Chapter 4

The room attendant helped Claire back to her room. She collapsed onto the bed, feeling like she'd been completely drained; like all the life had been sucked out of her, leaving nothing but an empty shell.

Her phone suddenly blared right next to her ear. She tried to hang up, but her hand slipped and she accidentally answered instead.

James's voice came through the phone. "Claire, what happened to the house? The renovation crew said you told them to tear everything down?"

His voice seemed to reach into every corner, wrapping around Claire's neck like a pair of invisible hands, choking her until she couldn't even breathe.

After waiting for a reply that never came, James finally picked up on the weird vibe. "Honey, where are you?"

Claire took a long, shaky breath, her voice barely a whisper. "Where I am is none of your business. I can smash up my house however I damn well please. And stop calling me honey. I'm not yours, so don't call me that ever again."

James paused, sounding totally clueless about why Claire was acting this way. "Are you still mad about yesterday? I already explained, there was a work emergency. I was at the office all night."

Claire was too exhausted to say anything out loud. In her mind, she scoffed, "Working all night? Yeah, right. Bet you were working overtime on Lily instead."

James kept talking, "If you're upset and want to tear up the house, go ahead. Does that make you feel better now?

"Once you're done throwing your tantrum, just come home. Stop acting so strong all the time. Learn to be a little more obedient, a little more gentle."

He was the one who cheated, but now he had the nerve to blame her for not being soft enough, not obedient enough.

Claire hung up before he could finish. If she listened to another word, she was afraid she'd throw up all over again.

But as soon as she hung up, the phone rang again. Claire frowned, ready to snap at James, but instead, a voice on the other end said, "Ms. Kingston, your wedding dress has arrived. Are you free to try it on today?"

Claire froze, her heart twisting. She'd poured so much hope into this wedding; she'd even gone out of her way to commission a custom gown from a designer overseas, wanting everything to be perfect.

Every day, she threw herself into work, and every night, no matter how exhausted she was, she'd stay up late making long-distance calls, obsessing over every detail with the designer.

For six months, they went back and forth, perfecting every stitch and seam, until finally, her bespoke wedding dress, the one meant just for her, was finished.

Now she was getting married to someone else, but after everything she'd poured into this dress, she couldn't just throw it all away.

Claire dragged herself to answer, barely holding it together. "I'll be there in a bit," she managed to say.

After hanging up, she lay there for half an hour, waiting for her energy to come back, before finally dragging herself out the door to the bridal shop.

The wedding dress was a masterpiece, hugging her curves and making her look absolutely stunning.

As the fitting room curtain opened, Claire was just about to tell the staff to pack up the dress.

Just then, a soft voice called out, "You look just like a fairy in that wedding dress, Claire."

Claire turned toward the sound and noticed Lily quietly standing in the corner of the room.

As soon as Lily realized Claire had seen her, she rushed over, eager to help tidy up the hem of Claire's dress.

Claire shot her a look of disgust and stepped back. "What are you doing here?"

Lily's smile grew even softer. "James got a call from the wedding dress shop that your dress was in, so he asked me to come right away to be with you."

Claire frowned, remembering that the shop had James's number on file. He'd made it clear he wanted to be the very first to see her in the dress.

But now, he didn't come himself. He sent his mistress instead.

Seeing Claire's face darken, Lily hurried to explain, "But don't be upset with him. He really wanted to come, but the company's got an industry summit coming up and he's just swamped.

"So he told me to take time off and be here with you. But honestly, even if he hadn't asked, I would've come anyway. After all, we're best friends."

Best friends? Best friends who end up sharing the same man?

If she had known that helping Lily and being her friend would cause her such heartbreak, she would never have reached out to Lily when everyone else had isolated her.

She would never have recommended Lily, a poor student from a needy family, to James's company. And she would never have treated Lily as her best friend, sharing every joy and sorrow with her.

Lily, seemingly unaware of Claire's scrutinizing gaze, stubbornly kept tidying the hem of her dress.

Claire watched Lily's meek, submissive expression.

So this was the kind of obedience James wanted.

From Claire's angle, she could see Lily's shirt was slightly unbuttoned, and her exposed neck was covered with hickeys all over.

Lily finally noticed Claire's stare and quickly buttoned up her shirt. "Don't stare at me, I'm shy. My man's got a pretty high libido."

Claire forced down the storm of emotions inside her. She wondered how long they thought they could keep playing her for a fool.

"Really? You've been talking about him forever, but I've never even seen the guy. Well, no time like the present. Why don't you introduce me to your man right now?" Claire asked.

"He," Lily stammered, looking completely caught off guard.

Right then, the store's welcome chime rang out. Claire glanced at the entrance, and James, who had just walked in, instantly locked eyes with her, looking absolutely stunned as he headed straight over.

Claire shot James a brief look before turning away, having no idea Lily was gripping the hem of her dress even tighter.