Theater: NovelMaster | Language: English | NEW
Synopsis
One week before the wedding, I went to pick up my dress, only to find the alterations were completely wrong.
The waist was taken in, and the hem was chopped short. These weren’t my measurements at all.
I asked the store clerk who authorized the changes.
She hesitated, shifting her gaze nervously toward my fiancé standing beside me.
He just smiled casually and said,
"Oh, I forgot to mention, Rachel tried it on."
"She's a little thinner than you, so she had it adjusted. We can just change it back."
She tried on my wedding dress?
I took a step back, staring at him.
"Then why don't you marry her? The dress already fits her. It’s perfect."
He froze for a second, his face darkening instantly.
"What is that supposed to mean? You're calling off the wedding?"
I let go of the gown's hem.
"Yes. The wedding is off."
His brow furrowed into a tight knot.
"Just because Rachel tried on your dress? Don't you think you're making a huge deal out of nothing?"
"Making a huge deal out of nothing?"
I locked eyes with him.
"There are hundreds of gowns in this boutique. Why did she have to try on mine? Out of all the custom dresses here, she just had to pick mine?"
"She's my childhood best friend! We grew up together! What’s the big deal if she tries it on?"
He said it with so much righteous confidence, as if I were the crazy, unreasonable one.
"Ethan, don't you feel disgusted hearing yourself talk?"
I stepped back, looking at him with utter disbelief.
"From the day we started dating, you told me Rachel was just your best friend. You said there was nothing between you two. And I trusted you."
"You bought her gifts, you answered her late-night calls, you ditched me on my birthday just to hang out with her—and I believed you every single time."
"And now?"
My voice rose, completely out of my control.
"You let her try on my wedding dress?"
"You even let her alter it to fit her body?"
Ethan's face turned completely cold.
"Claire, can you stop having such a dirty mind?"
"I told you, she's just a good friend! Do you really have to blow this out of proportion?"
"My mind is dirty?"
I looked at him, my anger completely exploding.
"Why don't you take a look in the mirror?"
"Every time you buy me something, you have to buy Rachel an exact duplicate! You get me a lipstick, you get her the same shade!"
"You buy me a necklace, and the very next day, she’s wearing the identical one around her neck! If you give me a birthday present and she says she likes it, you run out and buy her one too!"
"Whenever I told you it made me uncomfortable, what did you say? You said I was overthinking!"
"And now?"
I glared straight into his eyes.
"Now that I’m supposed to marry you, do you need to marry her too? Just so her precious little feelings don't get hurt?"
Ethan's expression was furious.
"That's enough! You're crossing the line!"
"Which part of what I said is crossing the line?"
I clenched my fists so tight my nails dug into my palms.
"Ethan, look me in the eye and tell me: in the two years we've been together, which date didn't include Rachel?"
"Which vacation didn't have her tagging along? When we went to the movies, she had to come. When we went out for dinner, she invited herself. Even the day you proposed to me, she was standing right there!"
"You told me she was like family, and that I needed to accept her."
"And I did."
"And now, you're literally putting her in my wedding dress."
"What comes next?"
My voice dropped to a whisper, cold enough to chill my own bones.
"After we get married, is she moving into our house? Are our kids going to call her mom too?"
"Claire!"
Ethan bellowed.
"Have you lost your damn mind?!"
Right at that moment, the boutique door swung open.
A woman walked in.
It was Rachel.
She looked at me, then turned her gaze to Ethan.
"What's going on? Are you two fighting?"
Ethan instantly rushed to her side.
"It's nothing. Claire's just throwing a little tantrum over the dress."
Rachel blinked innocently, then let out a soft laugh.
"Oh gosh, I thought it was something serious! All this drama just because I tried on the dress?"She turned to look at me, her voice dripping with playful reproach.
"Claire, don't be so petty. I was just curious and wanted to see how it looked on me. It really wasn't a big deal."
"Ethan and I have been practically joined at the hip since diapers. It's not like it means anything."
