Chapter 4

Stella POV

That afternoon, at New York's most exclusive private bridal boutique.

Luna was like a proud swan, selecting wedding dresses surrounded by staff. I stood expressionlessly to the side like a soulless puppet.

"Miss Forrester, what do you think of this one?" Luna suddenly turned around, pointing to a gown in the center display case.

I followed her finger and my pupils contracted sharply.

It was a strapless gown with a starry gradient pattern, the skirt encrusted with tens of thousands of tiny South African diamonds.

I had drawn the design for this wedding dress three years ago with my own hands.

At the time, I'd shown it to Ethan with such joy, asking if I could wear it when we got married.

What did Ethan say then? He said, "It's beautiful. I'll definitely have it made in the future and put it on you myself."

Now the dress was made, but the person wearing it wasn't me.

"Very beautiful." I heard my mechanical voice.

Luna smiled with satisfaction and turned to enter the fitting room.

Soon after, Ethan pushed the door open. He walked straight to the sofa and sat down, not giving me a single extra glance.

The curtain of the fitting room opened, and Luna walked out in that starry wedding dress, like a fairy descended to earth. She held up her skirt and walked shyly to Ethan. "Ethan, does it look good?"

A flash of amazement crossed Ethan's eyes. He stood up and gently adjusted her veil, his voice so tender it could drip water. "Beautiful. This dress looks like it was custom-made for you."

Luna leaned shyly into his embrace, but her eyes glanced provocatively at me. "I heard this dress was designed by some unknown designer. I was worried it wouldn't be worthy of a billionaire's status."

Ethan laughed lightly, his tone full of disdain. "Who cares who designed it? As long as you like it. Wearing it on you elevates that designer's cheap taste."

Cheap taste.

Those words were like a dull knife, slowly cutting back and forth across my heart.

I watched the embracing couple and suddenly felt it was all absurd. The promise I'd treasured was just a casual lie to him. The design I'd poured all my love into had become cheap garbage in his mouth.

I didn't refute or cry. I just stood quietly in the corner, watching Ethan lower his head to kiss Luna's forehead.

In that moment, I clearly heard the sound of my heart dying.

No heart-wrenching cries of pain, only a barren silence.

On the weekend, I went to Ethan's private villa in Long Island, New York.

This was where we'd lived together for five years. Although Ethan never allowed me to leave too many personal items, five years of accumulation meant there were still traces of me everywhere.

Since I'd decided to leave, I didn't want to leave anything behind to disgust myself.

I entered the password and pushed open the door, only to be frozen by the scene before me.

The living room was in chaos. Several servants were holding large black garbage bags, tossing things in one by one.

The matching coffee mugs I'd bought. The cushions I'd embroidered with our initials. My bunny slippers by the entrance. Even my luxury skincare products from the bathroom.

Everything was being thrown away like trash.

"What are you doing?" I demanded sharply.

The servants stopped and looked at each other. Then someone came down the stairs from the second floor.

Ethan wore gray loungewear, looking at me coldly. "I had them clean up. Luna's moving in next week. She has a cleanliness obsession and can't stand the smell of other women."

I looked at the coffee mug shattered in the trash. We'd made it together during a pottery class on a business trip to Paris. Though he'd looked impatient, he still stayed with me until we finished.

Now it was broken into pieces on the ground.