At that moment, my phone kept buzzing with scandalous photos of Griffin and me.
#FamousWedding Dress Designer SuspectedOfCheating
The topic kept gaining traction, and my appointments were being canceled one after another.
<
“I won’t let a cheating woman design my wedding dress! You should be banned from the industry!”
My private messages were filled with venomous abuse and accusations, seemingly trying to drown me.
I calmly deleted the messages, preparing to leave, only to be blocked by Finn and Maddox in the stairwell.
Their eyes were red.
“Dahlia, we knew you would come to us.”
“We’re getting married tomorrow; the rumors will disappear, Finn said anxiously, trying to hold my hand, “We believe you, knowing it’s just misunderstanding with that man, you’re just trying to make us angry, right? Now I grant your wish.”
I gently withdrew my hand and asked lightly: “Did you guys do this?”
Their expressions flickered, holding my hand tightly.
“It was Eloise who did it; she’s already been punished,” Finn hurriedly explained.
I knew the truth, of course. Eloise was unhappy with her demotion, and my two childhood friends kept giving her jewelry to appease her.
I shook my head and said, “Do you remember those devices you gave me as gifts?”
They froze.
“Old things need to be replaced, I replied calmly, turning to leave.
“Dahlia Bennett!” Finn and Maddox shouted in unison, “Are you really going to give up everything?”
I paused, nodded slightly: “Alright, help me choose a wedding dress.”
A glimmer of hope flashed in their eyes, as if they saw a turning point.
“We’ll take you to see the wedding venue right away, Maddox said eagerly.
I laughed inwardly, agreeing to see the wedding dress only to avoid clashing with Griffin or them.
We reached the wedding venue, where they attended to me as they did in the past, but when I saw the cushions under the seats, they quickly moved me to the back row.
Griffin’s car followed not far behind, and I silently observed everything.
The wedding venue was unrecognizable, and the bouquet was hideous.
Eloise casually walked out, pretending to be surprised upon seeing me, trying to block Finn and Maddox.
Maddox angrily dragged her away: “Who let you make changes without permission?”
Eloise glanced at me guiltily, whispering: “I just wanted to contribute something for you guys; the pass was given by you.”
Finn and Maddox hurriedly explained to me that the pass was only temporarily lent to her.
Eloise was furious, her face turning ashen.
I shook my head indifferently and handed them the selected wedding photos.
This plan was once my discarded draft; I don’t know how it ended up in Eloise’s hands and known to them…
Seeing me choose a wedding dress, they breathed a sigh of relief.
“Tomorrow we’ll pick you up; public opinion won’t affect you. We’ll get you more orders,” Maddox promised.
1:18 PM
<
I smiled in response, but I had already made up my mind, checking the tickets and design drafts in my hand, ready to embrace a new beginning.
Perhaps my calm demeanor this time was a bit unusual.
Finn and Maddox kept trying to talk to me, wanting to break the silence.
They could sense the waves in my heart but didn’t know where to start.
Until late at night, they still insisted on staying outside the hotel where I was temporarily residing.
When I opened my suitcase, the sketches inadvertently fell out, and Finn quickly picked them up, a gleam in his eyes.
“Dahlia, I know you have high hopes for this wedding. After the storm passes, we can hold it again according to these sketches, okay? Our future is long.”
But he didn’t know that future no longer included him.
Finn’s gaze remained affectionate, as if I still clung to him as before.
Maddox held my shoulder tightly, his voice full of comfort: “The doors of the Carter family will always be open for you.”
After they left, I kept washing my body repeatedly, until my skin turned red, trying to wash away those unpleasant memories.
The next morning, I got into Griffin’s car to head to the airport, my phone buzzing constantly with anxious messages from Finn and Maddox.
“Dahlia, where did you go? Pick up the phone!”
“Why can’t the hotel find you? Reply immediately!”
Casually scrolling through my phone, I glanced at the trending topic “Famous Wedding Dress Designer is a Mistress Confirmed,” and quietly removed my SIM card, tossing it into the trash at the airport.
When I arrived in a foreign country and stood at the wedding venue, I truly felt a sense of liberation.
There was a knock at the door, and an assistant handed me a phone, the screen playing a live broadcast from home.
In the footage, the Carter family wedding was under way, and someone shouted, “The groom is here.”
Maddox looked expectantly, but the camera turned to Eloise stepping out of the car in a wedding dress.
She gracefully walked towards Finn, who seemed somewhat uneasy.
Maddox tried hard to smile at the camera, attempting to conceal his inner turmoil: “Dahlia, if you don’t come, your groom might get stolen.”
It was a joke between them, but it left the reporters present exchanging puzzled looks.
Eloise awkwardly smiled: “Sorry, my bridesmaid dress got ruined, so I had to wear this spare wedding dress.”
Finn quietly questioned Eloise: “Where did she go?”
Eloise stammered for a while before saying: “She ran away! Maybe she eloped with some man!”
Finn and Maddox were shocked, eyes widening, fingers unconsciously digging into their palms.
They rushed out, and the TV station reporters hurriedly followed, eager to capture more news.
However, as they burst through the doors, the mall’s big screen was playing sweet moments between me and Griffin.
