Chapter 1

At the engagement party...

The newly hired designer reduced my gown to ribbons.

"High necklines do nothing for you," she said lightly, scissors flashing in her hand.

"Your neck's too short, and your figure is boxy. You dress far too conservatively. Two inches below the hips. That's the only flattering length for you. Trust me."

Then she smiled, openly defiant.

"When Mr. Foster hired me, he told me I could be as creative as I liked," she added. "So consider this my wedding gift to you, Ms. Montclair."

The room fell silent.

My fiancé rushed over, placing himself between us as if to shield her. "She's just a promising designer I recruited straight out of school," he said quickly. "She's young and inexperienced. Please don't take it personally."

Watching him defend her so earnestly, I couldn't help but laugh.

"Very well," I said calmly. "This gown was custom-made for me by Catherine, one of the top designers in the world. Its value is one million dollars. Since you destroyed it, you will compensate me in full."

Edward opened his mouth to speak.

I did not give him the chance. "And as for this engagement ceremony," I continued, my voice steady, "we'll be postponing it."

*****

Sophie Hollis snickered from the side, gave a classic eye roll, and shook her head, speechless.

"Mr. Foster, your princess sure knows how to blow things out of proportion. Seriously, it's just a dress. Why's she so worked up?" Sophie said.

Edward Foster looked a bit embarrassed, and his voice grew heavier.

"Charlotte, quit it. Even the old-timers in the business think Sophie's got real talent. Letting her do her thing is for my company's future. If you keep this up, I'll really get pissed," he said.

He paused and then turned to Sophie, his voice softening.

"Sophie, Charlotte's pretty conservative and doesn't really get your creative choices. Just say sorry to her and let's move on," he said.

Sophie shrugged, spreading her hands in a half-hearted, couldn't-care-less way.

"Okay, I mean, I didn't do anything wrong. Creativity isn't a crime, you know? But since you asked..." she said.

She gave her the most insincere, exaggerated grin she could muster.

"Sorry, princess. I guess I just didn't get your outdated, oh, wait, conservative taste in fashion. Happy now?" she said.

My expression darkened, but Edward looked satisfied with the way things turned out.

"Alright, Charlotte, go change. The guests are waiting," he said.

I stared at him, incredulous. "You're seriously just going to let her get away with that fake apology?"

"That's enough," he said, grabbing my arm with a grip that was a little too firm, clearly telling me to just let it go.

I refused to budge, so he pulled even harder, practically hauling me along.

I never imagined he'd treat me like this. My heel twisted, and I crashed to the floor, utterly mortified.

The shredded hem of my dress split wide open, and the neckline got pulled out of shape, leaving my shoulders and collarbone embarrassingly bare.

Everyone around me sucked in a breath, stunned.

Edward froze for a moment and then rushed to cover me with his suit jacket.

Sophie crossed her arms and let out a cute little gasp.

"Achoo! Mr. Foster, is the AC blasting or something? I'm freezing over here," she said.

Edward's hand, which had been reaching out to me, froze in mid-air.

He didn't even hesitate. He just spun around and wrapped his jacket around Sophie, even fussing with the lapels to make sure she was all bundled up.

"You should've said you were cold earlier," he chided her softly.

He wasn't angry. He was just a bit miffed that she hadn't spoken up sooner, and even more frustrated with himself for not picking up on it right away.

I always thought Edward's special treatment was reserved just for me.

Now it turned out I wasn't the only one.

His love didn't mean much after all.

Suddenly, my throat went dry, and I couldn't get a single word out.

"I'm not that spoiled, you know," Sophie said, snuggling into his jacket.

She wrapped his jacket tighter around herself, flashed him a sweet, teasing smile, and looked up at him. "Mr. Foster, you promised you'd introduce me to Mr. William today. Are you really going to?"

Edward grinned at her, all soft and doting. "Of course. If it weren't for this engagement party, there's no way I could've gotten him here."

So that was what was really going on.

Frank William was a legend in the design world here. Regular folks could only dream of meeting him.

For my engagement party, Edward had to pull every string he had as my fiancé just to get Frank to show his face for a few minutes.

So, the engagement party I'd been dreaming about was nothing more than a stepping stone for Sophie's career.

Yeah, everyone knew I was the sweet, pushover Montclair heiress. Edward would just toss me a few comforting words, and I'd just suck it up, like always. What was a little humiliation to me, anyway?

Edward gave Sophie a casual pat on the back. "I'll take you over in a bit. Mr. William's only here because of me. He'll definitely give you some advice."

They started heading toward the center of the banquet hall.

"Edward," I called out, stopping him.

He turned around, the softness still lingering on his face, but when he saw me, it shifted to clear impatience.

"What is it now? You're an adult. Do you really need me to help you up? Get up and go change. Sitting on the floor like that? What are you trying to do?" he said.

Hearing that, I slowly pushed myself up off the floor.

Then, I lifted my left hand and took off the diamond ring from my ring finger.

That ring was designed specifically for me. He worked on it himself.

But now, I placed it back in his palm.

"Let's call off the engagement," I said.