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All Chapters of She Took My Wedding Dress: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

10 Chapters

Chapter 1

As I turned to go downstairs, a sharp clatter of heels came from the living room."Adrian, I think I heard something outside. Is Claire here?"It was my sister Ava's voice.I didn't hide. I stood in the shadow of the foyer and watched the study door slide open.Adrian came out first.When he saw me, the smile on his face froze for a moment.Then it quickly returned to its usual composure.The study was well soundproofed.If the butler hadn't left the door slightly ajar when he brought coffee in, I wouldn't have heard a single word."Claire? Why didn't you say something when you came in?"Adrian strode over.He naturally put an arm around my shoulder.At the same time, he subtly shifted his body to block the gap in the study door."Were you waiting long? I had Grace bring your passport out. It's on the foyer table."My mother, Evelyn, and Ava followed him out.When she saw me, the expression of motherly concern for her daughter that she'd worn in the study vanished instantly.She frowne

Chapter 2

The next afternoon at two, Vera Couture Bridal Salon.Adrian hadn't arrived when I got there.The owner, Irene, was a friend I'd known for years.When she saw me walk in, her expression was complicated. She sighed."Claire, are you sure about this?""Yes. Please bring it out for me."Irene nodded and had two assistants wheel out a glass display case.Inside hung a long-trained wedding dress covered in diamond dust and antique lace.I had to admit, Adrian really did know my taste.The dress was made exactly according to a sketch I'd drawn in my sketchbook when I was eighteen.Inside the hem, gold thread was even embroidered with the initials "A & C."Just then, the shop door was pushed open and Adrian hurried in.But he wasn't alone.Behind him came Ava, pale and clutching her chest, and my mother, looking anxious.When Adrian saw me standing in front of the dress, his expression changed.He stepped forward quickly to explain."Claire, Ava suddenly felt unwell in her chest when we were

Chapter 3

After leaving the bridal salon,I went straight to the law firm.I submitted the documents dissolving the engagement and reclaiming the painting authorization.After reviewing the materials, the lawyer signed the confirmation."Claire, the agreement is in effect.""Formal notice will be delivered to Adrian's company and your father's estate before ten tomorrow morning.""Thank you."After leaving the firm, I went to my studio.This studio was rented with the inheritance my grandmother left me.Inside were all the original works I'd created over the past three years.I called a moving company.I packed up my paints and brushes and sent them to the airport freight station.Three days ago, a professor from an art academy in Florence had sent me a full scholarship invitation.They were inviting me to join their old oil painting restoration teamfor a five-year closed program.My flight was at ten tomorrow morning.Exactly when Ava and Adrian's engagement banquet was set to begin.I was pac

Chapter 4

The next morning at nine-thirty, Rome Fiumicino Airport's international departures hall.I'd finished checking in and dropping off my luggage and was about to head to passport control.My phone suddenly started ringing nonstop.Today was the day of Ava and Adrian's engagement banquet in New York.By all rights, they should have been in the banquet hall at this moment, receiving blessings from family allies and society elites.I answered the call.Before I could even bring the phone to my ear, Adrian's frantic roar made my eardrum throb:"Claire! What the hell did you send?!""What do you mean the engagement dissolution agreement has already taken effect?""And the twelve core jewelry design drafts for the company—what gives you the right to revoke the authorization?!"The other end was chaotic.Mixed with the sound of shattering porcelain and the shocked murmurs of guests.So the special courier from the law firm hadn't just delivered the formal notice of engagement dissolution to his

Chapter 5

When that Maybach covered in wedding decorations screeched to a stop at Fiumicino Airport's departures level,the front end was already dented and deformed.Adrian stumbled out of the car.His expensive white suit was covered in blood.He shoved past the security guards blocking his way.Rushed to the flight service counter.Slammed both hands on the counter:"Where's Claire?""The flight to Florence?""Get her down here!""I'm her fiancé. I won't allow her to leave!"Richard, Evelyn, and Lucas, who had arrived right after, burst in too.Evelyn didn't even care that her shawl had fallen to the floor.She grabbed the staff member's arm, tears streaming down her face:"Please, let my daughter off the plane.""She has an old injury in her right wrist.""Going abroad alone, who will take care of her..."The check-in supervisor looked at this group of disheveled, emotionally unstable customers.Checked the flight information.Replied politely but coldly:"Sorry, flight AZ791 to Rome has alr

