Chapter 2

Dead silence.

I suppressed my smile and repeated myself.

"Why?"

Julian finally snapped out of it.

I opened my mouth to speak, but Sophia beat me to it, her voice thick with tears.

"Miss Rivers, this is my proudest creation. I just thought it would suit you. If you don't like it, you can say so directly. There's no need to slander others!"

"Julian and I are in the past. I have nothing but blessings for you two, truly."

Her tears fell in steady drops.

A flash of heartache crossed Julian's face. He instinctively reached out, then froze mid-air.

He strode forward and gripped my shoulders. "Just because of this wedding dress?"

"We're about to get married. You'd better not make a scene over nothing."

The words stuck in my throat, making it tight.

I pulled a stack of photos from my bag and thrust them at him.

"Look carefully! Who's the one making a scene?"

My chest filled with dense, stabbing pain.

I had always thought Julian was my soulmate.

Until three months ago, when I started receiving photos of him with a strange woman---all angles, intimately close.

The times and locations all matched Julian's schedule perfectly.

The woman in the photos bore a sixty percent resemblance to me, becoming a thorn lodged in my heart.

I tossed and turned at night, my emotions drowning me like waves.

When I met Sophia, everything became clear.

Why Julian loved taking profile photos of me, why he liked me in bright colors.

First love and substitute.

He didn't even look. He snatched the photos away and scattered them.

As the photos fluttered down, he said, "She and I..."

"Undying first love! Rekindled romance! Need me to help you remember?"

I interrupted loudly, blinking to force the tears back.

Sophia's sobbing grew louder.

Julian shouted, "Enough! Did you come here just to cause trouble?!"

The overwhelming sense of grievance stuck in my throat. I shoved him hard and strode away.

But the next second, my wrist was gripped tightly. Julian yanked me back into the fitting room, his tone forceful.

"It's raining. This fabric can't get wet. Change out of it!"

I looked down at the wedding dress, unable to hold back the tears that filled my eyes.

Right---it was designed with the woman he loved, so even after ten years, he remembered every detail of the fabric clearly.

A deliberately lowered voice drifted through the curtain. I peered through the gap.

Julian had his back to me, his shoulders trembling.

"Why did you bring out that dress? It was clearly..."

Sophia cut him off, her eyes red. "Because it's time to let go. Julian, we shouldn't contact each other anymore."

"I never wanted to interfere with your relationship. As long as you're happy, I don't mind losing you again."

He pulled her into his arms. She struggled, but he held her tighter.

Sophia looked up, shot me a provocative smile, then buried her head in the man's neck.

A sharp pain pierced my heart. I suddenly couldn't breathe.

Every expression on that face reminded me---

I was a fake.

I couldn't control my tears anymore. I grabbed my bag and ran out.

Julian caught up from behind and forcibly pulled me into the car.

He wiped the rain from his face, started the engine, then reached over to hold my hand.

"Vivian, we're about to get married. Stop being paranoid."

"Sophia and I aren't as sordid as you think."

The next second, his phone rang. The hand holding mine instantly withdrew.

"Julian, the wedding dress is torn. It was deliberate..."

Sophia's tearful voice filled the car.

The car jerked to a stop.

"Don't cry. I'm coming back now."

He looked at me, his eyes filled with disgust and indifference.

"Using such despicable tactics. Get out."

I met his gaze stubbornly. "The innocent have nothing to fear. Check the surveillance footage and you'll know."

"I said get out!"

I stood in the rain, watching him scan the car interior before finally unbuttoning and tossing his suit jacket at me.

"No umbrella. Make do with this."

Then with a roar, he disappeared into the rain.

Tears mixed with rainwater splattered on my phone screen, which displayed a message about starting work in a week.

Without hesitation, I accepted and booked a flight to San Francisco.