the rest of my life. I'll make it so you can't bear to leave me." Back then, I believed his promise. Until three months ago, when Zoe came back to the country. My life was turned upside down. "Oh, forget it. I'm fine. I won't hold it against her." Zoe waved her hand, the picture of magnanimity. I turned and stepped into the elevator. Ethan and Zoe followed. Zoe leaned against Ethan's shoulder and said casually, "The patchwork gown's almost done. Why not finish the ceremony first and then go pick them up? It's not like your parents are there anyway." My parents died in a car accident the same year I met Ethan. I stared at him. "You take advantage of me because I don't have parents." He lowered his eyes and said nothing. Then he canceled the parking garage floor and pressed the button for the banquet hall. I pressed the garage button again, my tone dripping with contempt. "After you and Zoe had those hired extras assault me, you still think I'd marry you?" Ethan's head snapped up. "You know those people were hired extras? Who told you?" His eyes met mine. He closed them briefly, exhaling softly. "The Hayes family refused to attend the wedding. I just didn't want you to be disappointed." Zoe clapped him hard on the shoulder. "Our Ethan nearly cut ties with his own family for you." I stood frozen for a long time. This relationship that nobody had believed in from the very start had stumbled and scraped its way to today. It wasn't that Ethan hadn't tried. Even when I was the one ready to give up, he hadn't. I'd hesitated for a long time before finally accepting the ring on his third proposal. It was the first time I ever saw Ethan choke up. He said, "Claire, you can't run from me anymore." That day, he held my hand and didn't let go for a single moment. I closed my eyes. "Ethan, send someone to bring my family and friends back safely." As long as they were okay, I could consider whether to give him one last chance to explain. Zoe immediately wrinkled her nose in displeasure. "No way. Ethan and I have a bet going. If they row back on their own, I win. If he calls for rescue, he wins. If you make him send help, that's cheating. There's no fun in that." She leaned against Ethan's shoulder, looking up at me. "Have some sportsmanship. Just like the patchwork game. Ethan paid for everything. It's not like you lost anything." She muttered under her breath, "Calling it assault. I thought you'd be different from the last one. Someone who could take a joke." "If you only knew, the other day Ethan and I played a celibacy game. We slept naked in each other's arms the whole night and couldn't even—" "That's enough." Ethan cut her off. Zoe huffed but dropped it. Ethan wouldn't meet my eyes. He said quietly, "Zoe knows where the line is. You should have some faith in them too." In that moment, the last warmth in my heart went completely cold.