I stared at her smiling face.
A wave of pure nausea washed over my stomach.
"You tried it on, and then you had it tailored to your size?"
Rachel's smile faltered for a fraction of a second.
"Well... when I put it on, the waist was a little loose, so I just told the tailor to cinch it in."
"You can just tell them to let it back out. It's really not that deep."
She brushed it off with an airy laugh.
Ethan nodded along vigorously beside her.
"See, Claire? You heard her. Rachel didn't mean anything by it."
I completely ignored him.
My eyes stayed glued to Rachel.
"What are you doing here today anyway?"
Her sweet smile popped right back up.
"Oh, I'm here to pick up my photos."
She waved casually toward the front counter.
"Excuse me, are my prints ready?"
The clerk hurried over carrying a large, glossy white envelope.
"Here you go, Miss Vance. Thirty-six prints in total, all fully retouched."
"You're honestly the most stunning bride we've ever shot for our 'Everlasting Love' package."
Rachel took the envelope with a bright smile.
In that exact second, something inside my head snapped clean in half.
"'Everlasting Love'?"
I stared at the thick envelope.
Inside were photos of Ethan and Rachel.
"Isn't that the most expensive wedding package your studio offers?"
The clerk nodded cheerfully.
"Yes, ma'am! The 'Everlasting Love' package is our top-tier luxury tier—it runs for nearly three thousand dollars."
I whipped my head around to look at Ethan.
A flicker of genuine panic finally broke through his calm facade.
I marched right up to him, snatched the envelope from Rachel's hands, and ripped it wide open.
Glossy photos scattered all over the floor.
Rachel, dressed in my custom wedding dress, was standing in a sea of red roses, smiling radiantly.
And the man holding her close?
Ethan.
The two of them had shot a complete wedding album together.
That was the exact package I had begged him to book months ago.
Back then, Ethan had whined that it was way too expensive. He said weddings cost a fortune and told me to be mature and sensible.
So we settled on the cheapest option they had.
Six hundred bucks.
I still vividly remembered how bored and dismissive the photographer had been during our shoot.
Done in twenty minutes.
Five edited photos.
Not a single outdoor shot.
And yet here they were.
Ethan in a sharp tailored tuxedo, and Rachel in my custom-fitted wedding gown.
Thirty-six high-end, luxury prints.
"The most expensive package," I said, my voice dead and hollow as I looked at Ethan.
"When I told you I wanted this one, what did you say? You said it was too expensive, that we needed to save for a mortgage, that we had to be financially responsible."
"But when it came to her, you didn't hesitate to drop thousands?"
Ethan’s face went through three different shades of red.
"This... this is different! It was a birthday present for Rachel! She’s loved photography since she was a kid, so I just wanted to give her a nice photoshoot!"
"A photoshoot?"
I bent down, snatched a picture off the floor, and shoved it right into his face.
"You call this a photoshoot?! You're wearing a groom's tux, she's wearing my wedding dress, and you have the nerve to call this a casual photoshoot?!"
"Ethan, do you honestly take me for a complete idiot?"
Rachel chimed in from the side.
"Claire, you're totally misunderstanding this. We just thought it would be fun, like a joke. Look at you, making a mountain out of a molehill."
"A joke?"
I laughed, a sharp, bitter laugh that pushed tears to my eyes.
"A three-thousand-dollar joke? Rachel, you're a woman—do you seriously believe the garbage coming out of your mouth?"
The fake sweetness finally melted off Rachel's face.
"Claire, what are you trying to say? Are you accusing me and Ethan of something? Let me remind you, we grew up together. If something was going to happen between us, you wouldn't even be in the picture!""You're right," I said.
I dropped the photograph onto the tile floor.
"If something had happened between you two, I wouldn't have stood a chance. So now I'm getting out of your way. Isn't that what you wanted?"
I slipped the ring off my finger.
It was plain platinum.
Very thin.
No diamond.
Ethan had promised he would buy me a real diamond once he started making more money.
