Chapter 4

Natasha's POV

The house was pitch-black when I got home. I sent a message to Felix as I stood in the darkness.

"My colleague invited me to watch movies with her at her house. It's getting too late, so I won't be coming home tonight."

Felix replied within seconds.

"Okay. Don't sleep too late. You have a weak stomach. Make sure to eat breakfast tomorrow morning."

He didn't grill me with more questions like he used to.

I knew that Felix wasn't coming home that night, so I pulled out my suitcase and began packing my belongings. I sat in a daze in the living room after I was done. I then waited until dawn broke on the horizon and hailed a cab to the bridal studio.

…

"You're here, Natasha."

"Have you eaten breakfast yet? I brought some buns for you."

Felix and Vera immediately approached me after I stepped into the bridal studio, making the sales assistants green with envy.

"You're so lucky. Your husband and best friend arrived ages ago to wait for you."

The color drained from Vera's face in an instant when she heard the way the sales assistant referred to her.

Noticing that something was amiss, Felix retracted the hand that he was using to offer the bun to me.

My lashes fluttered, but I didn't say a single word. Instead, I locked arms with Vera and played coy with her, just like how I used to in the past.

"My stomach's hurting a lot because I drank a glass of iced milk tea last night. Can you try on the wedding dresses in my stead?"

Vera paused for a second. "What?"

"Please? Do it for me?"

I leaned against Vera and began nuzzling her shamelessly.

Felix dragged me away from her. He pulled out the bottle of stomach medication that he carried with him at all times and shoved a pill into my mouth with a frown.

"I told you not to drink any alcohol, so you decided to eat some ice instead? It's no wonder your stomach is hurting."

I grinned before continuing to bother Vera until she agreed.

Silence descended upon the room when the changing room's curtain was pulled open.

Vera looked like an intricate doll as she stood atop the round platform. Her beauty was absolutely breathtaking.

Felix stood rooted to the spot as he stared at her.

Suddenly, a clanging noise cut through the air. The rack that was nearby began to sway back and forth, sending the rolls of fabric tumbling to the floor.

Felix's eyes widened. He reflexively lunged forward and pulled Vera into his arms in a protective embrace. At the same time, he reached out and shoved the falling rack aside, seemingly oblivious to the fact that I was standing next to the rack.

I subconsciously yelled out Felix's name, but he didn't spare even a single glance at me, dedicating all his attention to Vera.

Excruciating pain lanced through me in the next second. The rack smashed against my arm, causing warm blood to leak rapidly from the point of impact.

A chill ran down my spine when I looked down. Perhaps I had never been Felix's first choice in his heart.

Felix only turned to look at me after he calmed Vera down. His face twisted when he noticed me standing in place and holding my arm. He hurried over to me with Vera in tow.

"What happened? Where did you get hurt?" he asked in a tight voice.

When he tried to touch my arm, I reflexively dodged away.

Suppressing the bitter feelings churning within me, I forced a smile on my face and said softly, "It's fine. It's just a small scrape. Let's not waste any more time. We should focus on the wedding dresses. Vera's still waiting too."

I looked up and continued, "You look so beautiful in a wedding dress, Vera!"

Felix's attention was instantly drawn to Vera.

"Doesn't it look beautiful on her?" the sales assistant asked with a smile.

"It does," Felix mumbled in a daze.

He only realized that the sales assistant's question wasn't directed at him after the words left his lips.

"She looks gorgeous!" I exclaimed, clapping enthusiastically and ignoring the tears that stung my eyes.

Vera didn't notice my distress. She blushed furiously and pulled the curtain close. She tried on a few other wedding dresses.

Although it didn't take too long for her to change each time, Felix always kept his eyes trained in the direction of the changing room. He looked like an actual groom, waiting for his beloved bride with a heart full of adoration.

I silently looked at his back before grabbing my phone and texting the wedding planners.

"What are you doing?"

Felix had approached me while I was distracted.

I didn't even lift my head when I answered, "I'm going through the details of tomorrow's wedding ceremony again."

"Didn't you already go through them?"

"I did, but I just wanted to make sure that everything's ready," I said earnestly.

Felix stared at me with a complicated look in his eyes. Finally, he hesitantly reached out and gently ruffled my hair. However, it was obvious that his heart wasn't in it because he never noticed that Vera's name was written as the bride-to-be in our group chat with the wedding planners.

…

"Don't forget to show up early tomorrow!"

I waved at Felix animatedly before Vera, and I entered our hotel room. I had one arm locked around Vera's while I grinned brightly.

Felix nodded slightly, but he wasn't looking at me.

A minute later, I saw Vera receive a message from Felix from the reflective surface of the elevator's ceiling.

"I told you that you're my only wife. I'm going to transfer all my premarital assets to you. Let's pretend that the wedding ceremony tomorrow is between you and me. The money is my wedding gift to you in my dreams."

I took a deep breath and clenched my fists. I forced myself to keep the corners of my lips curled up into a smile as if I could pretend that I was truly happy that way.

…

No one expected me to be gone by the time the makeup artist knocked on the door the next day.

I looked at the photo of me, Felix, and Vera on my phone and whispered, "Congratulations on your marriage."

I then deleted everything that was related to those memories.

The happy and naive Natasha Winters no longer existed from that day on.

Felix, Vera, and I would live our own lives in different corners of the earth.