Chapter 1On my wedding day, my brother threw a glass of red wine on my wedding dress.
"Aurora, you know perfectly well Stella is in love with Gideon, so why the hell are you making such a spectacle of this wedding!"
My fiancé, his face a mask of indifference, leaned against the doorframe and said in a low, hard voice.
"I'll give you two choices. One, you walk down the aisle in that stained dress."
"Two, you go apologize to Stella right now. If you can get her to calm down, I'll tell everyone the wedding's postponed."
But I didn't choose either.
I chose a third option. Wearing my ruined wedding dress, I stood before all our friends and family and announced that my engagement to Gideon Bernard was over.
Brother, fiancé, sister. I was done with all of them.
But right after I left, I heard the news—the heads of Chicago's two most powerful families had both lost their minds.
They scoured the globe for the world's most elite designers, desperately only trying to restore a wedding dress stained with red wine.
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When Felix Durand stormed into the dressing room, I had just slipped into the wedding gown I'd treasured for ten years.
Before I could even admire myself in the mirror, the young man who shared my face kicked the door wide open.
"Aurora! Are you out of your damn mind? I warned you a dozen times, but you still insisted on having this stupid ceremony!"
"You know damn well Stella loves Gideon too. Are you trying to break her heart on purpose? Do you have any idea how hysterical she is right now, crying her eyes out at home?"
He roared at me, utterly enraged, completely missing the way the delight in my eyes flickered and died.
Of course. It was all about Stella.
I was at a loss. The heavy, ornate gown restricted my movements, a constant reminder that today was not the day for a fight.
With a soft sigh, I held back the sharp retort I would have normally thrown at Felix. Instead, I lifted my head and said with an unusual calm.
"Felix, can we not do this? Please, not today. I'm getting married. I just want to be happy."
Felix's expression only soured. He scoffed, taking two steps closer.
"Aurora, could you stop being so selfish for once? It's just a wedding. Is it really more important than Stella's feelings?"
"She's so sweet and understanding, forcing herself to wish you and Gideon well even though it's tearing her apart! All she asked was that you didn't make such a huge deal of it! A simple dinner with our families would have been fine! Why do you have to be so damn stubborn?"
His entitled tone made my hands tremble with rage. So much for the "special day"—I shot right back.
"I'm the one getting married, so what's so wrong with wanting a real wedding? Who cares if Stella's upset? Why the hell should I have to pay the price for her drama?"
"You shut your mouth! Stella is your sister too! It's your job to take care of her and put her first!"
My vision swam. I practically screamed, "Sister? She's your sister, not mine! My mother only had one daughter!"
"You shut up!"
Ice-cold red wine streamed from my hair, staining my snow-white dress a deep crimson.
In that instant, both Felix and I froze on the spot.
He seemed to finally snap back to his senses, the hand holding the empty wine glass trembling.
"A-Aurora, I didn't..."
He frantically grabbed a napkin from the table and fumbled to wipe my face, but I flinched away.
Like my soul had left my body, I stared down at the dark red stain spreading across my chest and fell into a long, heavy silence.
Wine continued to drip from my hair. Felix, perhaps thinking it was too undignified, forcefully pressed the napkin to my forehead.
"Heh—Felix, why are you even bothering with her?"
"I told you all we shouldn't have a wedding. She conspired with my parents to force me here, and now Stella's been crying for hours! Maybe it's time she learned a lesson."
Felix and I both looked toward the door, where Gideon Bernard had appeared at some point. He was leaning against the frame, a cigarette dangling from his lips, a cold smirk on his face.
I suddenly realized he wasn't even wearing his tuxedo.
He had on a white jacket with a crudely painted teddy bear on the chest.
It was the birthday gift Stella had given him last year.
Chapter 2
He tilted his head, saw the pathetic state I was in, and actually let out a soft chuckle.
"Aurora Durand, did you really think that by charming my parents you could control my life? In your dreams. Let me tell you, no matter how many games you play, you'll never be half the woman Stella is!"
I looked at the pure loathing in his eyes and could only find it laughable.
Our engagement had been arranged by our families when we were just kids.
He had never, not once, voiced any objection. Even after he started giving Stella more attention than he ever gave me, he never mentioned breaking things off.
It was the Bernard family that pushed for the wedding.
Back then, when Stella found out we were getting married, she threw a fit, crying and refusing to eat, making Felix and Gideon sick with worry.
To placate her, both of them started avoiding me completely.
During my last call to Gideon, I had asked him, "Gideon, do you actually want to get married or not?"
He was silent on the other end for a long time, until Stella's tear-choked voice came through the line. "Gideon, honey, who are you talking to? Is that Aurora?"
