Chapter 1

Ten days before the wedding, I pushed open the fitting room door to find my fiancé Ethan bent over, adjusting Chloe's wedding dress.

That dress—I was the one who ordered it.

The store clerk stood nearby, smiling as she complimented Chloe's figure, saying the dress looked like it was custom-made for her.

I stood frozen in the fitting room doorway.

Chloe spotted me in the mirror and quickly covered her exposed cleavage.

"Natalie, don't misunderstand." Her voice dripped with innocence. "I just thought this dress was so beautiful, and I mentioned wanting to try it on. Ethan said—"

Before she could finish, Ethan rushed to explain.

"Chloe's never worn a wedding dress before. What's wrong with letting her try it on?"

I looked at him, and suddenly felt like laughing.

This wedding dress? I didn't want it anymore. This fiancé? I didn't want him either.

I said nothing, walking over slowly.

The store fell silent.

The clerk who'd been holding my gloves instinctively stepped back.

Ethan glanced at me, finally seeming to notice my expression.

"She just got back to the country and she's going through a rough time. It's just a fitting. Don't make a scene."

I stared at him and asked quietly, "When did this start between you two?"

His brow furrowed.

Chloe bit her lip, maintaining that innocent look. "Natalie, I really didn't mean anything by it. I just—"

"Don't bother lying!" I cut her off.

"You knew exactly how important this dress was to me. Not only did you put it on, you had my fiancé help you into it!"

Her face paled.

Ethan's voice dropped immediately. "Natalie. Why are you taking it out on her? She said she just wanted to try it. Why are you being so harsh?"

Looking at him, I suddenly felt that even getting angry would be a waste of energy.

I reached up and removed the veil from my head.

Ethan's expression finally changed. "Natalie, what are you doing?"

I ignored him, focusing on removing the ring from my left hand.

That ring—he'd put it on me just last month.

The ring stuck a bit as I tried to remove it.

I twisted it forcefully, and my knuckle quickly turned red.

Ethan walked over, finally showing some urgency, reaching out to touch me. "Stop this."

I stepped aside, avoiding his hand, and threw the ring on the floor.

"She wants to try on wedding dresses? You can help her. She wants to get married? You can marry her too."

The color drained from Chloe's face, and her voice began to tremble. "Natalie, please don't do this. I really wasn't trying to steal—"

"You weren't trying to steal." I looked at her. "You just knew that whenever you reached out, he'd always take your side. And he's never disappointed you, has he?"

Ethan's expression darkened. "That's enough. You want to call off the wedding? Have you thought about the consequences?"

I suddenly smiled.

"I have. So from this moment on, the wedding is cancelled."

Ethan looked like he hadn't heard me correctly. "What did you say?"

"I said, it's cancelled." I turned to the clerk. "Please pull up all the payment records for this dress."

Chloe finally seemed unsteady on her feet, clutching the dress as she stepped back. "Ethan, maybe I should change out of this..."

"Change." I looked at her. "Right now."

Her eyes immediately welled up with tears, as if she'd suffered some terrible injustice.

A few minutes later, the clerk pulled up the payment records.

I held them in front of Ethan's face.

"See this clearly? I ordered the dress. I paid for it. You took my property to please your white moonlight, and you expect me to be gracious about it?"

Ethan's lips moved as if he wanted to explain. "Natalie, that's not what I meant."

"What you meant doesn't matter anymore. The wedding is cancelled!"