共有

The Dress Fitting

作者: Andrea
last update 公開日: 2026-09-09 20:57:41

The next few days were a blur of wedding preparations.

I moved through them like a ghost, smiling when I was supposed to smile, nodding when I was supposed to nod. I picked flowers and tasted cakes and confirmed the guest list. I did everything a bride was supposed to do.

But I wasn't there.

My mind was somewhere else entirely. It was in a penthouse with floor to ceiling windows. It was in the arms of a man who wasn't my fiancé. It was in the grey eyes that followed me everywhere.

I hadn't seen Elias since the day of the seating arrangement.

He'd driven me home that night. We hadn't slept together. We'd sat in his car outside my apartment for an hour, and I'd told him it was over. I'd told him I was getting married. I'd told him we could never do that again.

He hadn't argued.

He'd just looked at me with those cold grey eyes and said, "If that's what you want."

I'd said yes.

I'd walked into my apartment and cried myself to sleep.

And now I was here, standing in a bridal boutique, staring at my reflection in a three way mirror.

The dress was beautiful. White silk, fitted bodice, flowing skirt. It was the dress I'd picked months ago, the dress I'd fallen in love with, the dress I'd imagined wearing when I walked down the aisle.

It felt like a costume now.

I was playing a role. The perfect bride. The perfect fiancée. The perfect woman who'd never made a mistake.

But I wasn't perfect. I was broken. I was a liar. I'd slept with my fiancé's father and I didn't regret it.

"Clara?"

I blinked. Mia was standing behind me, her head tilted.

"You okay? You've been staring at yourself for like five minutes."

"Yeah." My voice came out hollow. "Just... checking the fit."

Mia stepped closer. Her hand found my shoulder.

"You've been off lately," she said softly. "Ever since the engagement party. What's going on?"

I opened my mouth to speak. To tell her the truth. To let the words spill out.

I couldn't.

"Nothing," I said. "Just wedding stress."

"You can tell me anything, you know that right?"

I met her eyes in the mirror. Her gaze was kind. Concerned.

I almost believed her.

"I know," I said. "I'll be fine. I just need some air. I'll be right back."

I slipped out of the dressing room before she could stop me.

The boutique was quiet.

I walked through the rows of dresses, my fingers trailing over the fabric. White. Ivory. Silk. Lace. So many dresses, each one waiting for a bride who thought she'd found her happily ever after.

I was so lost in my thoughts that I didn't hear the footsteps behind me.

I didn't feel the hand on my waist until it was already there.

I spun around.

Elias was standing behind me.

His eyes were dark, intense. His hand was still on my waist, his fingers pressing into my hip.

"Elias—"

"Don't." His voice was low, rough. "Don't tell me to leave. Don't tell me this is wrong. I already know."

"Then why are you here?"

He stepped closer. His other hand came up to cup my face.

"Because I can't stay away," he said. "I've tried. I've tried for days. But I can't stop thinking about you. I can't stop wanting you."

I should have pushed him away. I should have screamed. I should have walked out the door and never looked back.

I didn't.

Instead, I leaned into his touch. I closed my eyes. I let myself feel his skin on mine.

"I'm getting married in two days," I whispered.

"Two days." His thumb traced my jaw. "Two days and you'll be his. And I'll have to watch."

"Elias..."

"Tell me you want me to stop. Tell me you don't feel this. Tell me you don't think about that night as much as I do."

I opened my mouth to speak.

I couldn't lie.

I couldn't tell him I didn't feel this.

Because I did. I felt it every second of every day.

"Clara." He stepped closer. His mouth found my neck. "Tell me you don't want me."

I didn't say anything.

I couldn't.

His lips traced a line from my jaw to my collarbone. His hands found my waist, pulling me against him.

"Your dress is beautiful," he murmured against my skin. "But I'd rather see you in nothing at all."

I felt myself crumble.

