Chapter 5

Wendy Wilson POV

The auctioneer brought down the hammer, and I breathed a sigh of relief.

Simon stood up from his seat in the front row and walked toward me.

With a look of disdain, he picked up the pair of cufflinks. “A birthday gift for me? The style is too old-fashioned.”

He turned the cufflinks over in his hand and said casually, “But seeing as you’re so sincere, I’ll accept them.”

In a few days, it would be Simon’s birthday.

Every year for Simon’s birthday, I prepared a gift in advance.

Simon naturally assumed these cufflinks were a gift for him.

“They’re not for you,” I corrected.

Simon’s face darkened. “What did you say?”

“I’m getting married.” I put the cufflinks back into the box. “They’re for my future husband.”

Simon stared at me, then suddenly slammed the cufflinks hard onto the floor.

The cufflinks instantly shattered into pieces.

“Wendy Wilson, you’ve really grown bold!” After throwing out those words, he dragged Phoebe away and left.

I crouched down and picked up the broken pieces from the floor.

I had used all my personal savings to buy these cufflinks.

Now Simon had smashed them.

I had no money left to buy Julian Kingsley another gift.

But this matter couldn’t just be let go.

I stood up and found an employee of the auction house. “Please take me to pull today’s surveillance footage.”

The next day, the Kingsley family sent someone to notify me that the wedding dress and wedding ring had both been prepared. They asked me to go try them on, and if the sizes were wrong, they could still make adjustments.

I went to a haute couture bridal salon downtown.

As soon as I walked into the hall, I saw Phoebe trying on a wedding dress.

“Simon, do you think it looks good?”

I recognized that wedding dress.

Six years ago, I had fallen in love with that vintage-style wedding dress and said I wanted to wear it when I got married one day.

Back then, Simon said, Okay. You’ll wear it when you marry me.

Simon saw me and stepped forward to wrap his arms around Phoebe’s waist.

“It looks good. Only you can make this wedding dress look beautiful. On anyone else, it would be a waste.”

Phoebe shyly buried her face in his chest.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.

Phoebe saw me, her eyes shifting before she immediately lifted a smile. “Wendy Wilson? Did Wendy Wilson come to look for Simon? Perfect. Wendy Wilson, help me see if this wedding dress looks good.”

“I’m not here for you two,” I said. “I have something else to do. I don’t have time.”

I turned to leave, but Simon spoke unhappily. “What could you possibly have to do?”

He walked forward two steps unnaturally, took a box out of his pocket, and stiffly handed it over.

“For you.”

I took it and opened it.

It was my mother’s cross.

The gem that had broken into three pieces had been replaced.

The craftsmanship was exquisite. It was clear a lot of effort had gone into it.

But broken was broken. Even gold couldn’t change that.

I put the cross into my bag and said nothing.

Simon’s brows furrowed.

“Wendy Wilson, you don’t have any other reaction?”

“What reaction do you want?” I looked at him. “Your fiancée was the one who broke it. Isn’t fixing it what you should have done?”

I didn’t pay him any more attention and walked straight toward the fitting room on the other side.

The sales assistant was already waiting for me.

The wedding dress hung in the very center of the fitting room, the lights falling over it, making the satin spill with a soft luster.

The neckline was cut just right, revealing the line of my collarbones, and the skirt looked like an upside-down white rose.

Luxurious, yet tasteful.

After I changed and came out, even the sales assistant was stunned by me.

“Ms. Wilson, you’re so beautiful.”

I turned in a circle in front of the mirror.

The waistline was perfect down to the last fraction, the skirt length was just right, and even the cuffs fit as though they had been tailor-made.

The size of this wedding dress matched my figure perfectly.

The sales assistant then brought over a tray. On it was a pink diamond ring, refracting gorgeous brilliance under the light.

“This is the wedding ring Mr. Kingsley sent over. Please try it on as well.”

I slid the ring onto my ring finger.

The band size was exactly right too.

I looked at myself in the mirror, and a long-lost warmth stirred faintly in my heart.

Even if it was only a loveless marriage alliance, the Kingsley family had still given me enough dignity and respect.

This kind of respect was something I hadn’t received in many years.

I thought, marrying into the Kingsley family probably wouldn’t be worse than now.

I was slightly turning sideways in front of the mirror when footsteps came from behind me.

“Simon, I’m really fine. I don’t need Wendy Wilson to apologize to me. Let’s go.”

Phoebe pulled Simon inside.

The moment Simon saw me in the wedding dress, he froze.

His gaze fixed on me, unable to move away.

Phoebe quietly dug her nails into her palm.

Simon came back to himself, tugged at the corner of his mouth, and let out a disdainful laugh.

“Wendy Wilson, do you have any shame at all? I brought Phoebe here to try on wedding dresses, and you followed us here to try one on too? And you think that cheap imitation ring passes for a wedding band?”

He crossed his arms and leaned against the doorframe, looking me up and down. “Are you that desperate to lock me down? Are you planning to wear a wedding dress to crash the wedding?”

Jealousy flashed through Phoebe’s eyes.

I didn’t turn around. I looked at him through the mirror.

“I told you. This isn’t for marrying you.”

“And the diamond ring isn’t fake. I am getting married, but the groom isn’t you.”