The Wedding Dress I Never Got to Wear

For ten years, Daniel Miller and I were nothing more than a secret. We went straight from friends with benefits to husband and wife, skipping the dating phase entirely. Then came the weddings. Every single time we tried to have a ceremony, his childhood best friend, Chloe Vance, would pull him away with ridiculous excuses. The first time we read our vows, she needed him to drive her to the dentist for a mouth ulcer. The second time we tried to exchange rings, she had a panic attack and threatened to jump off a roof. For our third attempt, I bribed the security guard. I begged him not to let anyone crash the venue. When I arrived, the guard blocked me at the front gates. I stood outside in the cold. I watched another woman walk down the aisle in the custom wedding dress I had cherished for a decade. In ten minutes, she stole the walk that took me ten years to reach. She looked pale and fragile. Daniel held her close, shielding her from the crowd. "Chloe was diagnosed with a terminal illness," he told me later, without a trace of guilt. "Her only wish before surgery is to marry me. “You and I are just in a secret relationship anyway. You’ve waited ten years. You can wait a little longer." Chloe looked at me with tears in her eyes. "He was mine first. Can you just give him back to me for one day before my operation?" Daniel snapped at me before I could speak. "I know you’re upset. But she’s sick. Just wait for the next wedding." I stood frozen. He forgot one detail. I was sick, too. Bone cancer was slowly destroying my body. My final wish was to wear the dress my mother designed for me before I died. ‘Daniel, there won't be a next time.’ Chapter 1 Serena's POV "Why are you crying on a day like this?" Daniel frowned, his gaze sweeping across the crowd. He stepped closer, pulling me against his chest. His fingers gently wiped away the tears I hadn't realized were falling. "In front of all these people, Chloe has to be the bride today," he whispered. "Be reasonable. Don't make things difficult for her." I raised my head and looked around. Every face in the room was a stranger. The invitations, the welcome board, the wedding photos, everything had been replaced with Chloe's name and face. I was the only outsider. I looked like an uninvited ex trying to crash a wedding. Daniel nudged me with an urgent look. "Be good. Let me help Chloe through her treatment first. I promise I’ll give you a real wedding after." There it was again. His third promise. I couldn't bring myself to believe it anymore. My voice was raspy. "No need." If it wasn't mine, I didn't want it anymore. "You can marry whoever you want," I said, looking straight at him. "But that wedding dress is mine. Tell her to take it off and give it back." I took a step forward. I hadn't even touched Chloe yet. Daniel’s face instantly darkened. He placed himself protectively in front of her. "Enough! It’s just a dress. Why do you have to be so petty?" He lowered his voice, irritation flashing in his eyes. "Have some self-respect in front of all these guests." "I just want my own property back..." I mumbled. He grabbed my wrist tightly. A sharp, bone-deep pain shot up my arm, but I barely felt it. I reached out anyway, trying to grab the hem of my dress. Suddenly, Chloe screamed and shoved me away. The champagne tower beside us crashed to the floor with a terrifying shatter. Sticky liquid splashed everywhere, ruining the pristine white silk of the gown. "Ah! That hurts!" Chloe cried out. She clutched her arms, looking at me with wide, innocent eyes. "Serena, Daniel bought this dress for me! How is it yours?" "If you like it that much, I can lend it to you when you get married," she whimpered. "You’ve had him for ten whole years. “I'm dying. I just wanted to marry him once before my surgery. Is that too much to ask?" Seeing Chloe burst into tears, Daniel’s expression turned icy. Then he saw me lying in the mess on the floor. A shard of broken glass had sliced my elbow. Blood pooled onto the soaked rug. The harsh words died in his throat. He instinctively reached a hand out toward me. Before he could touch me, Chloe started sobbing hysterically again. "Serena... does ruining my wedding really make you feel that good?" Murmurs immediately broke out among the guests. "Look at that. Chloe is the one who's sick, but the ex-girlfriend is playing the victim." "Right? I heard she used to work as a nightclub hostess. No wonder she has no manners." The whispers felt like needles sticking into my back. My lips became drained of color. Seeing the crowd's reaction, Daniel pulled his hand back as quickly as he had offered it. "You heard them? Get up on your own." He didn't say the rest out loud, but I read his eyes clearly. ‘Stop acting. I'm not falling for it.’ An agonizing surge of pain ripped through my lower leg. My bone had snapped. The cancer had already hollowed out my bones from the inside. Sometimes ago, after suffering through six agonizing months of chemotherapy alone, I finally built up the courage to tell Daniel the truth. But he dismissed me before I could even finish. "I'm too busy at work right now," he said impatiently. "It’s just a routine checkup. Stop being so dramatic, okay?" Later that same night, I saw Chloe’s social media post. Daniel was holding a dirty stray dog in his arms like a newborn baby with a caption. [If digging through trash cans across the city with me at 4 a.m. isn’t love, then love doesn’t exist.] At 4 a.m. that morning, I was sitting alone in a sterile hospital room. I was staring numbly at the swollen, bruised needle marks on the back of my hands. He never knew I wasn't there for a checkup. I was there for chemotherapy. And he had completely ignored the drawers full of painkillers in our apartment. "Everyone is watching," Daniel demanded, his voice cold. "How much longer are you going to lie on the floor?" The sharp agony in my leg pulled me back to reality. I looked up at him, practically begging. "I'll let her have the wedding. I'll let her have you. I don't want anything else. Just give me the dress... Please..." Before he could answer, a sudden gasp echoed through the hall. Chloe fainted. Daniel caught her in his arms instantly. Panic washed over his face as he scooped her up, stepping right over me to rush for the doors. As he moved, the train of the wedding dress caught on a jagged piece of broken glass on the floor. Rrrrip. The delicate fabric which was already stained with champagne, was torn open by a massive, ragged tear. I froze. That was the last wedding dress my mother ever made before she passed away. She had made it so she could symbolically witness my happiness. Now, it was completely destroyed. Just like everything else I tried so hard to hold onto. No matter how hard I fought, I could never keep a single thing. Chapter 2 Daniel looked at me with deep disappointment. "It's just a dress," he snapped. "Do you really have to push Chloe to the brink of death to be happy?" The groom and his bride were gone. In an instant, the noisy reception hall emptied out, leaving only me behind. I clutched a torn scrap of the wedding dress in my hands and frantically wiped away my tears. I forced a weak smile to comfort myself. ‘It’s okay.’ Mom left behind her original design sketches before her car accident. As long as I had the sketches, I could remake the dress. I rushed back to our apartment as if grasping at a lifeline. I headed straight for the closet. The sketches I had kept locked away were gone. I searched like a madwoman, tearing the place apart. Finally, I found an earring on the floor beside our bed. It belonged to Chloe. My hands shook violently as I called Daniel. "Why is Chloe's earring in our bedroom?" "Chloe is sick and needs someone to take care of her," Daniel said casually. "The apartment was sitting empty anyway..." "Did she take my mother's design sketches?!" I interrupted, my voice cracking. Daniel paused. His tone instantly chilled. "What kind of attitude is that? You ruined Chloe's wedding, and now you're accusing her of stealing? "Chloe is an art student. She thought your mother's designs were beautiful and asked if she could look at them. I gave them to her." The last bit of strength drained from my body. Tears streamed down my face uncontrollably. "What right do you have to give away the only thing my mother left me...?" Silence hung on the other end of the line. Then, someone took the phone. Chloe’s sweet voice came through the speaker. "Serena, Daniel said you have to pay for ruining my wedding." She paused, sounding almost merciful. "But I stood up for you. He said if you come to the hospital and apologize to me in front of everyone, he'll consider giving them back." --- The moment I pushed open the hospital door, over a dozen pairs of eyes locked onto me. They were all Chloe's close friends. "I'm here," I said, staring straight at Daniel. "Give me back my mother's sketches." "Hold on," Daniel said, stepping forward to block my path. "Apologize to Chloe first." He frowned. "Because you made a scene over that dress, Chloe has been crying non-stop. The doctor said her condition is worsening." I lowered my gaze, about to open my mouth. One of Chloe's friends shouted, "A simple apology isn't going to cut it! You ruined her dream wedding and made her condition worse!" They pulled out their phones, pointing the cameras directly at my face. "Unless you get on your knees, apologize properly, and admit you're a homewrecker," the friend sneered. "Swear that you'll never steal her boyfriend again. “Otherwise, forget about getting those sketches back." They passed my mother's delicate sketches around like trash. Someone casually tossed them onto a table next to some grease-stained takeout boxes. Food crumbs smeared across the paper. My heart felt like it was being crushed in a vice. My eyes burned as tears welled up once more. I sank to my knees, facing Chloe. "I am... a homewrecker..." My voice was barely a whisper. "I promise... I'll never try to steal your boyfriend again..." Camera flashes flickered nonstop. The shutter sounds echoed in my ears like gunfire. I pressed