Only then did he hastily snap, "This is so annoying. Our families decided this ages ago, what's there to even ask? Stop calling me!"
Mr. Bernard had told me not to worry, that he would handle the arrangements, and that he would persuade Gideon.
Seeing Gideon like this, I figured he must have gotten an earful from his father and was now taking it out on me, deliberately trying to humiliate me.
I let out a low laugh, took the napkin from Felix's hand, and gently wiped the wine from my face.
"Aurora, Aurora, is your fiancé here yet? The officiant is ready to get you two on stage! You—oh my god! Your dress!"
My maid of honor, Eleanor Davis, rushed in frantically. The moment she took in the scene, she looked like she was about to faint.
Her almond-shaped eyes widened in disbelief. She looked from me to the two men, and the pieces instantly clicked into place.
"You two sons of bitches, are you bullying Aurora again!"
Before her nails could find Gideon's face, I shot out a hand and grabbed her arm.
Eleanor's dad works for Gideon's family company.
It wasn't worth it. It so wasn't worth it.
But Gideon seemed to misunderstand. Seeing me step between them, his expression flickered with a moment of stunned confusion.
Then, he lowered his voice.
"I'll give you two choices. One, you go through with the ceremony in this stained dress."
"Two, you go apologize to Stella right now. If you can calm her down, I'll announce the wedding is postponed and have a new dress rush-made for you. Your choice."
He said he was giving me a choice, but the defiant look on his face told me he was just waiting for a fight.
Eleanor was so furious she started crying, staring at him with a murderous glare.
But I, from beginning to end, I didn't show the slightest sign of anger.
I lifted my head and looked him straight in the eye.
"No, thank you, Mr. Bernard. My wedding dress—my mother made it for me before she died. I highly doubt you could find a designer better than her."
Thud!
Behind me, Felix stumbled back into the vanity table. I turned to meet his utterly shell-shocked gaze.
His lips were trembling, moving but forming no words.
I ignored him and turned back to Gideon. "So, as for your two options, I reject them both."
Chapter 3
Clutching my bouquet, I walked onto the stage alone. The only ones waiting for me at the altar were Gideon's parents.
My own parents had passed away years ago. Other than the brother who had just thrown wine in my face, I had no blood relatives left in this world.
Under the stunned gaze of every guest, I calmly took the microphone from the officiant's hand.
"I'm sorry to appear before you all like this. First, please accept my apologies."
Gideon, finally realizing what was happening, rushed onto the stage and grabbed my arm.
"Aurora, what do you think you're doing?"
"What you wanted me to do all along!"
"As you can all see, my fiancé, Mr. Bernard, hasn't even bothered to change into his tuxedo."
"He claims I manipulated him into this wedding. Well, let's just say I'm done manipulating. I am officially announcing that my engagement to Gideon Bernard is off! From this day forward, our lives are our own!"
With that, I dropped the mic, shook off Gideon's hand, and walked off the stage.
Behind me, the venue erupted into chaos.
In front of me stood Felix, his face still pale and panicked.
He reached for me, but his hand froze when he saw the glaring crimson stain on my dress.
I didn't stop for anyone. I tossed my bouquet aside and brushed right past Felix.
At the entrance, a fuming Eleanor had already pulled the car around.
"Aurora! Get in!"
It wasn't until I was safely in the car that I realized my hands were shaking.
In the rearview mirror, my own face stared back at me, makeup smudged and streaked with tears.
Eleanor handed me a couple of tissues, cursing Gideon under her breath.
"He used to be such a sweet kid. How did he turn into such a monster?"
"He used to adore you! That bastard. He changes his mind faster than he changes his damn clothes!"
Her voice trailed off as she watched me bury my face in the tissues, silent for a long, long time.
"Aurora…"
"I'm okay, Eleanor, really. I just miss my mom."
The car fell silent. I leaned my head against the window, watching the scenery blur past, feeling the profound weight of how much everything had changed.
It turned out I was the only fool who had been standing still all this time, refusing to move on.
The truth was, Felix and Gideon used to be so good to me when we were little. Truly, so good.
My mother was a world-renowned wedding dress designer.
She always said she would design the most unique wedding dress in the world for me, that she wanted to see me with her own eyes, wearing her love and blessings as I married the man of my dreams.
That year, Gideon and I had just been engaged by our parents.
He'd come to hold my hand, blushing furiously, only for my brother to shove him away.
"Back off, back off! We said when you're grown up, not now!"
The adults around us erupted in laughter. I shyly buried my face in my mom's dress as she gently stroked my hair.
Back then, my mother hadn't been diagnosed with stomach cancer, and there was no sister named Stella in our family.
Everyone I loved was right there with me.
