Betrayed by the One I Loved

The next day, right on time, I stood at the entrance of the villa as Damien stepped out, carefully supporting Vivian as though she were something fragile.

A flicker of guilt flashed across his face when he saw me.

“Estelle, Vivian has never worn a wedding dress in her life. She just wants to tag along and take a look. Don’t worry, she won’t get in the way.”

I nodded without saying a word.

Damien kept one hand protectively behind her back like she was made of glass.

“Watch your step.”

“The sun’s strong. Put your hat on.”

“Walk slowly, don’t tire yourself out.”

Each word of concern felt like a dull knife, slicing me over and over again.

Even after we got in the car, Damien would not stop fussing over her the entire ride.

“Don’t wander off. You need to do exactly as I say, even at the bridal boutique.”

When we arrived at the store, he told the staff to bring out the wedding dresses for me to choose from. However, he hovered anxiously by Vivian’s side.

“These dresses are heavy. Just look. Don’t actually try them on. It’ll exhaust you.”

“No! I want to wear one. I didn’t even get to wear a wedding dress when we got our marriage license. Can’t I at least try one now?”

She pointed to the gown I had just picked out and asked in a sweet tone,

“That one in Estelle’s hand looks so pretty. Can I try it on?”

Damien put on a helpless look and turned to me.

“Estelle, let her try it on, okay? Just this once. Please, let her go first.”

I handed the gown to Vivian without a word. There was no protest and no reaction.

‘Damien, I wanted to spend our final moments alone, to show you the wedding dress I had chosen.

‘Now, you even took that chance away from me.

‘Since you did not know how to treasure it, I could only hope that you would not regret the choice you made today when I was gone.’

He even asked me to go with Vivian to the fitting room and still was not done giving instructions.

“Don’t let her bend over. Her body’s too heavy now. Be careful with the train of the dress. Don’t let her trip...”

I listened in silence, swallowing the bitterness in my chest.

Vivian was right. Damien would make a good father.

I helped her into the wedding dress with great effort. She gave me a smug look. Suddenly, she grabbed the front row of mannequins, each over six feet tall, and yanked them down.

She staggered back just enough to dodge the first falling mannequin, then screamed as they crashed down.

“Help! My baby…”

Damien flew across the boutique and swept her into his arms, diving to shield her.

Nevertheless, I was hit squarely in the leg by the first mannequin and watched, wide-eyed, as the rest came toppling toward me.

“Damien! Help me!”

My voice was drowned out by the chaos of crashing figures.

I saw him carrying Vivian, running for the door without even turning back.

Half my body was pinned under the heavy mannequins. Pain throbbed through my ribs and arm.

Still, it was nothing compared to the pain of my heart shattering into pieces.

I curled up on the floor, slowly closed my eyes, and let the tears fall freely down my face.