Chapter 1

Stella's POV

At the party to celebrate my first wedding anniversary with Bryan Sable, Roxy Upton ended up spilling red wine all over her dress.

Bryan, who'd been chatting with a few guests, heard the commotion. He immediately set down his wine glass and walked over to Roxy.

"What happened?"

Clutching the hem of her dress, she kept her head low as she said weakly, "I stained my dress…"

Bryan glanced down at it before saying nonchalantly, "Since it's stained now, just change into another one."

He turned to our butler, Edgar Grady, and instructed, "Bring over one of Stella's evening gowns."

Edgar had just acknowledged the order when Roxy tugged on Bryan's sleeve and said even more softly, "But… I don't want to wear a gown that someone else has already worn before."

Bryan paused for a moment before recalling something. He turned to Edgar and said, "Stella prepared a second evening gown to wear for the latter half of the party, right? Bring that one. It hasn't been worn before."

However, Edgar hesitated and instinctively glanced in my direction. "But Mr. Sable, that evening gown was custom-made for Mrs. Sable. Besides, if you give it… to Ms. Upton, what will Mrs. Sable wear later?"

Bryan frowned, and his tone grew impatient. "Just prepare another one for her. She has more gowns than she has space in the closet for. It's not like she'll suffer without this one gown."

The moment he finished speaking, the crowd couldn't help but look at me, as if sympathizing with me for marrying the wrong man.

Some even frowned, knowing full well how improper Bryan's actions were. There were also a few others who were smirking—waiting to see me lose my temper and assert my position as the lady of the house.

I was just about to speak when, through the crowd, Bryan silently mouthed a few words at me.

"I'll use one of the free passes."

Out of nowhere, I let out a chuckle. Turning to Edgar, I said in an even tone, "Go ahead and get it. She can have it."

When Bryan and I first met, he'd only been the owner of a small company. Yet, to pursue me, he'd willingly spend far more than what he earned on me. Even so, I refused to go out with him, thinking he was just playing the long game.

That only changed when I got abducted by a business rival.

Bryan had charged in alone to rescue me, taking the stabs and blows in my place. He'd risked his life to save mine.

Even as he lay in bed at the ICU ward, he gripped my hand tightly and said, "Even if you're not the Ludlow family heiress, Stella, I still won't regret the choice I made."

That truly moved me beyond all else. Ignoring my family's protests, I stubbornly insisted on marrying Bryan.

Given our wildly different social standings, I knew he'd have to endure certain remarks and attitudes from my family. Therefore, the day we got married, I gave him 99 free passes.

"If you ever upset me, you can use one of the free passes to cancel it out. But once you've used up all 99 of them, this marriage ends."

Upon hearing that, Bryan swiftly locked the free passes away in a drawer on the spot, swearing he wouldn't use even one.

But not long after we got married, he unlocked that drawer for the sake of his newly hired secretary, Roxy. And in less than a year, he'd used up 95 of them.

The gown was canceled out with the 96th free pass.

Roxy quickly changed into my evening gown. It was studded with gemstones, making her sparkle brilliantly in the light. With her hanging off his arm, Bryan moved through the crowd, exchanging more pleasantries with the guests.

It was as if Roxy were his wife—that they were the couple celebrating their wedding anniversary.

As I stood nearby, watching this scene, I stayed silent and took a sip of wine.

At that moment, Edgar came up to me and asked tentatively, "Mrs. Sable, shall I contact the brand and have them send over another gown at once? There's still time."

I shook my head. "It's fine. This wedding anniversary no longer means anything to me anyway."