Chapter 4

Claire went to another shop and picked out a wedding dress she somewhat liked.

The first thing she did upon returning to the villa was pack her luggage.

Once she finished, she noticed a post from Calvin's friend on social media.

[Congratulations to the happy couple.]

The post was a nine-grid collage of Calvin and Iris's wedding photos—three different outfits, three different scenes.

The constant, however, was Calvin's smile and the way he looked at Iris. After all these years, Claire had never seen that expression directed at her.

She silently tapped "like." Then, after storing her suitcase, she went to a real estate office.

Since she was moving out of the villa, she needed a new place to prepare as a bridal home. Her mother had always said she wanted to see her get married with her own eyes.

Claire fell in love with a fully furnished apartment that had a garden—and a pond, perfect for her two black swans. She swiped her card and bought it, then stopped by a mall to pick up some decorations for the wedding suite.

She spent the entire night arranging everything by herself until the bridal home was finally complete.

When she finished, she placed a photo of her mother on the cabinet.

"Mom, don't worry about me. I'll be happy, I promise."

The next morning, Claire returned to the villa. She was lucky—Calvin and Iris weren't there.

She went to the yard, had the two swans taken away, and ordered the servants to drain the pond.

"Miss, wasn't this pond built at your request? You even said one swan for you, one for Sir…"

"Drain it," Claire said calmly. "My pendant fell in. I need to find it."

It took five hours for the pump to empty the small pond. Claire recovered her grandfather's emerald pendant, wiped it clean, and left with her luggage.

The servants panicked when they saw her leaving.

"Miss Aniston, where are you going? In a few days, you're supposed to marry Sir! Why are you suddenly leaving?"

"I'm not marrying Calvin," she said, walking away without looking back.

She moved into the apartment she had bought, staring at the fully decorated wedding suite with a hollow feeling in her chest. She was about to go to the supermarket to stock the fridge when the doorbell rang incessantly.

Claire opened the door to find a scowling Calvin, a teary-eyed Iris, and a few of his smug friends crowding the hallway.

She frowned. "What are you all doing here?"

"See, Calvin? We were right!" one friend jeered. "She really did buy a secret bridal home. She wants to get married from here!"

"And she's already decorated it!" another chimed in. "And she says she won't marry you? What a load of crap!"

"Bet she disappeared these last few days just to make you come crawling to pick her up on the wedding day."

Calvin's friends looked Claire up and down, their scorn plain.

"Seriously, Calvin doesn't even like you. Marrying you is already doing you a favor. And you think you get to make some grand exit? Your demands are ridiculous."

It was true—Claire had considered it. With the Aniston family home gone, she had nowhere else. If she were to marry Calvin, she needed a wedding suite, a place to leave from.

But now, she'd only decorated this place so her late mother could see it.

Calvin's gaze swept the room, sharp and cold as ice.

"Did I give you permission to decorate? I told you not to touch a thing at home, and you went behind my back, moved out, and did all this?"

"Claire, you really didn't have to go this far," Iris spoke up, her eyes welling. "I thought you were really stepping aside for me, but you were just setting me up."

Their voices buzzed in Claire's ears, worsening her headache. "Get out. This is my house."

Calvin grabbed her wrist, his grip tight. "Claire, don't you feel pathetic? What's the point of all this? You think I'd actually come here to pick you up? I already told you—on the wedding day, you go alone. I'm not coming."

"Let go of me!" Claire wrenched her arm free, anger rising hot in her chest. "Calvin, you don't have the right to pick me up! The man I'm marrying isn't even you—"

"Still putting on an act?" he cut her off, voice dangerous. "Want me to smash every last thing in here?"

Claire's breath caught in panic. "Don't you dare, Calvin!"