1

"Fine. Whatever you say."

Luca blinked. He'd been ready to be even harsher with me over what he called my "tantrums."

He hadn't expected me to give in so easily this time.

Avery walked up to Luca and straightened his rumpled collar as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

She pressed her lips together, pretending to feel uncomfortable.

"Luca, if I stand right in the middle, people might say I don't know my place.

"Let's just forget it. Chloe doesn't look too happy, and I don't want to ruin the mood for you two."

She was always like this. She knew exactly how to play sweet and proper.

Luca's face darkened instantly. He took Avery's hand.

"Avery, you're too understanding for your own good.

"If you hadn't brought her to that Lorenzetti family ball, she wouldn't even have been good enough to meet me!"

My heart sank a little further with every word.

To Luca, I was just an ordinary girl. He'd once told me, in that soft voice of his, not to worry about the gap between our worlds.

He'd said he loved me and would never let anyone make me feel small.

Now he was saying things like this to defend Avery.

He didn't care how I felt.

I took out my bank card and quietly paid for the photo shoot.

Luca glanced at me.

"This place is a Lorenzetti business. You don't have to pay."

"We're not officially married yet. It's better to keep things separate."

I turned to the staff, keeping my voice flat.

"Email me the raw files. Make the poster the way Luca wants it. As for the rest, do whatever you like."

Then I changed out of the dress and walked out of the studio alone.

Luca came after me and caught hold of me.

"What are you sulking about now? Are you jealous of Avery and me? If there were anything between us, you wouldn't be the one I'm with.

"Chloe, how did I never notice how immature you are?"

I pulled free of his grip.

"I told you, I agreed. I'm just tired from the shoot."

He stared at me for a long moment, then softened his tone.

"Avery's our friend. We're engaged, and seeing us together sometimes makes her feel left out. That's why I try to consider her feelings.

"After all, she's the one who introduced us."

He kissed my cheek.

"Oh, didn't you say our custom rings were ready? Want to pick them up now?"

Avery came running out, back in her own clothes.

Grinning as if nothing had happened, she squeezed in between us.

"It's been such a long day. I'm starving. What are we eating?

"How about Japanese? Sashimi?"

Luca said yes right away without asking what I wanted.

He seemed to have forgotten that I never ate raw food.

I interrupted them.

"Let's go. We need to pick up the rings first."

At the jewelry store, our two diamond rings waited in a velvet box.

I'd spent most of a year designing them and overseeing every detail of the jeweler's work.

My initials and Luca's were engraved inside the bands.

Luca picked up my wedding ring, but his gaze went to Avery's hand.

"Avery, your fingers are about the same size as Chloe's. Try it on for her.

"You know how she is. She's careless, and she doesn't know quality when she sees it."

"Luca, that's not right."

I stared at Luca in disbelief.

This was my wedding ring. How could he let another woman try it on?

Avery laughed and refused too, but I saw the challenge in her eyes.

"Yeah, Luca, this is Chloe's wedding ring. What would people think if I wore it?"

"We're just checking the size and fit. I trust your judgment more than anyone's. Chloe won't mind, right?"

Luca glanced at me. Before I could answer, he took Avery's hand and slowly slid my wedding ring onto her ring finger.

It fit perfectly, like it had been made for her.

Avery held up her hand and admired the diamond sparkling in the light.

"It's beautiful. I heard Chloe spent most of a year designing it."

"That's enough."

I stared at them, my face expressionless.

"You can take it off now."

"Don't be mad, Chloe. I'll take it off right now."

Avery flinched. Her eyes filled with tears as she tried to pull off the ring.

But it caught on her knuckle. No matter how hard she pulled, it wouldn't come off.

"Ow, it hurts. I think it's stuck."

Luca immediately took her hand, handling it with care.

"Hold still. You'll hurt yourself."

He turned and glared at me.

"Why didn't you order it half a size bigger? Are you happy now that you've hurt Avery?"

How could Luca say something so absurd?

In that moment, my heart sank.

I didn't argue with Luca or lose my temper. I quietly saved the wedding photo of the three of us that had just arrived on my phone.

Maybe it would come in handy someday.

After more than half an hour of struggling, the ring still wouldn't come off.

Luca looked at Avery's red knuckle and made up his mind. "Forget it. Wear it for today. We'll deal with it when the swelling goes down. The wedding's still a few days away."

He helped Avery out of the store and left me behind.

I followed them in silence and headed for the front passenger seat of the Maybach out of habit.

As soon as I sat down, I knew something was off. The seat had been adjusted.

Then I spotted a pair of black lace panties wedged in the passenger seat's crease.

I recognized them.

They were Avery's.