Chapter 2 · He Gave Her My Wedding Dress

At nine o'clock that night, my phone rang again.

It wasn't Jason.

It was his childhood friend, Chris Goodman.

As soon as I picked up, Chris's laid-back voice came through the line. "Hey, Em, Jason said you were super pissed today. You didn't even answer his calls."

I grabbed a couple of Jason's shirts from the closet and threw them on the bed. "Is there something you need?"

Chris clicked his tongue. "Em, seriously, don't make such a big deal out of it. It's a dress. Olivia's graduation show is huge for her future.

"Jason saw the dress wasn't being used, so he lent it to her in a pinch. You're usually so generous, why are you fussing over a little girl today?"

I paused, my hands still on the clothes. "Chris."

"Huh?"

"That was my wedding dress, not some random jacket."

Chris was caught off guard and let out a couple of awkward laughs. "Yeah, yeah, Jason knows he messed up. He's already asking around, trying to get someone to ship over an even classier one from France for you.

"Em, come on, do me a favor and let it go. Jason's been running around all day for Olivia, he's wiped out. Give him a way out later, okay?"

I didn't bother listening to his nonsense anymore and hung up.

Then I blocked his number.

By the time the clock hit eleven-thirty, I heard the sound of the keypad unlocking at the front door.

Jason was back.

He smelled faintly of alcohol, with a barely detectable trace of that woody perfume.

It was the perfume Olivia always wore.

He kicked off his shoes, didn't even bother to take off his coat, and headed straight for the bedroom.

When he saw me sitting on the edge of the bed, he let out a soft sigh and came over, wrapping his arms around me from behind.

He rested his chin on my shoulder, his warm breath tickling my ear. "Still mad?"

His voice was low, with that familiar mix of tenderness and cocky charm, like he always knew how to handle things.

"Didn't I text you and explain? Olivia's dress was deliberately ruined, and she was a mess, crying her eyes out. If she didn't have that wedding dress, she wouldn't even have a chance to walk the runway," he said.

He took my hand, his thumb gently stroking the back of it. "Em, you've always been so understanding. She's an orphan and hasn't had an easy life. As someone she knows from school, I couldn't turn my back on her."

I didn't fight it, let him hold me. "So you decided my wedding dress was the answer to her crisis?"

Jason chuckled softly, his voice laced with a condescending, indulgent warmth. "It's a dress. Tomorrow, I'll take you to order a new one, no limit, whatever you want, okay?"

He bent down, wanting to press a kiss to my hair.

I turned aside, pulling away from his touch.

I stood up, leaving him holding nothing, his arms frozen awkwardly in midair.

"Don't bother," I turned to face him, staring at his handsome face, wearing that look of entitlement, like everything was supposed to go his way.

I slipped off the three-carat engagement ring from my finger and set it down on the nightstand.

The ring clinked against the glass surface, the sound sharp and clear.

Jason's gaze dropped to the ring, and the smile on his face slowly faded away. "What do you mean?"

I looked at him calmly, "Didn't you understand the message I sent you earlier?

"The wedding's off. You can give her this ring as a graduation gift too."

The air in the bedroom seemed to freeze.

Jason stared at the diamond ring on the nightstand for a full thirty seconds.

He straightened up, loosened his tie, and his gaze hardened. "Em, there's a limit to how much you can act out."

He walked up to me, his tall frame looming over me, making me feel small. "I've already apologized and promised to make it up to you. Is this your way of threatening me now, taking off the ring?"

I saw the impatience in his eyes.

He didn't think he was wrong at all. He thought I was blowing things out of proportion.

"I'm not threatening you. I'm letting you know." I said and turned around, pulled out the suitcase from the bottom drawer of the wardrobe, and laid it flat on the floor.

"The house is yours. I'm moving out tonight. Tomorrow, I'll get my lawyer to reach out to you and sort out our shares in the studio we invested in together." I added.

