Chapter 1

One week before the wedding, I went to pick up my dress, only to find the alterations were completely wrong.

The waist was taken in, and the hem was chopped short. These weren’t my measurements at all.

I asked the store clerk who authorized the changes.

She hesitated, shifting her gaze nervously toward my fiancé standing beside me.

He just smiled casually and said,

"Oh, I forgot to mention, Rachel tried it on."

"She's a little thinner than you, so she had it adjusted. We can just change it back."

She tried on my wedding dress?

I took a step back, staring at him.

"Then why don't you marry her? The dress already fits her. It’s perfect."

He froze for a second, his face darkening instantly.

"What is that supposed to mean? You're calling off the wedding?"

I let go of the gown's hem.

"Yes. The wedding is off."

His brow furrowed into a tight knot.

"Just because Rachel tried on your dress? Don't you think you're making a huge deal out of nothing?"

"Making a huge deal out of nothing?"

I locked eyes with him.

"There are hundreds of gowns in this boutique. Why did she have to try on mine? Out of all the custom dresses here, she just had to pick mine?"

"She's my childhood best friend! We grew up together! What’s the big deal if she tries it on?"

He said it with so much righteous confidence, as if I were the crazy, unreasonable one.

"Ethan, don't you feel disgusted hearing yourself talk?"

I stepped back, looking at him with utter disbelief.

"From the day we started dating, you told me Rachel was just your best friend. You said there was nothing between you two. And I trusted you."

"You bought her gifts, you answered her late-night calls, you ditched me on my birthday just to hang out with her—and I believed you every single time."

"And now?"

My voice rose, completely out of my control.

"You let her try on my wedding dress?"

"You even let her alter it to fit her body?"

Ethan's face turned completely cold.

"Claire, can you stop having such a dirty mind?"

"I told you, she's just a good friend! Do you really have to blow this out of proportion?"

"My mind is dirty?"

I looked at him, my anger completely exploding.

"Why don't you take a look in the mirror?"

"Every time you buy me something, you have to buy Rachel an exact duplicate! You get me a lipstick, you get her the same shade!"

"You buy me a necklace, and the very next day, she’s wearing the identical one around her neck! If you give me a birthday present and she says she likes it, you run out and buy her one too!"

"Whenever I told you it made me uncomfortable, what did you say? You said I was overthinking!"

"And now?"

I glared straight into his eyes.

"Now that I’m supposed to marry you, do you need to marry her too? Just so her precious little feelings don't get hurt?"

Ethan's expression was furious.

"That's enough! You're crossing the line!"

"Which part of what I said is crossing the line?"

I clenched my fists so tight my nails dug into my palms.

"Ethan, look me in the eye and tell me: in the two years we've been together, which date didn't include Rachel?"

"Which vacation didn't have her tagging along? When we went to the movies, she had to come. When we went out for dinner, she invited herself. Even the day you proposed to me, she was standing right there!"

"You told me she was like family, and that I needed to accept her."

"And I did."

"And now, you're literally putting her in my wedding dress."

"What comes next?"

My voice dropped to a whisper, cold enough to chill my own bones.

"After we get married, is she moving into our house? Are our kids going to call her mom too?"

"Claire!"

Ethan bellowed.

"Have you lost your damn mind?!"

Right at that moment, the boutique door swung open.

A woman walked in.

It was Rachel.

She looked at me, then turned her gaze to Ethan.

"What's going on? Are you two fighting?"

Ethan instantly rushed to her side.

"It's nothing. Claire's just throwing a little tantrum over the dress."

Rachel blinked innocently, then let out a soft laugh.

"Oh gosh, I thought it was something serious! All this drama just because I tried on the dress?"