All Chapters of The Dress I Never Wore: Chapter 1 - Chapter 9

Lena's POV"What if Lena remembers everything someday and ends up hating us?""Don't worry, Dad."Ellis Townley's voice was as steady as ever. "The doctor said that even if Lena gets her memory back, she'll most likely forget everything from the time she had amnesia. We'll just smooth things over with her then. She won't hold a grudge.""How could she dare hold a grudge?" Mom said irritably. "Alyssa has stayed by your side all these years without ever being acknowledged, and look how much she's had to put up with. Lena's the younger sister. What's so wrong with her stepping aside for her older sister for once?"A bitter ache rose in my throat.It turned out it had not been an accident.The car crash that nearly killed me had been a trap that my closest family and the man I loved had set together. All of it was just to keep me in line so I would not get in the way of Alyssa Corrigan and Ellis' wedding.I braced myself against the wall to stand and started back toward my room, on

After I was discharged, I was brought back to the home he shared with my sister, just as Ellis had said.Every corner of the house showed traces of their life together—the matching slippers by the front door, the dress draped over the couch, and the pairs of glasses on the dining table all silently announced how close they were.My guest room was right next to the master bedroom, and the walls were paper-thin. Late into the night, suggestive sounds drifted through on and off, mixed with Alyssa's soft, coaxing voice and Ellis' low, ragged breathing."Behave. Your sister's right next door."Alyssa laughed even more coyly. "Isn't that exactly the kind of thrill you love most? Otherwise, why would you have brought her back here?"The sounds paused for a moment, then started up again, more insistent than before."Ellis, you... Okay, I'm sorry. Be gentle."I lay frozen in bed, clutching the edge of the blanket.I did not know how much time had passed before the intercom by my bed sud

Third-person POV:"Say that again!"Ellis' reaction startled Robert, and he repeated himself, "Her memory came back the day she was admitted, and all her vitals were normal. What's the matter? Didn't she tell you?"Lena's parents, Frederick Corrigan and Deirdre Kilbride, went pale, and Kevin's fork clattered to the floor. Everyone sat frozen as the same terrifying thought hit them all at once.Lena had remembered everything the entire time.Ellis' mind went blank.What had he been doing back then?When they first learned that Lena had lost her memory, everyone had been secretly relieved that they would no longer have to hide anything. They could have just quietly gotten the wedding over with.It was Alyssa who had cried and said it was not fair to her.Together, they had written a script that turned Lena's ten years with Ellis into a shameless intrusion, with Lena as the one who had clung to him and refused to let go. Every one of them had gone along with the lie.That was wh

Lena's POV:It was early summer in Kestwick, and the sunlight was perfect.I held a pencil between my fingers, carefully sketching out a gemstone pattern.I had taken care of everything before coming here. I had my lawyer settle every financial tie I had with the Townleys and the Corrigans. Every last thing Grandma had left me was returned to me, and all the assets I had once handed over to Ellis to manage were transferred back into my name, along with every cent they had earned.As for the shattered bangle, I had my lawyer bring that over too. I kept the pieces safely tucked away in a velvet box.I had no plans to repair it.Noah Kensett walked in with a latte. His eyes passed over the box, but he did not ask about it. He only tapped the sketch. "Set small diamonds along the cracks. Sometimes something has to break before it can be rebuilt."He was my design lecturer and the founder of a local jewelry studio. He was a gentle, easygoing man, and being around him always felt like

My parents and Kevin booked flights home that same day.Ellis stayed for another two weeks, and he only came to say goodbye once his wounds had mostly healed.He handed me a document envelope. Inside were papers for additional compensation in assets, along with Alyssa's verdict. She had been convicted of attempted murder along with several other charges, and she would be spending years behind bars."This is the last time I'll come."His voice was low, and his eyes were full of exhaustion that would not lift. "Take good care of yourself."I said nothing and gave a slight nod.He looked at me for a long moment, his eyes filled with grief. "I never thought I'd actually lose you."When he turned to leave, his back was hunched in a way that did not suit a man his age.I knew he was trapped in a past he could never go back to, and in all the things he had once taken for granted.None of that had anything to do with me anymore. I was not willing to set him free on behalf of the woman