Chapter 2

The makeup artist dropped her blush brush, and the eyeshadow palette shattered into pieces on the floor.

That musty, tattered wedding dress sat mockingly on the rack.

The whispers around me felt like hot needles pricking my skin.

"Why is the heiress of the Vance family being given a trashy, worn-out dress?"

"Is the Carter family doing this on purpose? Who gets married in that?"

"I heard Chloe's custom gown cost over three hundred thousand dollars to make..."

I marched over, grabbed the collar of the musty dress, my fingernails digging deep into the cheap fabric.

Cold sweat began to trace down my spine.

A second later, I gestured to my maid of honor.

"Search the place! Head to toe! Don't even spare Mia's purse!"

I glanced over at the VIP lounge.

My mom's face was as white as a sheet, her hands shaking so badly her teacup was sloshing over.

Beside her, my dad was frantically wiping sweat from his forehead with a handkerchief.

This alliance between the Carters and the Vances was a massive deal. The venue rental alone cost a fortune.

The wedding was supposed to be the event of the year. I couldn't let it become a laughingstock!

"Did one of the staff make a mistake?"

My best friend Harper whispered in my ear, holding the coat I had just taken off.

I remained silent.

The haute couture gown had been delivered by a secure transport this morning. I had watched the staff hang it in my private fitting room with my own eyes. Unless...

"Chloe," Julian walked over, his tone incredibly dismissive. "How about we skip the fitting today? We can come back when it's less crowded..."

"No."

Harper cut in quickly. "Everyone, don't just stand there! Did someone take the dress by mistake? Bring it out now!"

"Yeah! If we find it, dinner is on us! Let's not hold up the schedule!"

I watched Harper and the boutique staff tear the fitting rooms apart, checking even behind the heavy velvet curtains.

I let out a cold scoff and locked my eyes onto Mia's hiding spot.

"Stop acting. If you keep dragging this out, everyone's going to look stupid. Hand over my dress."

The moment the words left my mouth, everyone turned to look at Mia.

She took a couple of steps back, instinctively grabbing Julian's arm.

After a tense silence, she screeched defensively, "I didn't hide it! I didn't even go into your fitting room! How would I know where the dress went? Chloe, I know you've always hated me, but you can't just accuse me like this..."

Julian immediately glared at me, then turned around to pat Mia's head soothingly.

The air outside the fitting room was dead silent, but Mia's hands were visibly shaking.

"Check the security cameras. From the exact moment we walked in!"

Even after playing the footage back at half-speed three times, we only caught a blurry shadow.

Taking advantage of a staff member's turned back, someone had slipped the tattered vintage dress into my fitting room.

But the face was obscured.

I noticed Julian's mother checking her phone for the hundredth time, her patience wearing thin.

Julian suddenly stood up and said, "Chloe, we don't have to do the fitting today. I'll have my assistant order a new one. We can try again some other time, okay?"

He didn't even wait for my response. Instead, he turned to look at Mia.

He was clearly waiting for her approval.

I clenched my fists, a suffocating weight pressing down on my chest.

But at this point, causing a bigger scene would indeed leave everyone embarrassed.