เพรงรักรอยฝัน

Zach realized I was fuming, and his face fell. "She's been your best friend for 10 years. Are you seriously telling me you won't let her be your bridesmaid?"

"I'm really sorry, Queenie. I have no idea why you got upset, but now that you are…" Daisy twiddled her fingers and bit her lip. "I'll just pass on the gown."

She tossed the custom-made gown aside and buried her face in her hand as she cried in the corner of the couch.

Zach frowned and shot me a glare cold enough to freeze blood. Then, he went and comforted Daisy without missing a beat.

"This gown was made for you. I sewed every single diamond on it myself. I worked on it for three whole months. You can't just give it up."

"Yeah." The new retail assistant couldn't stand by any longer, and they stepped in. "The boss designed this whole gown himself. It took him nearly six months from design to bringing it to life. He loves you dearly, Ms. Holson. Cheer up."

I was stunned. The new retail assistant had gotten the wrong woman, but she didn't care. She ignored the look her boss was giving her and went on with her self-righteous tirade.

"Look at your friend's gown. It's second-hand, and the bloodstain can't even be removed. No one's willing to take it even for free. The boss is paying a lot more attention to you, you know."

There was no answer that came after that. There was only silence enough to drown everyone out. The change in atmosphere hit the retail assistant, and she patted my shoulder. When she spoke again, she put some weight in her voice.

"Calm down. I was just telling the truth. It's all for the sake of your best friend. It's not a good look if the bride cries. You're the bridesmaid. You don't mind giving up a little, do you?"

A bitter smile curled my lips. "But I'm the bride here."

That was the very exact moment the retail assistant knew that she fucked up. Now, she was looking at her boss with trepidation.

Zach dismissed her with an impatient wave. "Don't listen to that new girl. I picked the gown myself. And that's not a bloodstain. It's an exclusive design made with rose petal juice."

I wasn't listening.

Instead, I went back to my chat and asked, "The earliest flight is tomorrow night. Can we meet up after I land?"

"Hey, are you listening to me?" The last of Zach's patience had run out. He snatched my phone away and threw it at the couch.

"Grow up, Queenie. You give me the silent treatment for no reason every single time. You'll never be a good wife if you keep up that act."

I bit my lip. As I stared at the cold and indifferent man I called my fiancé, I couldn't help but chuckle at his ridiculous statement. After all, no one knew silent treatment better than Zach.

He would go off the grid whenever we argued. I could call him a hundred times and text him a thousand, and he would never answer.

Then, he would show up a few days after the fight and ask me what was for dinner as if the fight had never happened.

"If you think I'm a failure of a wife, you can marry Daisy instead."

I grabbed my bag and tried to leave, but Daisy moved faster. She stopped me, her eyes red at the edges. She was the perfect picture of a puppy who had been kicked by an evil woman.

"It's not what you think, Queenie. Zach and I never betrayed you. That retail assistant didn't know what she was talking about. Your gown is the real haute couture."

I scanned this woman from head to toe. An Hermes necklace hung around her neck, an LV designer bag looped around her shoulder, and a pair of Valentino shoes graced her feet.

She was an intern who barely made three grand a month. So, I was certain that every single one of those designer items was very much out of her reach.

Then, my eyes moved somewhere else and caught Zach's look. He was giving Daisy a doting look that said he'd be willing to pluck the very stars from the sky if that was what she wanted.

My heart ached for a moment. I'd dated him for seven years. Yet, the most expensive thing he'd gotten me barely broke a hundred.