Jason watched as I tossed clothes into the suitcase, his expression turning stormy.

He slammed the lid shut with a loud bang. "What the hell is wrong with you in the middle of the night?"

His voice was laced with anger. "Em, we've been together for six years, and we're about to get married. Are you really going to call off the wedding because I lent Olivia a dress?

"You weren't this cold before."

Chapter 2

At nine o'clock that night, my phone rang again.

It wasn't Jason.

It was his childhood friend, Chris Goodman.

As soon as I picked up, Chris's laid-back voice came through the line. "Hey, Em, Jason said you were super pissed today. You didn't even answer his calls."

I grabbed a couple of Jason's shirts from the closet and threw them on the bed. "Is there something you need?"

Chris clicked his tongue. "Em, seriously, don't make such a big deal out of it. It's a dress. Olivia's graduation show is huge for her future.

"Jason saw the dress wasn't being used, so he lent it to her in a pinch. You're usually so generous, why are you fussing over a little girl today?"

I paused, my hands still on the clothes. "Chris."

"Huh?"

"That was my wedding dress, not some random jacket."

"Em, come on, do me a favor and let it go. Jason's been running around all day for Olivia, he's wiped out. Give him a way out later, okay?"

I didn't bother listening to his nonsense anymore and hung up.

Then I blocked his number.

By the time the clock hit eleven-thirty, I heard the sound of the keypad unlocking at the front door.

Jason was back.

He smelled faintly of alcohol, with a barely detectable trace of that woody perfume.

It was the perfume Olivia always wore.

He kicked off his shoes, didn't even bother to take off his coat, and headed straight for the bedroom.

When he saw me sitting on the edge of the bed, he let out a soft sigh and came over, wrapping his arms around me from behind.

He rested his chin on my shoulder, his warm breath tickling my ear. "Still mad?"

His voice was low, with that familiar mix of tenderness and cocky charm, like he always knew how to handle things.

I didn't fight it, let him hold me. "So you decided my wedding dress was the answer to her crisis?"

Jason chuckled softly, his voice laced with a condescending, indulgent warmth. "It's a dress. Tomorrow, I'll take you to order a new one, no limit, whatever you want, okay?"

He bent down, wanting to press a kiss to my hair.

I turned aside, pulling away from his touch.

I stood up, leaving him holding nothing, his arms frozen awkwardly in midair.

"Don't bother," I turned to face him, staring at his handsome face, wearing that look of entitlement, like everything was supposed to go his way.

I slipped off the three-carat engagement ring from my finger and set it down on the nightstand.

The ring clinked against the glass surface, the sound sharp and clear.

Jason's gaze dropped to the ring, and the smile on his face slowly faded away. "What do you mean?"

I looked at him calmly, "Didn't you understand the message I sent you earlier?

"The wedding's off. You can give her this ring as a graduation gift too."

The air in the bedroom seemed to freeze.

Jason stared at the diamond ring on the nightstand for a full thirty seconds.

He straightened up, loosened his tie, and his gaze hardened. "Em, there's a limit to how much you can act out."

He walked up to me, his tall frame looming over me, making me feel small. "I've already apologized and promised to make it up to you. Is this your way of threatening me now, taking off the ring?"

I saw the impatience in his eyes.

He didn't think he was wrong at all. He thought I was blowing things out of proportion.

"I'm not threatening you. I'm letting you know." I said and turned around, pulled out the suitcase from the bottom drawer of the wardrobe, and laid it flat on the floor.

"The house is yours. I'm moving out tonight. Tomorrow, I'll get my lawyer to reach out to you and sort out our shares in the studio we invested in together." I added.

Jason watched as I tossed clothes into the suitcase, his expression turning stormy.

He slammed the lid shut with a loud bang. "What the hell is wrong with you in the middle of the night?"

His voice was laced with anger. "Em, we've been together for six years, and we're about to get married. Are you really going to call off the wedding because I lent Olivia a dress?

"You weren't this cold before."