"I'm sorry," Mia said as she approached, her voice soft but her tone anything but polite. "I had my eye on this dress too. I know you saw it first, but..."
Her gaze traveled over Zoe's heavy bangs and thick black-framed glasses before her lips curved into a perfectly measured smile.
"I think it would look better on me. Why don't you let me have it?"
Zoe tightened her grip on the gown. The fabric was soft beneath her fingers, yet it suddenly felt as though she were clutching a handful of thorns.
"No."
She turned to the sales associate.
"I'll take it. Ring it up, please."
Mia's smile faded slightly.
She reached out and grabbed the other side of the gown.
"But I really love it. Look, with your appearance, it hardly matters what you wear. Why not do something nice for someone else and let me have it?"
Neither woman let go.
An unspoken tension filled the air.
"What's going on?"
Aiden's deep voice came from the top of the stairs.
He'd just finished his phone call and come upstairs, only to find the two women tugging at the same dress.
His brows drew together almost imperceptibly.
The moment Mia saw him, her eyes lit up.
But she didn't release the gown.
"Aiden? You're here too?"
Her gaze moved between Zoe and Aiden before recognition seemed to dawn on her face.
"Oh, so this must be your wife! If I'd known she was Mrs. Carter, I wouldn't have fought her for the dress."
She smiled graciously.
"Please, Mrs. Carter, it's yours."
With that, she let go, as though their disagreement had been nothing more than a harmless misunderstanding.
But the very next second, Aiden reached out, took the champagne-colored gown straight from Zoe's hands, and handed it to Mia.
"There's no need for that."
He looked at Mia, his voice noticeably gentler.
"This dress suits you. Go try it on."
A flash of triumph crossed Mia's eyes.
She accepted the gown, gave Zoe a smile, and disappeared into the fitting room.
Zoe's hand remained suspended in midair.
She could still feel the fabric slipping from her fingers.
Slowly, she lowered her hand and clenched it into a fist, her nails digging into her palm.
But that small sting was nothing compared to the dull, agonizing pain in her chest.
Only then did Aiden turn toward her, as though he'd just settled some trivial matter.
"Zoe, that was Mia Mitchell. She's... an old friend of mine. She can be a little blunt, but she doesn't mean any harm. It's just a dress. We can find you another one."
Zoe raised her head and looked at him through her thick lenses.
"Why don't you just tell me the truth?"
"You think the dress looks better on her because you believe someone with a face like mine doesn't deserve to wear it, don't you? Or anything beautiful, for that matter."
Aiden was visibly taken aback.
He clearly hadn't expected Zoe to challenge him like that, much less say aloud what he'd been carefully avoiding.
"That's not what I meant."
He quickly regained his composure, though a hint of exasperation crept into his voice.
“If I really thought you weren't good enough for me, why would I have married you?”
Why did he marry her?
The question struck Zoe like a poisoned blade, sending such a sharp pain through her chest that her vision nearly went black.
Why, indeed?
Because she was just the right kind of ugly.
Because she was the perfect tool to humiliate the Carter family and force his parents to give in.
Because she was nothing more than a pawn in his scheme to get Mia back.
Zoe had endured countless cruel remarks about her appearance throughout her life.
The whispers of her classmates.
The insults from men she'd gone on blind dates with.
Even her father's disappointed sighs.
Those words had pricked at her like needles for so long that she'd almost grown numb to them.
But Aiden had been different.
For three years, his gentle reassurances, the quiet ways he'd defended her, and even the love she'd believed he'd shown when he risked his life to save hers had gradually thawed her frozen heart.
He'd made her believe she could finally let her guard down.
He'd made her depend on him.
He'd made her dream of a happiness she should never have allowed herself to believe in.
And now, with that same effortless calm, he was destroying every bit of warmth he'd given her.
Somehow, that hurt more than outright cruelty ever could.
Zoe fought desperately to swallow the sob rising in her throat.
Without another word, she turned toward a different clothing rack and picked up a plain black evening gown.
Just then, the fitting room curtain slid open.
Mia stepped out.
The champagne-colored gown hugged her figure perfectly, its elegant fabric setting off her flawless, porcelain complexion.
She looked radiant.
As she twirled, the skirt flared gracefully around her.
"Ms. Mitchell, you look absolutely stunning!" the sales associates exclaimed.
"It's like that dress was made for you!"
Aiden's gaze settled on Mia.
His expression remained composed, but something had changed in his eyes.
As he watched her, a fleeting tenderness appeared in his usually distant gaze.
It was the very look Zoe had searched for throughout their marriage.
And the one he'd never once given her.
Though it lasted only a moment, Zoe caught it.
Her heart felt as though an invisible hand had closed around it, squeezing so tightly she could barely breathe.
"Aiden, what do you think?" Mia asked with a bright smile.
Her gaze flickered almost imperceptibly toward Zoe.
"Does it look good?"
Aiden nodded.
"Yes. It looks great."
There was no hesitation in his voice.
Mia's smile grew even brighter.
She walked over to Aiden and casually tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.
"Oh, by the way, I heard you're throwing a birthday party for Mrs. Carter tonight. At the Grand Hyatt?"
"That's right," Aiden replied.
"Well, I happen to be free tonight."
Mia turned toward Zoe with a perfectly polite smile.
"Mrs. Carter, you wouldn't mind if I came to celebrate your birthday too, would you?"
Before Zoe could even open her mouth, Aiden answered for her.
"Of course she wouldn't. You're more than welcome to come."
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