Chapter 6

When Adrian woke in the hospital,three fingers on his right hand were fractured and wrapped in thick plaster.What awaited himwas the news that Adrian Jewelry Company was on the verge of bankruptcy.When he'd started the company from nothing,it was those twelve stunning jewelry design drafts that had built it.The outside world had always believedthey were the work of a mysterious chief designer he'd hired at great expense.Even Ava had hintedthat those designs were inspired by her.Only Adrian himself knew.Those designs were all done by Claire, hiding in her studio,stroke by stroke, for him.Now, the formal notice from the lawyer had taken effect.Claire had revoked the commercial authorization for all twelve designs.The collaborative series in production was forced to halt and be pulled from shelves.Massive contract penalty claims pressed in.Partners withdrew their investments.The company's stock plummeted day after day.The hospital room door was pushed open.Ava ran in c

Chapter 7

Five years later. The Louvre, Paris. International Young Artists Invitational Exhibition.By now, Claire was a painter and restorer of rising fame in the European art world.Her name was first on the main exhibition hall's list.When the news reached America,Richard, Evelyn, and Lucas flew to Paris half a month early.Lucas bought advertising space near the exhibition hall,just so Claire would know they were there.Begging her to see them.And Adrian, worn down to skin and bones,carrying the wedding dress he'd mended over a thousand times,bought the cheapest plane ticketand waited three days and nights in the square outside the Louvre.On the opening day,the champagne tower sparkled under the lights.Collectors and media from all over gathered.At ten in the morning,the glass doors of the exhibition hall were pushed open.Claire walked in wearing a sharply tailored dark green velvet gown.Five years abroad had washed away the endurance and pallor that had once marked her face.S

Chapter 8

A collective gasp rippled through the exhibition hall.Everyone was stunned by this haggard, desperate man.Adrian looked at Claire with hope.Crawled forward half a step on his knees.Tried to touch the tip of her shoe."Claire, you used to care most about my hands.""In winter, when my hands were cold, you'd warm them...""Touch my hand.""I really know I was wrong..."Claire stepped back half a pace.Didn't let him touch even a corner of her skirt.She glanced down at the bloodstained wedding dress.Her brow furrowed almost imperceptibly.There wasn't a flicker of emotion in her eyes.Only physiological disgust."Adrian, did you forget?""The design of this dress—I drew it when I was eighteen."Her voice was calm and cruel."I'm twenty-six now.""Things an eighteen-year-old liked""have long since gone moldy and rotted, just like the person eighteen-year-old me liked.""And I threw them in the trash."Adrian froze.The fawning smile on his face cracked piece by piece."No... you sai

Chapter 9

The day the exhibition closed, rain poured over Paris.The Lins waited in a nearby hotel for a week.They never saw Claire again.On the last day,Lucas stood guard in the rain all night.His fever wouldn't break. He was taken to the hospital.Evelyn, from long-term insomnia and physical decline, developed problems with her vision.Richard looked at his haggard wife and son in the hospital room.Finally, in despair, he bought tickets back to New York.After Adrian was rushed to the hospital for emergency treatment,his mental state completely collapsed.Due to visa expiration and public disturbance,he was lawfully deported back to the United States by local police.The day he returned to New York,Adrian brought nothing with him.Only that bloodstained, tattered wedding dress, clutched desperately in his arms.He returned to the top-floor apartment.Unable to repay the mortgage,this apartment he had originally meant to be Claire's wedding homewould be repossessed by the bank in a fe

Chapter 10

After the wedding in Florence,Julian and I went to Sicily for our honeymoon.Sun, beaches, ancient lemon groves.No endless rainy days of New York here.And no one asking me to take off my ring for someone else's sake.That afternoon, I sat in a seaside pavilion sketching.On the canvas was the vast Mediterranean.Two seagulls flying side by side toward the golden coast.My right hand held the brush.The lines were smooth and steady.Over the past five years, Julian had accompanied me through rehabilitation training.And helped me find the right therapists.Those old injuries that had once kept me awake on rainy nightsno longer controlled my life.Julian walked over carrying a plate of sliced figs and warm milk.Set them on the small round table beside the easel.He came up behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist.Rested his chin gently on the top of my head.Looked at the canvas and smiled:"That's beautiful.""By the way, news just came from America.""The Lin family busines

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