And like a fool, I believed him.
Yet on Rachel's birthday, he had bought her a genuine diamond pendant.
I saw it with my own eyes.
Rachel had even made sure to flaunt it right in front of me.
*Ethan's always spoiled me since we were kids, don't be mad!*
I set the thin ring down on the display table.
"You two can have the wedding."
"The dress is already tailored to her body. The photos are already taken."
"It saves you both the trouble of planning."
Rachel's face drained of color.
"Claire, don't be like this."
"Like what?"
I glared at her, enunciating every single word.
"Don't you love using my things? Go ahead and take it all. Take the dress, take the pictures, take the man. I hope you two rot together forever."
With that, I turned on my heel and walked toward the exit.
Ethan's furious voice echoed behind me.
"Claire! Stop right there! You are being totally ridiculous!"
I didn't look back.
I pushed open the glass doors into the blinding afternoon sun.
I headed straight to his mother's house.
On the way, I called my mom.
"Mom, cancel the wedding."
The line went dead silent for a few seconds.
"Claire, honey? What happened?"
"I'll explain later. Just call the family and tell them it's off."
The moment I hung up, the tears finally spilled over.
Two years with Ethan.
And for the first time, I felt utterly sick to my stomach.
I first met Ethan at a friend's party.
He was handsome, with a bright, charming smile.
When he pursued me, he drove me to work every day, brought me breakfast, and draped his jacket over my shoulders whenever it rained.
I genuinely thought I had found the one.
On the second weekend after we started dating, he told me he wanted me to meet someone important to him.
That person was Rachel.
His childhood best friend.
They had lived on the same block since they were toddlers.
The very first time Rachel saw me, she immediately looped her arm through Ethan's.
"So this is your new girlfriend? She's okay, I guess. Not as pretty as me though."
Ethan just chuckled and ruffled her hair.
"Yeah, yeah, you're the prettiest girl in the world, happy now?"
It rubbed me the wrong way at the time.
But I told myself: *They grew up together. They're just close. It's fine.*
Only later did I realize.
It wasn't fine at all.
On our very first anniversary dinner, Rachel was there.
She claimed she was lonely and bored at home, begging Ethan to let her tag along.
Ethan agreed without a second thought.
During that entire dinner, the two of them never stopped talking to each other.
Recalling childhood memories, joking about mutual neighbors, reminiscing about the old neighborhood.
I sat across from them, unable to get a single word in.
That was the first time.
Then came dozens more.
Movie nights? Rachel wanted to see the movie too, and she ended up sitting directly between us.
Back then, I naively thought:
*Maybe things will change after we get married.*
*Once we have a ring on our fingers, he'll finally understand the boundary between a wife and a friend.*
But this disaster at the bridal shop woke me up.
He will never figure it out.
Never.
The cab pulled up in front of his mother's building.
My hands were trembling as I knocked on the front door.
Ethan’s mom, Martha, opened the door. When she saw me, she looked surprised.
"Claire? What are you doing here, sweetie? Weren't you supposed to pick up your gown?"
Her eyes landed on my red, swollen face.
"Honey, what's wrong? What happened?"
"Martha..."
My voice cracked, and fresh tears streamed down my cheeks.
"Rachel had my wedding dress altered to fit her."
"And Ethan took a full set of wedding photos with her."
"The most expensive package in the studio. Three thousand dollars."
Martha’s face went chalk-white.
"What?!"
"For two whole years, every single thing he gave me, he bought an exact copy for Rachel. Every time he spent time with me, Rachel had to be there."
"I thought things would get better once we tied the knot. But I realize now that it never will. If he marries me, he's marrying Rachel too, because she won't let go, and neither will he."
"I'm not marrying him, Martha."
I looked at her, my voice barely above a whisper.
"Let them get married instead. They deserve each other. Whatever money you set aside for the wedding, just give it to her."Martha’s lips trembled violently.
It took her a long time to find her voice.
