Emotion

Urban

Suspense

contemporary

Exhilarating Story

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

The day Christian told me to give my wedding dress to Bianca, I was in the middle of the final fitting for the waistline.
He stood behind the three-way mirror, his tone as casual as if he were discussing something trivial.
"Bee's shooting a magazine cover next month. She said she really likes your dress."
I froze.
I had spent three months altering that dress by hand.
Our wedding had been rushed. We signed the papers at City Hall, not even a proper ceremony.
He had promised me, clearly, that we would have a real wedding this fall, at the Hamptons estate.
And now, he wanted to give my wedding dress to another woman.
"What am I supposed to wear?" I asked him.
Christian frowned.
"You're already married. Don't fight her on these superficial things."
In the mirror, the dress was a blinding white. The waistline fit perfectly, the skirt pooling on the floor like a cloud, like a dream I had been dreaming for three years.
And with one sentence, Christian crushed it under his heel.
The stylist beside me didn't dare move, still holding a pin.
I looked at Christian in the mirror. He wore a dark gray bespoke suit, his features carrying that Ivy League arrogance. He looked like he had no idea he had just said something utterly outrageous.
Slowly, I took off the veil and handed it to the stylist.
"Take it off."
The stylist hesitated. "Mrs. Van Ness, I haven't finished checking the back details yet."
"Don't bother."
I looked at Christian. "This dress. If she wants to wear it, fine."
Christian's expression relaxed slightly.
Then, I added, "Have her sign a loan agreement. The original designer is me. Usage is limited to the magazine studio shoot only. Not a single stitch is to be altered. Insurance coverage: one million dollars. Compensation for any damage based on the assessed value."
……
The relief on Christian's face vanished instantly.
"Claire, do you have to make things this ugly?"
I let out a short laugh.
"It's my property. Following standard procedure. Does that look ugly to you?"
Before he could answer, a soft voice drifted from the fitting room entrance.
"Chris, just drop it."
Bianca stood there.
She wore a light pink cashmere knit dress, her blonde hair loose, her eyes slightly red-rimmed.
Like she was the one who had been wronged.
"If Claire doesn't want to, it's fine. I just thought the dress was beautiful. I didn't expect it to cause a fight between you two."
Her mouth said to drop it, but her eyes were glued to the dress on my body.
Christian walked over to her immediately.
"It's not about you."
He looked back at me, his tone colder than before.
"Bee just moved back to New York. Her studio needs this cover urgently. Don't make her out to be complicated."
I watched them through the mirror.
One protecting her so naturally, the other playing the victim so expertly.
Suddenly, it all seemed ridiculous.
Three years ago, when Christian and I signed our marriage license at the Manhattan City Clerk's Office, he said the company had just closed its Series B funding and the wedding had to be low-key.
I wore a three-hundred-dollar white dress from Reformation. I didn't even have a proper bouquet.
He held my hand and said, "Claire, once I get through this busy period, I'll throw you the best wedding, I promise. At the Hamptons estate."
That wait lasted three years.
I waited for his tech company to stabilize. I waited for his mother to stop calling me "that girl from the Midwest" at charity galas. I waited until I had ground myself down from a nameless seamstress into Claire Van Ness, a woman capable of running her own atelier.
And finally, I waited for this one sentence.
"You're already married. Don't fight her on these superficial things."


I reached up and unclasped the hidden buttons down my back myself.The dress loosened. The stylist rushed to help me hold it up.Christian frowned. "What are you doing?""Taking it off."I turned around and looked at him, calm."Weren't you going to give it away?"Christian stared at me, as if he was finally sensing something was wrong."Claire, I'm not giving it away. I'm lending it.""Lending it?"I nodded."Then sign the contract. Exactly like I just said."Bianca bit her lower lip gently."Claire, are you misunderstanding me? I'm not trying to steal your dress. It's just that the shoot's theme is 'The Late Bride.' This piece feels like the perfect fit."I looked at her."What a coincidence."I said, "This dress is called 'Belated.'"Bianca's eyes lit up for a second.I finished the sentence."But it wasn't belated for you."Her expression faltered.Christian stepped forward, positioning himself in front of her."That's enough."He rarely used that tone with me. It wasn't loud, but it carried a clear warning."You know perfectly well Bee just got out of a treatment center in Switzerland. She's still emotionally fragile. She just liked a dress. Why do you have to stab at her with every word?"I watched the way he shielded her.And I remembered last winter, when my fever spiked to a hundred and three. I called him.He was in Miami, accompanying Bianca to a private dinner at Art Basel.On the phone, he said, "Just take some Tylenol first. I can't get away right now."That night, I called an Uber to the ER by myself and waited four hours in line.The next day, Bianca posted an Instagram Story.In the photo, Christian was holding an umbrella for her in the rain, half his shoulder soaked.The caption read: Thankful someone's always there.I stared at that line for a long time.Then, I turned my phone face down and kept sketching wedding dress designs.I thought if I just didn't fight or make demands, he would eventually see my worth.Now I understood.Some people aren't blind. Their eyes just never focus on you.

The Belated Bride: Becoming My Own Muse

Chapter 2