chapter 3

Lara's cheeks flushed pink as she turned to Brad with a silent plea for help.

Brad's gaze suddenly shifted to me.

"Ellen, drink for Lara," he said, his lips curling into a cold smirk.

He pushed a full glass toward me.

"You want your rings back, right? Drink all three of these, and I'll give it to you. If not, I'll flush it down the toilet."

I clenched my fists and stared at him, my heart heavy with disappointment.

Forget it.

Just got the ring and never saw him again.

Under the watchful eyes of the party guests, I downed all three glasses.

The alcohol hit fast and hard. My face flushed hot, my stomach churned violently, and I collapsed onto the table, trying not to throw up.

Sliding to my knees, I crawled under the sofa and reached for the ring box that had rolled beneath it.

Suddenly, everything around me fell quiet.

When I stood up, I met Brad's gaze. His expression was unreadable. I didn't say a word.

I simply stumbled out of his house.

He didn't come after me. Of course he didn't.

The rain outside had eased to a mist, and I wandered down the street, numb.

Maybe it was the alcohol, but old memories came flooding back.

I had given him those rings myself, so full of hope, dreaming that he'd propose.

But I waited. One year. Then another. Seven years passed.

Seven years of giving him everything I had. And all I got in return was his growing indifference.

Now I finally understood—he never meant to marry me. He'd just been waiting for Lara.

When I got home, the fever came quickly.

I spent the night shivering and drenched in sweat, drifting in and out of sleep.

By morning, my fever had started to break. That's when Brad called.

"What's your deal, Ellen? I told you I'm not marrying you—so why the heck are you buying a wedding dress?

"And sending it to my place? You think buying a dress means I'm going to change my mind and propose? Dream on. Come pick it up and take it back."

Brad's voice dripped with disgust, and before I could get a word in, he hung up.

I could faintly hear Lara's soft voice comforting him on the other end just before the call dropped.

With a sigh, I pressed my hand to my temple and glanced at my phone. Sure enough—I'd accidentally sent the dress to the wrong address.

I dragged myself out of bed, hailed a cab, and headed to Brad's place to collect it.

When he opened the door and saw me, he froze for a second.

"You look really pale," he said, his brow furrowing slightly.

He was about to say something more when Lara's voice chimed in from behind him.

"Ellen, this dress—it's yours, right? Why did you send it here? Are you two actually getting married?"

Her voice quivered slightly, her eyes glassy with emotion—an image of vulnerability that made others instinctively want to protect her.

"How could we be?" Brad snapped, cutting her off before I could respond. "There's no wedding. That's not happening."

He turned to me, his eyes cold.

"You did this on purpose, didn't you? Sent it here just to pressure me into marrying you? That's just disgusting."

His words stabbed through me like ice, but I didn't let a single crack show on my face.

"I get it. I'll change the address once I get home."

He blinked, surprised by how calmly I responded. Maybe he expected me to cry, to beg. But I didn't.

"You ... " he started, reaching out as if to stop me.

But Lara stepped in quickly, clutching his arm and pressing her cheek against his shoulder.

"Brad, didn't you promise to show me around today? I haven't been back in the country for years. Everything looks so different now—I barely recognize this place."

She giggled, clinging to him sweetly, effectively cutting off our eye contact.

Brad brushed aside whatever confusion he had about my reaction. Letting Lara tug him along, he followed without looking back.

I watched them walk off, their figures growing smaller in the distance. I touched my chest, right over my heart. The ache was still there. But after enough times, even pain gets dull.

I called the boutique and updated the shipping details, asking them to send the rest of my things directly to the new address.