Chapter 4
639 Words
After replying to my brother's message, I was practically shoved out of the villa by the last maid rushing to move the bed.
Outside, Ivan was directing people to take down the wedding portrait I'd hung up only the night before.
In its place... they hung a new one. A wedding photo of him and Cora.
Even from a distance, my eyes locked onto the wedding gown she was wearing.
Just one glance... And my heart split open.
I had sewn that dress myself. It had taken me an entire year.
When I finished it, everyone was stunned. It even won first place at an international design competition.
The dress became a sensation. Collectors had offered outrageous amounts of money for it.
Ivan had looked at me and said only one sentence, "It doesn't suit you. It makes you look bigger."
So I gave up the dress I was proudest of.
When he told me he'd dispose of it for me, I believed him.
Now I finally understood. He hadn't thrown it away. He'd saved it for the woman he truly loved.
Ivan admired the wedding portrait, snapped a picture, and immediately made it his phone wallpaper.
Then he noticed me standing there.
"I knew you'd come around. I'll have the butler drive you to the apartment."
Before he could call anyone, I interrupted him. "No. Someone's coming to pick me up."
His eyes narrowed. "Who's coming to...?"
Before he could finish, a maid rushed over in panic.
"Sir! Miss Hayes's reception dress... It got stained."
As she spoke, her eyes flickered toward me.
Immediately, I felt Ivan's gaze turn ice-cold. The pressure rolling off him was suffocating.
"Sabina, is this how I raised you? You actually stooped to dirty tricks against my wife? How dare you touch her things?"
He didn't ask a single question. He'd already declared me guilty.
"You've disappointed me. I guess rotten blood really does run in families."
I looked at him. Suddenly, I wanted to laugh.
"Do you honestly think I did it? You've lived with me for 19 years. You were with me the whole day. The dress was only ever around Cora. How could I...?"
"Sabina..." A soft, trembling voice interrupted me. "Are you still angry at me?"
Cora's reddened eyes instantly melted Ivan's heart. His expression toward me grew even colder.
"Sabina, you're still lying. Cora would never do something like that. Don't try to drag her into this."
He rubbed his forehead tiredly. "I don't have time to deal with this. The wedding's about to start. Go get the Meteor Dress that I designed for you. The one displayed in the Global Design Museum. It's the only dress worthy of Cora."
Everything suddenly made sense.
I looked at Cora. She hid in Ivan's arms, smiling at me.
So that was it. She wanted the Meteor Dress.
The dress she'd begged to borrow before.
The dress I'd refused to lend.
The dress I treasured so much that I'd locked it inside a vault.
The only creation Ivan and I had ever designed together.
Ivan once told me, "It belongs only to you."
Now he was saying it belonged to Cora.
I let out a quiet laugh. 'What's the point of keeping it anymore? It doesn't matter now.'
"Sabina! Cora doesn't owe you anything! If you're unwilling..."
"You can have it."
"...What?" Ivan froze. His eyes searched my face.
He clearly hadn't expected me to agree so easily.
After all, he knew better than anyone how much that dress meant to me. I used to visit the vault every single day just to look at it.
Suspicion filled his eyes.
I didn't look at him again. Instead, right in front of him, I dialed a number.
"Return everything in the safe to Mr. Wood. I don't want any of it anymore."
- Writer