His mouth found mine. The kiss was hungry, demanding. His hands roamed my body, touching me like he'd been starved for me.

I kissed him back. I couldn't stop myself. I needed him. I needed to feel wanted, even if it was just for a moment.

His hand found the zipper of my dress.

"I shouldn't," I breathed.

"Say it," he whispered. "Say you want me to stop."

I didn't.

Instead, I pulled him closer.

It was madness.

We were in a boutique, surrounded by dresses and mirrors, with Mia just a few rooms away. Anyone could walk in. Anyone could see us.

But I didn't care. I couldn't care.

I needed him. I needed to feel something other than the hollowness that had consumed me for months.

His hands explored my body, learning every curve. His lips traced a path down my neck, across my collarbone. I gasped when his teeth grazed my skin.

I heard footsteps.

I froze.

"Clara?" Mia's voice called out from the next room. "Are you okay in there?"

I pulled away from Elias, my heart pounding. I smoothed down my dress and tried to catch my breath.

"Clara?" Mia called again. "Who are you talking to?"

I looked at Elias. He was smirking.

"I'll go," he said softly. "You should finish with your fitting."

He turned and walked out the back door of the boutique before I could say a word.

I stood there for a long moment, my dress half-unzipped, my breathing ragged.

What was I doing?

What was I doing to myself?

And why couldn't I stop?

"Clara? Clara, where are you?"

I pulled myself together. I zipped up my dress. I smoothed my hair.

"Coming," I called out.

I walked back into the dressing room.

Mia was frowning when I entered. "There you are. I was about to come looking for you."

"Sorry." My voice was barely steady. "I got distracted."

"Are you okay? You look flushed."

I forced myself to smile.

"I'm fine," I said. "Just... the dress is a little tight. That's all."

Mia studied me for a moment. Then she smiled.

"Let's get you out of it," she said. "You don't need to be stressed."

I nodded.

I turned to look at my reflection in the mirror.

The woman staring back at me looked the same.

But she wasn't the same.

And I didn't know if she'd ever be the same again.

この本を無料で読み続ける
コードをスキャンしてアプリをダウンロード

最新チャプター

  • His father’s touch   The Beginning

    The baby came three weeks early.I woke up in the middle of the night to a sharp pain in my abdomen. At first, I thought it was nothing. A cramp. A false alarm. But the pain came again. And again. And again.I reached over and shook Elias."Wake up."He stirred. "What's wrong?""The baby. It's coming."He was awake instantly.He threw on clothes. He grabbed the hospital bag we'd packed weeks ago. He helped me to the car. He drove faster than he should have.I gripped the door handle and breathed through the contractions."It's okay," he said. "You're okay. We're almost there."I didn't answer. I couldn't.The hospital was a blur.Nurses. Doctors. Bright lights. Cold hands. Machines that beeped and hummed. Elias beside me the whole time, holding my hand, whispering that I was doing great, that I was strong, that everything was going to be okay.I didn't feel strong. I felt like I was being torn apart.But I kept going.I thought about my mother. How she'd done this. How she'd brought m

  • His father’s touch   The Future

    Married life was quiet.Not boring. Not predictable. Just... quiet. The kind of quiet I'd never known before. The kind of quiet that felt like peace.We bought a small house on the outskirts of the city. It wasn't a penthouse. It wasn't a mansion. It was a cottage with a white picket fence and a garden full of wildflowers. The kind of house I'd dreamed about as a child.Elias planted roses in the backyard. I painted the walls a soft yellow. We filled the rooms with books and candles and photographs.It was ours.I got a job at a small publishing house downtown.It didn't pay much. It wasn't glamorous. But I loved it. I loved reading manuscripts. I loved working with authors. I loved the smell of paper and ink.I was good at it too.My boss, a woman named Helen, told me I had an eye for stories. She said I understood what made people turn the page.I thought about my own story. The one I'd lived. The one I was still living.Maybe that was why.Elias sold his shares in the family busine

