Chapter 1
The day I tried on my wedding dress, the saleswoman kept saying how lucky I was.
"Mrs. Hayes, your fiancé ordered the store's signature piece. It's worth almost 300,000 dollars," she said.
I stood in front of the full-length mirror, about to snap a photo to send to my fiancé, Landon Hayes.
But in the reflection, I suddenly looked ten years older.
The wedding dress had turned into a wrinkled hospital gown.
Another version of me sat in a hospital hallway, needle marks all over her hands, clutching an abortion consent form.
She looked at me in the wedding dress, tears streaming down her face.
"Don't wear it," she said.
"If you put it on, you'll think you're marrying for love."
My throat tightened as I asked, "Where's Landon?"
She slowly turned around in the mirror.
Through the crack in the hospital room door, Landon Hayes was kissing another woman.
She was pregnant, and around her neck hung the jade pendant my mother had left me.
I knew her at once.
She was my best friend, Mia Bright.
My future self's voice quivered.
My future self said, "When I was pregnant and bleeding badly, he told me he was out of town for a project."
"But he was actually with her, posing for maternity photos," she said.
"I lost my baby because she swapped out my prenatal meds on purpose," my future self said.
I gripped the hem of my dress tight.
But she smiled in the mirror.
"Don't cry," she said.
"Take off the wedding dress.
"Even if he begs you on his knees today, don't marry him."
I nearly fell off the platform.
The saleswoman rushed over to steady me.
"Miss Collins, be careful. This dress is really expensive," she said.
I stared at the full-length mirror.
I was still twenty-four in the reflection.
A crown, a veil, and perfect makeup.
No hospital gown.
No abortion consent form.
No trace of the lifeless me.
But in my hand, there was a crumpled piece of paper.
An abortion consent form.
[Patient Name: Summer Collins.]
[Spouse's Signature: Landon Hayes.]
The date was three years from now.
The door to the fitting room swung open.
Mia came in holding a glass of warm water, her smile as sweet as ever.
"Summer, what's wrong? You look so pale. Is the dress too tight?" Mia asked.
She was dressed in the bridal shop uniform, a consultant badge pinned to her chest.
Mia, my best friend.
When we were juniors in high school, her stepmother threw her out, and I took her in at my place.
After we graduated, she wanted to become a wedding dress designer, so I paid her tuition for her first design course.
Later, when she landed a job at this luxury bridal boutique, I had to call in favors from three different people to help her get in.
I always thought she'd be the one to fix my veil for me.
To see me marry Landon, the man I'd loved for seven years.
But my future self had said it.
She swapped out my prenatal meds.
"Here, have some water," Mia said.
Mia gently brought the glass to my lips.
"Landon called. He's on his way. He really wants to see you in this dress," Mia said.
I didn't take the glass from her.
"How do you know he wants to see me in this one?" I asked.
Mia was caught off guard for a second, but quickly smiled.
"I was right there when he ordered it," she said.
"Really?" I asked.
I looked down at the glass of water.
She noticed my clenched hand.
"Summer, what are you holding?" Mia asked, her voice tinged with curiosity.
I crushed the paper in my palm, hiding it.
"Nothing," I said.
I heard footsteps outside the door.
Landon pushed the door open and walked in.
He wore a black suit with a white rose on his lapel, his expression perfectly gentle.
When he saw me, he smiled.
"Why aren't you dressed and waiting for me?" he asked.
Mia walked over and playfully tapped him.
"Is Mr. Hayes really blaming Summer? She almost fell now because the dress you ordered was too heavy," Mia teased.
Landon looked down at her.
"It's not for you, so why are you so concerned?" he teased.
They shot each other a grin.
I always thought they were friends.
But now I realized their 'friendship' had gone way past the line.
I reached for the buttons on the back of the dress.
Landon frowned.
"Summer, what are you doing?" he asked.
"I'm taking the dress off," I replied.
"Why?" he asked.
I looked at my reflection in the mirror, my voice barely above a whisper, "I don't like it."