Chapter 1. The Stab.

"All done, sweetheart" Carla's excitement-filled voice spilled into the bridal suite as she finished zipping up the wedding dress.

Violette stepped in front of the full length mirror, her beauty unmatched. The makeup glowed in unison with her pristine skin, and the dress is just as perfect.

It's a masterpiece of lace and silk with delicate florals and intricate patterns that shimmered in the light. The fitted mermaid silhouette hugged her curves, accentuating her waist and flaring out in a dramatic train that cascaded down.

A warm smile graced her face as she turned around, hugging Carla dearly.

"Dominic is so lucky to have snatched my sweetheart away" Carla gushed, pulling away to hold Violette's hands.

"I'm the lucky one, Carla," Violette gushed right back, her happiness over the top.

"And all of these wouldn't have happened without you" Violette's eyes was filled with respect as she spoke.

Despite Carla's pregnancy, she took it upon herself to prepare this wedding hall. She did Violette's makeup too since she's a cosmetologist, and Violette's shoes were also gifts from her.

They've been best friends since they were teens, and they did everything together, relying on each other as they're both orphans.

While Carla is a door-to-door cosmetologist, Violette is an uprising model in the Vogue Italian Models Industry (VIMI)

She met Dominic in the last year of highschool, and it's been beautiful since then. Dominic might be from a poor family, but at least...he loves her dearly, and she'd do anything so far it gets a smile on his face.

"You're my best friend, and I've been dreaming of doing this for you. You only have to prepare for my baby shower after your marriage" Carla said sweetly, and Violette's laughter bloomed.

She brought her hand down to Carla's protruding tummy, rubbing it carefully.

"I can't wait to meet the father. You've always been avoiding the question anytime I asked"

"You'll meet him soon" Carla carefully backed out, picking her phone out of her bag that's sitting on a chair.

"Will be back in a jiffy. I need to make a call" she said.

"Don't take long" Violette replied warmly, and Carla exited.

With another sweet smile, Violette faced the mirror again, checking herself out and imagining how smitten Dominic would look when he sees her in this dress.

He's probably waiting by the hall double doors already, and she's starving to set eyes on him too.

For a second, she wished her parents were here to witness today. but it was only a fleeting thought.

Her eyes suddenly caught Carla's bag on the chair—a white paper is peeping out of it, about to fall off.

"So clumsy" Violette purred, taking the paper with the intention of tucking it into the bag properly, but what she saw on the other side of it stopped her.

It's not just a paper, it's a picture—a picture which made sweat roll down her backline.

In the picture, Dominic is on a knee, kissing Carla's baby bump while Carla stroked his hair with an hand, her lips heavy with laughter.

Violette staggered involuntarily, and her ankle twisted in her right shoe, making a sharp sound.

She's seeing things, isn't it?

She blinked her eyes, but the picture still stood there in her hand, looking the same.

Her breaths coiled in her lungs, and her chest tightened as sweat soaked her face.

The room suddenly felt like it was closing her in, and she ran out of it, her twisted ankle the least of her problems.

Her dress was sweeping the ground as she ran down the silent white hallway, looking for Carla.

Where is she?

She needs to tell her this is her own imagination, she needs to tell her it's fake.

Violette ran past a washroom, but the voices she heard inside made her take two steps back.

"I have to marry her if we want to live fine for the rest of our lives. You're pregnant, and we need money for the baby to come alive"

Unmistakably, that's Dominic's voice.

Violette felt a sting in her head, and it became hazy, but the second voice ruined her more.

"I understand she's starting to rise to fame, and that's why we need her, but I'm scared. What if you fall for her after this wedding"

The voice was Carla's.

"No silly way, you're the woman for me, Carla, and I can't wait to welcome our baby with her money" Dominic replied.

Violette's breaths turned sour, and her heart shattered.

A tear cascaded down her eye as sudden flu befell her.

The sound of Dominic and Carla's kiss reached her, and she had to cover her mouth to muffle the the sound of her cries.

Everything Dominic has till now, she got for him, ranging from the first to the last decent wear in his wardrobe.

She payed his rents and took care of his final year college tuition, all from her modelling gigs.

After college, she discovered she was pregnant for him, and Dominic sweet-talked her into abortion, saying they still had a long way to go.

The abortion landed her in coma for half a year as she was unlucky to meet a quack doctor, and she almost died.

Now Carla, her best friend is carrying a baby for him? She has been the only faithful one after all. A fool, and a dunce who loves too much.

She looked at the door again, the haunting kissing sounds still persistent.

The venom sank deep into her soul, and she wiped the tears.

--

[Twenty minutes later]

The double doors to the main hall opened, revealing the bride and the groom to the waiting eyes of the guests who welcomed them with applauses.

They're Dominic's friends and parents, and few models from VIMI who came for Violette.

Violette had always dreamt of a loud, grand wedding, but for Dominic, she was ready to go low according to the size of their bank accounts.

Her hazel eyes shone radiantly as her smile reached her lids, but the redness in the corner of her eyes was unhiden.

She had gone back to the suite to retouch her makeup earlier before coming back to meet Dominic by the door entrance.

Her freesia bouquet sat dutifully in her right hand while the left arm is linked with Dominic's arm.

Dominic's tailored suit made him look expensive, all thanks to Violette's hard-earned money.

He looked at her and gave her a wide smile which she returned, staring deep into his soul—the soul she can't wait to rip apart.

From her peripheral vision, she sighted a man in black, wearing a black cap too in the middle of the guests.

He's definitely not part of Dominic's circle of friends, and he's not a model from VIMI either.

His eyes are solely on her, and he looks intentional with his obviously buff build. Who's he?

Violette shook her mind off it, deciding to concentrate on her mission.

Nothing would make Dominic live to see the light of another damn day.

She held the bouquet tighter, refining her smile when she finally arrived at the front where the officiant is waiting with the vow books.

The clapping stopped, and the officiant passed the first book to Dominic who took it gleefully.

The second book was passed to Violette, but instead of taking it, she took that as her cue to strike.

Unexpectedly, she slipped a knife out of her bouquet—she had taken it from the wedding cake.

'Shocked' is an understatement for what the guests and officiant felt when she faced Dominic whose eyes already turned pale in horror.

"Vi. . .vio. . ."

"Go father the baby in hell," She spat, sinking the knife into his chest before muttering;

"Bastard"