my forehead to the floor three times. "Can I have them back now?" I asked, my voice dry and raspy. Daniel’s brows furrowed. Before he could speak, Chloe's friend let out a mock laugh. "Look at her. She threw away all her self-respect just to hold onto Daniel's money. Kneels down the moment she's told to. "If she cared about self-respect, she wouldn't have worked at that club," another one of her friends chimed in. "Daniel rescued her from that dive back then. No wonder she's been desperate enough to stay his secret hookup for ten whole years." The pain in my broken leg flared up intensely. I couldn't even go to the emergency room in time. I collapsed on the cold tile floor, letting their cruel taunts hit me like slaps to the face. I didn't notice the icy, murderous look in Daniel's eyes. Suddenly, the door swung open. A nurse pushed a tray inside. The moment she saw me, her eyes widened in surprise. "Miss Evans? You're here?" She checked her clipboard. "The specialist you've been trying to book for the past six months is doing rounds today. A spot just freed up for you." Daniel's body went tense. He looked down at me, his gaze suddenly sharp with suspicion. "Why are you trying to see an oncology specialist?" he demanded. "Are you sick?” Chapter 3 Before I could open my mouth, Chloe cut in. "Serena, thank you so much! I can't believe you knew about this specialist." She put a hand over her heart, looking deeply moved. "I heard his waitlist is completely booked. You actually reserved an appointment just for me?" The cold tension on Daniel's face relaxed. He even gave me an approving look. "It's good to see you acting sensible for once. I guess I judged you too harshly earlier…" "You got it wrong," I interrupted, staring straight at him. "I didn't book it for her." I had been on that waiting list for six months. I had long given up hope. I never expected the call to come now, when my body was already beyond saving. I ignored the sudden frost in Daniel's eyes. Limping heavily, I forced myself to stand up. "I knelt down like you asked. Now give me back my mother's sketches." As I moved, Daniel suddenly stepped forward. His dark gaze fixed onto my leg, as if trying to bore a hole through it. "What happened to your leg?" The next second, his warm palm rested against my forehead. "Your head is burning," he muttered, his brow furrowing. "You have a fever?" After running around all day, the fever had finally caught up to me. My eyes stung, and my lips parted slightly to answer. Before I could say a word, a soft sob broke the silence in the room. Chloe’s eyes were bloodshot as tears spilled down her cheeks. "Serena stole Daniel from me for ten whole years. Wasn't that enough?" she wept. "I'm dying, and now you're faking an illness just to take him from me again?" Her friends chimed in, their voices sharp and nasty. "Daniel, don't soften up and fall for a gold-digger's tricks. We've seen her type a thousand times. Once they catch a rich guy, they never let go." "She saw how attentive you were when Chloe fell sick," another sneered. "She probably bribed that nurse to put on a show and get your sympathy." Daniel’s eyes turned cold in an instant. His grip on my wrist tightened, squeezing hard enough to make the bones ache. "Serena, do you have any line you won't cross?" He looked at me with pure disgust. "Chloe is actually sick, and you're using something like this to get attention? You make me sick." He shoved me away in disappointment. Without another word, he escorted Chloe down the hall to take the specialist appointment I had waited six months to get. Daniel held her gently in his arms. Behind his back, Chloe flashed me a cold, triumphant smirk. Her voice, however, sounded innocent and frail. "Serena, you shouldn't fake being sick like this... but thank you for giving up the specialist appointment for me. I'll take it." Daniel clutched my mother's sketches tightly in his hand, staring down at me with heavy pressure. "If you ever want these sketches back, you'll hand over the appointment without making another scene." He turned away. "Chloe's condition is getting worse. I don't have time to waste on your drama." No time. He was right. My bone cancer had already reached its final stage. An appointment wouldn't have saved me anyway. I watched numbly as he guided Chloe away like a piece of fragile glass. I took the sketches from his hand, turned around, and walked away. I headed straight for the cemetery plot I had purchased for myself. Six months ago, when I was first diagnosed, I scraped together my savings to buy this spot. It was right next to my mother's grave, facing the ocean. It was peaceful. The wind blew hard in the late afternoon. I inhaled a sharp breath of cold air and couldn't stop coughing. When I spat a mouth full of blood onto the grass, I realized the fever was just a symptom of my body shutting down. I pulled out my bottle of pain medicine. When I turned it upside down, not a single pill fell out. It was empty. I let out a bitter laugh. I knew I had reached the end of the line. Unable to bear the