---- Chapter 5 Elaina Higgins POV: When Derek came home that evening, he was a walking storm of anxiety. He found me curled up on the bed, my face buried in a pillow. He didn' t know if | had been crying or sleeping. "Elaina," he said, his voice trembling slightly. "Baby, | am so, so sorry. | don' t know what to say. Cory is... she' s unhinged. | broke up with her. It' s over. It was over before this. | swear." | didn' t move. | let him talk, let his lies fill the space between us. "That call... that was her lashing out. Everything she said, she was just trying to hurt you. To hurt us." He sat on the edge of the bed, his weight causing the mattress to dip. "Please, just look at me." Slowly, | turned my head. | let him see my red, swollen eyes. | let him see the devastation he had caused. His face crumpled. "Oh, God. Elaina. | did this. | am so sorry." He reached out to touch my cheek, and this time, | didn't flinch. 1 let his thumb stroke my skin, my body rigid and cold beneath his touch. "Where were you this afternoon, Derek?" | asked, my voice a ---- hollow whisper. He hesitated for a fraction of a second. "| was at a meeting. A last-minute thing with some investors from Japan. It ran late." The lie was so effortless, so practiced. He was trying to protect himself, even now. | just nodded, my gaze dropping to the duvet. "Okay." My simple acceptance seemed to unnerve him more than an accusation would have. He expected a fight, tears, screaming. He didn't know how to handle this empty, broken version of me. "| need you to believe me," he said, his voice desperate. "I love you. Only you. This wedding... it' s everything to me. It' s the start of our forever." | almost laughed. Our forever had ended days ago; he just hadn't received the memo. "I'm tired," | said, turning away from him again. "I just want to sleep." He sighed, a long, shaky exhale. "Okay. I'll... I'll be right outside if you need me." He stood and walked to the door, pausing with his hand on the knob. "Tomorrow, we have the final dress fitting and the tasting at the venue. A good day. A fresh start." A fresh start. The words were a bitter joke. ---- The next morning, he tried to pretend everything was normal. He made me coffee, his hand brushing mine as he passed me the mug. | recoiled internally but kept my expression placid. At the bridal boutique, he doted on me, telling the seamstress how beautiful | was, how he was the luckiest man in the world. | stood on the pedestal in my mother' s lace gown, a ghost in my own life, as they pinned and tucked the delicate fabric. The dress felt like a costume for a role | was no longer playing. | clutched the small, pearl-encrusted purse my mother had carried on her wedding day. It was my only connection to a love | had once believed was real and pure. Touching the smooth pearls, | felt a pang of grief for the future she had wanted for me, a future that was now impossible. "You look breathtaking," Derek said, his voice thick with emotion as he watched me in the mirror. He reached out to take my hand. "| can't wait for Saturday." His touch felt like a brand. | forced a small, tight smile. After the fitting, we were supposed to go to the venue. Derek stepped outside to take a call, his voice low and urgent. "I'll be right there," he promised, his back to me. | knew who he was talking to. My phone vibrated in my purse. A new text from Cory. Heard you' re playing dress-up. Cute. Just so you know, he' s ditching you again. He' s coming to see me. Says he needs ---- one last fix before he' s shackled to you for life. Pathetic, isn't it? My blood turned to ice. A cold, hard rage, unlike anything | had ever felt, surged through me. It wasn't just about the betrayal anymore. It was about the utter disrespect. The public humiliation. | looked at my reflection in the boutique window. The woman staring back at me was a stranger, her eyes hard and cold. The fragile little bird was gone. In her place was something else. Something dangerous. Derek came back inside, his face flushed. "Hey, so, that was work. Another emergency. | am so sorry, baby. Can we postpone the tasting?" | just stared at him. He couldn' t even come up with a new lie. "Sure," | said, my voice eerily calm. | began to unbutton the back of the dress. "What are you doing?" he asked, confused. "I'm done playing dress-up," | said, my voice flat. | let the dress pool at my feet and stepped out of it in my slip. | walked to the changing room, put on my street clothes, and came back out. Derek was still standing there, looking utterly bewildered. | walked past him without a word. ---- "Elaina, wait! Where are you going?" he called after me, a note of panic in his voice. | didn't answer. | pushed open the door of the boutique and walked out into the cold, unforgiving city. The game was over. It was time to burn the whole damn board down.