Chapter 3

I took a deep breath, preparing to speak.

Suddenly, Mia stepped out from the crowd.

Right in front of everyone, she unbuttoned her overcoat, revealing my custom haute couture gown underneath.

She squealed in mock surprise, "Ta-da! The dress is right here! I told you guys you wouldn't be able to find it!"

The delicate lace of the collar brushed against Julian's arm.

Without thinking, Julian reached out to gently smooth the fabric over her shoulder.

That casual, intimate gesture made my chest ache with sharp betrayal.

But Mia didn't care at all. The moment she finished her little display, the entire boutique fell into a horrifying silence.

Everyone stared at her, their faces painted with utter disbelief.

Harper finally snapped out of her shock, her voice climbing an octave, "I knew it! Earlier, Mia said she wanted to help you check the measurements. I literally saw her walk into the storage closet with a garment bag... Oh my god, Chloe, I'm so sorry! I didn't realize she was psycho enough to actually steal your wedding dress!"

Turning to Mia, Harper asked, her voice cracking with fury, "Mia, do you literally have nothing better to do with your life? Why the hell would you swap Chloe's dress with a piece of trash?"

Mia just rolled her eyes, completely unfazed.

She looked up at Julian, putting on a sweet, whining baby voice, "Julian, I just wanted to give you a little surprise. Don't you like it? I look so pretty in this dress. I'm sure Chloe wouldn't mind letting me try it on, right?"

With that, Mia snatched the tattered vintage dress from the table and shoved it into my hands, acting as if she were the star of the show.

"Chloe, just wear this one. Let's get this fitting over with!"

The smug triumph in her eyes made me realize this entire farce was a calculated move.

She wanted to humiliate me publicly.

No wonder she had been hovering over me since we arrived.

One minute she was asking about the dress details, the next she was offering to hold my things.

She had been setting this trap all along.

I let out a sharp, cold laugh.

"So, let me get this straight. You expect me to just hand over my three-hundred-thousand-dollar custom gown to you, while I wrap myself in your tattered garbage?"

The moment I said that, Mia's eyes welled up with tears, and she sank into Julian's chest.

"Julian, I really didn't mean to... I just wanted to play a harmless joke on Chloe. I didn't know she would be so mean... I've never worn a wedding dress before. How was I supposed to know it was so fragile and off-limits?"

"Even if you've never worn one, surely you know that stealing someone else's property is wrong?" I sneered, staring at her pathetic act. "Or did your parents forget to teach you basic morals?"

Of course she knew. If she had any respect, she wouldn't have "accidentally" spilled red wine all over my gown at the last family gala.

Back then, she had whimpered the exact same excuse, "Chloe, your dress was just so pretty. I wanted to see how it felt."

But what shocked me most was Julian's reaction. He actually stepped in to shield her.

He pried my hand away, his tone dripping with impatience, "It's just a dress, Chloe. Mia was just having some fun. Do you really have to throw a tantrum over this?"

I looked down at his tight grip on my wrist. He was frowning, looking at me as if I were a nagging nuisance.

"Don't make a mountain out of a molehill, Chloe. Everyone is watching."

I glanced over at the lounge area.

Julian's mother was wearing a tight, strained smile.

His father was staring at the floor, his face completely dark.

This arranged marriage was supposed to secure the Vance family's logistics and supply chain for the Carters.

In exchange, the Vance family would expand our market into the West Coast.

Anyone with half a brain knew this was purely a business transaction.

In an instant, all the anger drained out of me.

I wasn't calm; I was just completely, utterly exhausted.

Julian didn't notice my shift in mood. He pressed on, "I'll just have my assistant order another custom gown. Stop causing a scene, okay?"

He spoke to me with the patronizing tone one would use on a hysterical toddler.

Then, my eyes fell on the pearl necklace around Mia's neck.

It was a rare piece I had dropped hints about for months, yet Julian always "forgot" to get it for me.

I burst into a sudden laugh.

"Don't bother ordering a new one. The wedding is off."

The entire fitting room went dead silent.

Every eye in the room snapped to me like daggers.

The hanger clattered out of a staff member's hand.

Julian grabbed my arm, his grip painfully tight.

"Chloe Vance! Have you lost your mind? You're calling off the wedding over a dress?!"

Mia was the one who stole the gown, brought a sweat-stained rag, and ruined the entire day.

Yet, in his eyes, I was the one being unreasonable.

Julian and I had been together for two years.

Two years ago, my dad started convincing me that the Carter family was our best business match, so I agreed to meet him.

From awkwardly forcing conversations on our first date, to pretending to share his obsession with sports cars.

I was always the one adapting, the one compromising.

I thought even the coldest stone could be melted if I held it close enough for long enough.

The day he finally agreed to the engagement, I immediately commissioned a gown from a top designer in Paris.

I chose the exact silhouette he had casually mentioned liking once.

Harper told me that when I got the sketches back, I was smiling like an absolute idiot.

"I begged my dad for a year to get him to agree to this partnership with your family," I had told him back then, holding his hand. "Now, I know it was worth it."

I kept my word. I always put him first.

I rescheduled board meetings just to attend his parties.

I drifted away from my own friends because his moods dictated my schedule.

Whenever he said, "I want to see you," I would drop everything and run to him, no matter where I was.

But everything changed when Mia returned from abroad.

Our dates were constantly interrupted by her emergencies.

She would snatch the anniversary gifts I bought him, whining, "Julian, I want one of these too!"

Every time I got upset, Julian would just pat my head condescendingly.

"Mia is practically my little sister. Stop being so petty, okay?"

He didn't know I had seen the photos on her Snapchat.

She was cuddled up in his lap, wearing the luxury watch I had gifted him.

He didn't know that last week, when I went to his office to drop off some corporate documents, I saw Mia walking out of his private office wearing his suit jacket.

The night before the fitting, I had sat on my balcony until dawn.

I had already realized, deep down, that this marriage was a mistake.