agonizing pain racking my body, I leaned against my mother's tombstone and closed my eyes. Suddenly, a blinding beam of flashlight cut through the dark, waking me up. Chapter 4 The manager of the cemetery shook me awake. I thought he was going to kick me out, but instead, he sighed impatiently. "Miss Evans, there’s been a change of plans regarding the plot you reserved. Someone else is offering a much higher price. I’m going to need you to relinquish it." I froze, staring at him. It took me a long time to find my voice. "But... I already paid the deposit. How can you go back on your word?" "That tiny deposit is nothing," the manager scoffed, rolling his eyes. "We'll give you a full refund with extra compensation. “Just be reasonable and do not cause a scene here." I refused to move. This was the closest place to my mother. I promised her at her bedside. After I had grown old and died, I'll be buried right next to her, looking out at the sea. I had already lost everything. I couldn't let them strip away my very last comfort. Seeing that I wouldn't budge, the manager stepped aside and made a phone call. A moment later, my phone buzzed in my hand. It was Daniel. "Chloe told me you bought a plot facing the ocean," he said, his voice casual. "The view is nice, and she wants it. "Her surgery date is coming up," he continued without waiting for my reply. "Buying it now will bring her good luck. I’ll pay you triple what you spent." I stayed silent. Hearing no answer, Daniel resorted to his usual method of brushing me off with vague promises. "Don't throw a fit. It’s just a piece of land. Giving it to Chloe will give her peace of mind before her operation. I'll make up for everything you've suffered later." Later. I let out a dry, bitter laugh. The laughter turned into silent, rolling tears. "Daniel... I won't last long enough for you to make it up to me. Do you even know why I bought this plot?" A sudden, unexplainable wave of panic hit Daniel's heart. Instinctively, he pressed, "Why?" Before I could answer, Chloe’s sobbing voice interrupted from his end. "Daniel, it’s all my fault. If I were dead, I wouldn't be a burden to you anymore... "I just wanted a place where I could look at the ocean," she whimpered. "You promised me when we were kids that you would always watch the ocean with me..." Hearing her bring up their childhood promise, Daniel’s heart melted instantly. When he spoke to me again, his tone was dismissive. "You aren't even sick. Just let Chloe have the plot this time. Don't make things difficult for me." He hung up the phone. Seeing that the deal was secured, the manager called security to throw me out before anything else went wrong. I clung to my mother's headstone with all my strength. Even as my fingertips bled, scraping against the hard stone, they tore my hands away and dragged me down the path. As I stumbled past the gates of the cemetery, my phone buzzed frantically in my pocket. Dozens of hateful text messages flooded my screen. Then, an angry crowd blocked my way. People pushed forward, camera flashes blinding my eyes. "That's her! The homewrecker who went to the hospital to harass Chloe!" "Let's teach this trash a lesson! Chloe is dying in the hospital, and this club girl still went to crash her wedding!" "The video of her kneeling and confessing she stole someone's boyfriend is all over the internet! She admitted it herself, so why should we hold back? Get her!" A live stream named “Exposing the Homewrecker” instantly shot to the top of the trending list. Fists and kicks rained down on me like a storm. The metallic taste of blood surged in my throat. I couldn't stop vomiting blood onto the cold pavement. The world began to spin uncontrollably. My vision gradually faded into total darkness. --- Third-Person POV At the hospital. Daniel was sitting in the doctor's office with Chloe. He had only managed to get this appointment by trading away Serena's mother's design sketches to Chloe. However, the specialist looked annoyed. "Miss Chloe, do you have your medical records and diagnostic reports or not?" The doctor tapped his desk impatiently. "I have a waiting list full of critical patients. Stop wasting my time!" Chloe’s eyes darted around nervously, stuttering an excuse. She had no idea that a fake medical history could never fool a top specialist. Daniel stared at her, suspicion creeping into his mind. Suddenly, for no reason at all, he thought of Serena. This appointment was originally hers. Beside them, the nurse couldn't hold her tongue any longer. "She stole this appointment slot from another patient who waited six long months for it. That poor woman's condition was already extremely severe!" Daniel's pupils shrank in horror. He stood up abruptly. Just as he was about to confront the nurse, his phone rang. It was an emergency call from the police station. "Hello, Mr. Daniel Miller? We found a female body at the suburban cemetery identified as Serena Evans." The officer's voice was grim. "You are listed as her only emergency contact. Please come to the station to identify the body.”