Chapter 2

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!"