He Let Her Try On My Wedding Dress

Celia's POV: Before our wedding, Emmett Mercer brought his first love to try on my wedding dress. The dress had been altered six times. Tucked into the waist were pearls I'd taken from my mother's old evening gown. I'd sewn on every one by hand. Standing in front of the mirror, his first love said the fit was perfect. It was just a shame she had no wedding to wear it to. Emmett adjusted her veil, then turned to me and announced his decision. "We're canceling our ceremony for now. Her father's seriously ill. His only wish is to see her get married, so I'm doing a pretend wedding with her." I thought I'd misheard him. Then he told me to lend her my ring, too. "It's only for 3 days. You'll get everything back after the ceremony. You've been with me for 8 years. Can't you trust me this much?" I asked him what that meant for me. The guests had already been notified. My father was memorizing his wedding speech, and there were only enough pearls on the old evening gown for this one wedding dress. His patience vanished. "They're just a few pearls some dead person left behind. Why should everyone have to bend over backward for you? If you're going to make such a fuss, we can forget about ever having a wedding." Whenever he said that, I used to be the first to give in. This time, though, I looked at the woman in the mirror wearing my wedding dress and suddenly thought how well it all fit. The dress suited her. So did the ring. They suited each other, too. The tailor asked whether I still wanted the dress altered. I picked up the measuring tape from the table and cut it at the mark for my measurements. There were still 20 days left. That was enough time to put a new bride in my place, and enough time for me to learn to stop waiting for him. "Celia, what the hell are you doing?" Emmett snatched the scissors out of my hand. The severed measuring tape fell to the floor, cut off exactly at the 20 mark. He frowned, but his first instinct was to move Nadine Kessler behind him, as if I'd been coming at her with the scissors. "It's just a wedding dress. Do you really have to make a scene over lending it to her?" I knew that tone all too well, half coaxing, half warning. Whenever he thought I wasn't being reasonable but didn't want to argue in public, he would lower his voice and say my name. "Celia, don't embarrass everyone." In the past, that was usually enough to make me back down. This time, I just looked at the wedding dress Nadine was wearing. "Those pearls belonged to my mom. I sewed them on myself." Emmett sighed and reached out to stroke my hair. I turned my head away. His hand hung in the air for a moment. Nadine chose that moment to speak. "Ms. Fenton, please don't be angry with him. He's just worried about my dad." She started to remove the veil as she spoke, but moved so slowly it was as if she were waiting for someone to stop her. "Maybe I shouldn't wear it. I can make do with an ordinary wedding dress." Sure enough, Emmett caught her hand. "No. Appearances matter most to Mr. Kessler. We can't leave him with any regrets." He didn't hesitate. I remembered when I'd first chosen this bridal boutique 6 months earlier. Emmett had glanced at the prices and said a wedding dress was something you wore once in your life. There was no need to waste money. In the end, I'd paid the deposit myself. Now that it was Nadine's turn, an ordinary wedding dress was suddenly too cheap to be seen in. Emmett turned to the tailor. "Pack this one up. Leave the size as it is." The tailor looked uncomfortable and didn't dare answer. I said nothing, either. Emmett probably took my silence as agreement. His expression softened. His voice grew gentler as he came over to me. "I know it's hard to part with it. I'll have another one made for you afterward. Pick whatever you like, no matter the price." As he spoke, he took my hand and rubbed his thumb over my knuckles in that familiar way. "All right. Give me the ring." For a moment, he was as gentle as the man who had pursued me 8 years ago. I instinctively tried to pull my hand back. Emmett frowned slightly. "It's only 3 days. Don't make me argue with you here." I still didn't move. He tightened his grip on my wrist and forced the ring off my ring finger. The band scraped over my knuckle, leaving a red mark around it. Looking down, he saw the mark and paused. "Did that hurt?" I didn't answer. He rubbed my knuckle as he used to. "After the ceremony, I'll put it back on you myself." Then he slipped the ring into his pocket. Nadine had been watching from beside us. At last, she murmured, "Maybe I should go without the ring. She'll only be more upset if I wear it." For all her protests, her gaze never left Emmett's pocket. Emmett looked unconcerned. "It's only pretend. Don't overthink it." He even turned to me. "Right, Celia?" Suddenly, I wasn't sure what he was asking. 'Does he mean the wedding is fake? Or is our love fake, too?' Emmett picked up his car keys from the table. "Tell the hotel we're postponing the reception. Don't tell your father the real reason, either. We don't want him worrying." I looked up at him. "Why can't I tell my dad the truth?" He frowned. I went on, "I'll just tell him you're postponing our wedding to marry someone else." The room fell silent. Nadine's eyes quickly reddened. "Ms. Fenton, people will get the wrong idea if you put it like that. Emmett and I grew up together. He's just helping make my wish come true." She paused, then added softly, "Besides, you're already legally married. A ceremony won't change anything." Emmett actually nodded. "Nadine's right. Don't make such a big deal out of a formality." I looked at him and let out a bitter laugh. Nadine followed him to the door. Before getting into the car, she asked quietly, "Emmett, am I causing you trouble?" Emmett opened the passenger door for her. "No. She gets upset easily. A little sweet talk will calm her down." The car door closed. Only then did the tailor cautiously ask, "Mrs. Mercer, what should we do about the wedding dress?" I turned away from the car. "Don't call me Mrs. Mercer. He can pay for it himself." As I stepped out of the boutique, the early autumn breeze chilled my face. My phone rang just then. It was the international recruiter. "Ms. Fenton, have you decided about the position at the Veldren headquarters? If you accept, you'll need to start on the 10th of next month." I thought about that date, the 10th of next month. It would have been the day after my wedding to Emmett. For that wedding, I'd turned down a promotion I'd spent 3 years working toward. I looked up. Across the street, Nadine wobbled in her heels, and Emmett immediately caught her around the waist. She leaned into him and said something I couldn't hear. He looked down at her and smiled. I turned away. "I accept. Please get the process moving as soon as possible." After hanging up, I hailed a taxi. "Corven Hotel, please."