  • His father’s touch   The Wedding

    We didn't want a big wedding.The first time I'd walked down the aisle, it had been a spectacle. Hundreds of guests. White flowers. A dress that cost more than my first car. A man I didn't love waiting for me at the altar.This time, I wanted something different.This time, I wanted something real.We chose a small chapel by the sea.It was old and weathered, with white stone walls and a bell tower that hadn't rung in decades. The windows were stained glass, casting colored light across the wooden pews. The only decorations were wildflowers in mason jars and candles in glass holders.It was simple. It was beautiful.It was ours.I invited three people.Mira, the healer's apprentice who'd once brought me salve when I was locked in my cell. She'd reached out after the trial, after everything. She'd said she was proud of me.My father.I hadn't spoken to him since the wedding. He'd called, texted, tried to reach me through Elias. I'd ignored him for months. But when I finally called him

  • His father’s touch   The Aftermath

    The days after the trial were strange.I had spent so long fighting so long surviving that I didn't know how to stop. I woke up each morning expecting another battle. Another threat. Another crisis to solve.But there was nothing.The trial was over. Damon was in prison. His mother was awaiting her own trial in France. Victor was still missing, but the police were confident they would find him. The media had moved on to other scandals, other stories.The war was over.I just didn't know how to live in the peace.I stayed at Elias's penthouse for a week.He didn't push. He didn't ask for anything. He just made sure I ate. Made sure I slept. Made sure I didn't drown in my own thoughts.But I could see the worry in his eyes. The way he watched me. The way he hesitated before he spoke.He was waiting for me to break.I didn't.Not yet.On the seventh day, I woke up before dawn.I lay in bed, staring at the ceiling, listening to the sound of Elias's breathing beside me. He was asleep. Peac

  • His father’s touch   The Fallout

    The press conference was chaos.I stood at the podium in a small conference room downtown, flanked by Sarah Chen and a publicist I'd hired two days earlier. The room was packed reporters, cameras, photographers, bloggers, everyone who mattered and everyone who didn't. They shouted questions before I even opened my mouth."Ms. Reyes, is it true you were involved with your fiancé's father?""Did you sleep with Elias Blackwood before or after the engagement?""Is it true Damon Blackwood killed your mother?"I raised my hand.The room fell silent."My name is Clara Reyes," I said. "Eleven years ago, my mother, Elara Reyes, died. I was told she died of an illness. I believed that lie for over a decade. Today, I'm here to tell you the truth."I paused."My mother was murdered. She was poisoned. Slowly. Deliberately. By the Blackwood family. And the man who helped cover it up the man who knew what was happening and said nothing was my fiancé, Damon Blackwood."The room erupted.I read the st

  • His father’s touch   The Accusation

    Damon was released on bail three days later.I found out from the news. A reporter stood outside the courthouse, microphone in hand, describing how the "disgraced heir" had walked free pending trial. Damon had posted a two million dollar bond. His lawyers had argued he was not a flight risk. The judge had agreed.I watched the footage on my phone, my hands shaking.He was out.He was free.And I knew with a certainty that settled deep in my bones that he would come for me.I called Elias."Did you see?" I asked."I saw.""What do we do?""Nothing. We wait. We watch. We don't give him the satisfaction of reacting.""You think he'll come after us?""I think he's desperate. And desperate men do desperate things."I paused."I'm not going to hide," I said."Clara—""I'm done hiding. I'm done running. I'm done letting him control my life."There was a long silence."What are you going to do?" he asked."I'm going to find him. And I'm going to tell him the truthI found Damon at a bar downt

続きを読む
無料で面白い小説を探して読んでみましょう
GoodNovel アプリで人気小説に無料で!お好きな本をダウンロードして、いつでもどこでも読みましょう!
アプリで無料で本を読む
コードをスキャンしてアプリで読む
DMCA.com Protection Status