"Claire, sit down first. Sit. Tell me slowly, what on earth happened?"
I told her everything that went down at the bridal shop, start to finish.
As she listened, Martha's pale face turned dark with fury.
She jumped to her feet.
"Has he lost his damn mind?!"
She grabbed her phone and dialed a number.
"Ethan Vance, get your ass over here this instant."
I couldn't hear what Ethan said on the other end.
Martha roared into the receiver.
"Right now!"
She slammed the phone down and came back to sit beside me.
"Claire, I am so sorry. It's my fault for raising such a blind, foolish son."
I shook my head softly.
"You've always been wonderful to me, Martha. This is entirely on Ethan."
Less than twenty minutes later, the front door rattled open.
Ethan walked in.
Right behind him was Rachel.
The second Rachel stepped across the threshold, she put on her sweetest voice.
"Hi, Mrs. Vance!"
Martha didn't even look at her.
She glared straight at Ethan.
"Explain to me right now. The dress, the photos—what the hell were you thinking?"
Ethan's expression instantly soured.
He shot a venomous glare at me.
"Claire, you ran to my mom to tattle? How old are you? Can't we handle our own problems between us? You just had to come crying to my mother?"
"Look at me when I'm talking to you!"
Martha slammed her hand down onto the coffee table with a resounding smack.
"Don't you dare raise your voice in this house! Did you do what Claire said, yes or no?!"
Ethan tugged at his collar, visibly irritated.
"Yes! Fine, yes, it's true! But it's not what—"
"You took wedding photos with Rachel?!"
"It was a birthday present for her!"
"You wore a tuxedo, she wore Claire's custom wedding dress, you took a whole damn album together, and you're telling me it was just a birthday gift?!"
Martha’s voice shook the walls.
"Are you completely brain-dead?!"
Rachel quickly chimed in.
"Mrs. Vance, please don't be mad at Ethan! It really was just for fun, we didn't mean anything by it! Ethan and I grew up together—if there was ever anything romantic between us, wouldn't it have happened years ago?"
Martha finally turned her head toward her.
Her gaze was so piercingly cold that Rachel instinctively took a step back.
"I didn't ask you to speak."
Rachel's face drained of color.
Ethan immediately stepped in front of Rachel, shielding her.
"Mom! Stop treating Rachel like that! She didn't do anything wrong!"
"She didn't do anything wrong?!"
Martha let out a laugh that sounded more like a sob.
"She took Claire's wedding dress and tailored it to her own body! She posed for romantic wedding photos with you while wearing Claire's gown! And you have the nerve to tell me she did nothing wrong?!"
"Go ahead, ask any woman on this earth if she would tolerate this garbage!"
Ethan opened his mouth, stammering.
"It was just harmless fun! I didn't cheat on her! Rachel and I are completely innocent! They're just pictures! Does everyone have to blow this completely out of proportion?!"
"Fine," Martha said, her eyes boring into him.
"Let me flip the script. If Claire had put on a bridal gown and posed for a romantic wedding album with another man, would you just shrug it off and act like nothing happened?"
Ethan's face froze.
His mouth hung open, but not a single sound came out.
Watching him stand there like a statue, I felt an overwhelming wave of exhaustion.
Men like him never listen.
They never understand anyone else's pain until it happens directly to them.
Martha looked back at me, tears brimming in her eyes.
"Claire, sweetheart... I am so, so sorry."
I stood up.
"It's not your fault, Martha."
"At least I found out who he really is before walking down that aisle."
I walked to the entryway and slipped my shoes on.
Then I turned to Ethan.
"My parents bought the condo. Go over there right now and pack your crap."
Ethan stared at me in total disbelief.
"Claire, you're really calling off our entire wedding over something this stupid?"
I looked right through him.
"You think it's stupid."
"Because you've never once bothered to put yourself in my shoes."
"You think Rachel is more important. You think her feelings matter more than mine."
"That's fine."
"You can have each other."
Chapters (4)
Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Watch & Promotions
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