Chapter 3

Claire put the ring back in its jewelry box and didn't look at me again.

"When did you become so hard to please?"

I stared at my reflection in the mirror, my figure distorted by the tight suit. It wasn't even made for me, yet I was being forced to squeeze into something tailored to another man's measurements. That realization stripped away the last bit of comfort I'd been clinging to.

I turned and headed back into the fitting room. Behind me, Claire was already having the sales associate record the measurements for alterations. She hadn't even bothered to ask whether I still wanted to wear the suit.

Just as I was about to change out of it, Julian stepped on the hem of my pants. I took a step forward and suddenly lost my balance.

My shoulder slammed into the sharp edge of the fitting room mirror. A wave of intense pain hit me, and Claire reached out almost at the same instant. But she grabbed Julian's arm instead.

"Are you okay?"

He leaned against her side and patted his chest.

"Ethan lost his balance. He gave me quite a scare."

Claire turned toward me with a frown.

"Be more careful when you're changing. Stop being so clumsy."

My shoulder was already red and swelling rapidly.

A sales associate brought over an ice pack.

Claire glanced at it and seemed about to take it when Julian drew in a sharp breath. His cufflink had left a shallow scratch on the back of his hand. She immediately lowered her head to examine it.

I took the ice pack and held it against my shoulder myself.

In the end, no new suit was ordered. Claire told the store to hold off on alterations, saying she wanted to keep the original schedule. She gave me three days to think it over, as though I actually had a choice.

When we left the shop, I opened the front passenger door. The seat was pushed almost all the way forward, with the backrest perfectly upright.

I climbed in, only to find my knees pressed against the center console and my head nearly hitting the sun visor. The seat belt cut diagonally across the side of my neck, making it difficult even to turn around.

I pressed the seat adjustment button. A message appeared on the screen.

"Overwrite Julian's exclusive saved seat position?"

I stared at the words.

Claire got into the car from the other side. When she saw the screen, she said casually, "Don't overwrite it. Julian gets carsick every time he rides in a car. If the seat isn't adjusted just right, he feels uncomfortable."

I pointed at the word "Exclusive" on the screen, my voice surprisingly calm.

"Even the front passenger seat in our car is reserved exclusively for him now. Do you even remember that I'm the one you're supposed to marry?"

She gave me a cold look.

"It's just a saved seat setting. Do you really have to make such a big deal out of these little things?"

Perhaps realizing her tone had been too harsh, she reached over and unbuckled my seat belt.

"I'll save your settings as a second profile. From now on, you can just switch to it whenever you ride with me."

I watched her lean toward me. It was a gesture I knew all too well from when she'd first bought the car.

Back then, she'd pushed the passenger seat all the way back for me, raised the headrest, and checked several times to make sure my knees wouldn't hit the center console. She'd smiled and told me that because I had such long legs, the front passenger seat would always be mine.

The saved seat profile used to bear my name. Now there was only one saved profile, and it belonged to Julian.

Julian stood outside the car, rubbing his temples.

"Maybe I should sit in the back. I get carsick easily, but I can put up with it for a little while."

Claire straightened up.

"Get in. You'll throw up if you sit in the back."

She turned to me.

"Sit in the back. It's not like it's a long drive."

I didn't move.

"Which one of us is your fiancé?"

Claire's grip on the steering wheel slowly tightened.

"What does where you sit have to do with being my fiancé? He's not feeling well. What's so hard about giving him the front seat?"

Julian lowered his head and reached for the car door, his voice muffled.

"Forget it. I'll take a cab. I don't want to cause trouble between you two."

He made it as if to leave, but his hand never let go of the car door.

Claire got out and opened the front passenger door for him.

"Come on. Don't make a fuss."

She'd made her choice.

I unbuckled my seat belt, got out, and walked around to the back seat.

Julian settled into the front passenger seat, just as he'd wanted. The seat automatically slid forward, and the backrest adjusted to his preferred angle. His phone connected to the car's Bluetooth, and one of his favorite songs began playing.

I was hunched up in the back seat, with my knees pressed against the seat in front of me. The ice in the pack slowly melted, and water began dripping down my wrist.