Chapter 1

I was touching up my lipstick when Nathan walked into the private suite of our engagement party, bringing that financially struggling college classmate with him.

"Chloe accidentally got her dress dirty. Could you lend her yours for a bit?" He said, and after I froze for a few seconds, he added, "Everyone knows you're the star today. It doesn't matter what you wear."

A girl stood by the door, her canvas shoes worn white from washing, timidly saying hello.

Tara stepped in front of me. "This is Summer's engagement party! She went to thirty stores to find this dress!"

Nathan glanced at me.

It had been five years. Every time he looked at me with that gaze, I'd give in.

I gently pushed Tara back, slowly closing my lipstick cap.

"Let her wear it."

Nathan patted my head, satisfied.

"I knew you'd be the most understanding. On our wedding day, I'll buy you the best gown."

Chloe changed into my engagement dress. Nathan knelt down to adjust her hem.

He whispered to Chloe, "You look beautiful."

I'd seen that gesture before.

During our wedding photo shoot, the photographer asked him to do it, and he said it was "too cheesy." I slipped off my engagement ring.

This time,

I wasn't going to be "understanding" anymore.

"She does look beautiful," Nathan's aunt said from a nearby table, taking Chloe's hand and looking her up and down.

Chloe lowered her head, a slight smile on her lips.

Before she could speak, Nathan chimed in from beside her.

"Chloe is a classmate of mine. Her family isn't well-off. She got her dress dirty, and Summer felt bad for her, so she offered her own dress."

His aunt nodded, then cast a glance at me.

"Then why is Summer dressed like that today? It's her engagement party, she looks a bit plain."

"She doesn't care about these things," Nathan answered for me, casually putting an arm around my shoulder. "Summer is the most generous person."

As his hand landed, I took half a step back, and his arm fell short. "What's wrong?"

I lowered my eyes.

"Nothing."

Tara grabbed my arm from behind, pulling me to the corner of the hallway. "Are you just going to let it go?"

"What else can I do?"

"You go out there and tell everyone that's your dress, and that woman isn't his fiancée—you are!"

I looked at her reddened eyes. "Tara, you're more upset than I am."

"How can I not be upset?" Tara's voice was hoarse. "Do you know what the people at his table were saying just now?"

She pulled out her phone and played a video.

It was taken by Nathan's college classmates.

In the video, Chloe, wearing my dress, stood to Nathan's right, his hand resting on her lower back.

Someone cheered, "So beautiful!" Chloe lowered her head, blushing.

She didn't deny it.

Nathan didn't deny it either, just smiled and waved his hand.

Below the video was a comment: "Nathan's fiancée is so pure." Thirty-plus likes, no one objected.

I swallowed the bitterness in my heart, turned off the video, and handed the phone back to Tara. A new round of laughter erupted from the ballroom.

Chloe was being pulled around for toasts, handling herself gracefully, leaning slightly as she held her glass. I had taught her that posture.

Last month, she said she was nervous about attending a formal event for the first time and asked me how to hold a glass. I practiced with her all afternoon.

"Could you call me a ride, Tara?"

"You're not going back in?"

"There's nothing left to go in for." I went back to the guest book table and placed my ring beside the guestbook. A thin layer of dust covered the table, and the ring made a soft clink as it landed.

My phone lit up.

It was Nathan's Ins post.

"Thanks to everyone for coming tonight."

He attached three photos.

One was a panoramic view of the ballroom, one was him toasting with friends, and the last one... Chloe, wearing my dress, smiling with crescent eyes.

He tagged Chloe.

The caption read: "Thanks, Chloe, for helping entertain guests. You worked hard." The entire post didn't mention me.

Not even my name.

I turned off the screen.

When I reached the other side of the road, the lights of the ballroom were still bright. Even from far away, I could faintly hear music and laughter.

Before getting into the car, I looked back once.

Nathan stood on the steps of the hotel entrance, looking down at his phone. Chloe walked out from behind him and gently draped a jacket over his shoulders. He raised a hand to adjust his collar.

The movement was natural.