Chapter 4

Elara's POV

"Sorry," Serena walked forward, her voice soft but her tone anything but polite. "I also like this dress. Even though you were here first, but..."

She looked me up and down, taking in my thick bangs and black-framed glasses. The corners of her mouth curved into a perfectly measured smile. "I think it suits me better. Why don't you just let me have it?"

I gripped the dress tighter. The fabric was soft, but right now it felt like thorns.

"No." I turned to the saleswoman. "Ring it up."

Serena's smile faded a bit. She reached out and grabbed the other corner of the dress.

"I really love it. Miss, looking the way you do... you'd look about the same in anything. Why not do me a favor? Just let me have it, can't you?"

We stood there in a standoff, the air thick with silent tension.

"What's going on?"

Ethan's deep voice came from the stairway. Having finished his call, he came up and saw this scene. His brow furrowed almost imperceptibly.

Serena saw him and her eyes lit up instantly, though her hand didn't release the dress.

"Ethan? You're here too?"

Her gaze moved between me and Ethan, then showed a look of realization. "I see, this must be your wife? If I'd known she was Mrs. Sterling, I wouldn't have fought for it. This dress can go to Mrs. Sterling."

She let go as if her earlier insistence had been just a joke.

But the next second, Ethan reached out and took the champagne dress directly from my hands, handing it to Serena.

"No need to give it up." He looked at Serena, his voice gentler than before. "This suits you. Go try it on."

A flash of triumph crossed Serena's eyes. She took the dress, smiled at me, and walked into the fitting room.

My hand froze in mid-air, my fingertips still holding the sensation of the fabric being taken away.

I slowly lowered my hand, clenching it into a fist, nails digging into my palm. The slight pain couldn't suppress the dull ache in my chest, like a knife slowly cutting through flesh.

Only then did Ethan turn to me, as if he'd just finished handling some trivial matter.

"Elara, that was Serena, a friend of mine. She's rather straightforward, but she means no harm. It's just a dress. We can pick another one."

I looked up at him through my thick lenses.

"Why don't you just tell the truth? You're saying she suits it better because you think my face doesn't deserve this dress, doesn't deserve anything beautiful, right?"

Ethan was clearly taken aback.

He seemed surprised I would ask this, even more surprised I would directly pierce through this veneer of decency that no one had called out before.

"That's not what I meant." He quickly adjusted his expression, his tone taking on a hint of helplessness. "If I thought you weren't good enough, why would I have married you in the first place?"

Why marry me?

Those words were like a poisoned blade stabbing straight into my heart, the pain making my vision go dark.

Yes, why?

Because I was ugly in just the right way, the perfect tool, the ideal pawn to infuriate the Sterlings and force them to compromise!

Growing up, hiding my appearance, I'd heard countless mockeries.

Classmates' whispers, blind dates' cruel words, my father's sighs. Those words were like needles. After being pricked long enough, I had grown numb.

But Ethan was different.

These three years, his gentle consolations, his casual protections, even his life-risking rescue, like warm water, they slowly softened my frozen heart, making me develop impossible fantasies and dependence.

Then, he personally, in the calmest, most casual way, completely shattered that false warmth.

This hurt worse than direct cruelty!

I suppressed the sob in my throat and the surging pain, said nothing, and turned to another rack, randomly grabbing a plain black dress.

Just then, the fitting room curtain opened.

Serena walked out.

The champagne dress perfectly outlined her figure, making her skin look like snow and her presence dazzling. She twirled, the hem creating an elegant arc.

"Miss Hayes, this dress is perfect for you!" the saleswomen gushed. "It's like it was custom-made for you!"

Ethan's gaze also fell on Serena.

His eyes were deep, clearly reflecting Serena's image. In those usually cold eyes, I now saw a tenderness I'd never seen directed at me.

Though it was just a fleeting moment, I caught it.

My heart felt like an invisible hand was squeezing it tight, the pain making it hard to breathe.

"Ethan, does it look good?" Serena asked with a smile, her gaze casually sweeping over me nearby.

"Yes, very good." Ethan nodded, his tone affirmative.

Serena's smile grew brighter.

She walked to Ethan's side and naturally tucked her hair behind her ear. "By the way, I heard tonight is Mrs. Sterling's birthday party? At the Hilton?"

"Yes." Ethan nodded.

"I happen to be free tonight." Serena looked at me with a proper smile. "Mrs. Sterling, you don't mind if I come celebrate your birthday too, do you?"

Before I could answer, Ethan already replied, "Of course not. You're welcome to come."