Chapter 2

Clair slipped on my wedding heels, her face glowing with satisfaction.

"Dominic, these fit me perfectly. It's like they were custom-made for me." She smiled with that fake sweetness. "Where did you get them?"

These shoes were made by Dominic.

When he was twenty, he spent six months flying to Paris, working with a top designer to create a pair of custom diamond-encrusted heels just for me.

Back then, he'd said, "Nora. When we get married, you'll wear these shoes. I want to give you a pair of wedding heels that are one of a kind in the entire world."

He'd said, "Nora, I want to give you the best of everything."

Back then, Dominic really was good to me.

He couldn't bear to see me suffer even a little. He wanted to give me everything good in the world.

But after Clair appeared, everything changed.

Lost in thought, I barely noticed Dominic kneeling down to slip the cheap flats onto my feet.

The rough fabric scraped painfully against my skin.

The bridesmaids, oblivious to the tension between us, started chanting, "Kiss! Kiss!"

Dominic couldn't resist the cheering and leaned in to kiss me.

But at that exact moment, Clair stumbled and fell straight into his arms.

Dominic caught her instinctively, and their lips collided perfectly.

The room went dead silent.

Gemma exploded. "Clair, you did that on purpose!"

"I'm sorry, I just lost my balance..."

"You lost your balance? And out of everywhere you could fall, you fell right into the groom's arms?"

"Enough. Stop it." Dominic helped Clair to her feet, his expression displeased. "Clair twisted her ankle earlier. It's normal that she lost her balance."

He turned to Gemma, his tone cold. "It's such a small thing. Is it really worth getting this angry over?"

"This isn't a small thing—"

Gemma was about to lose it, but I stopped her.

Over the past two years, Dominic had called too many things "small."

Last year, when Clair plagiarized the marketing campaign I'd worked on for three months, he said it was a small thing.

Six months ago, when Clair crashed our anniversary dinner as a third wheel, he said it was a small thing.

Even when Clair accidentally killed my cat, I had raised for six years, he also said it was a small thing.

Every single time, Dominic told me not to make a fuss over Clair.

This time, there really was no point in making a fuss anymore.

While we were at a standoff, Dominic's mother walked in carrying a champagne flute.

"Nora, I've been waiting so long for you to grow up and get married."

She lifted the glass to my lips. "Here, drink this quickly while it's fresh. It'll calm your nerves. Your future will be bright and beautiful."

Staring at the champagne in front of me, my mind went blank for a moment.

My parents died when I was young. For over a decade, the Thorne family took me in and raised me as their own.

But now these two people I trusted most were working together to push me into hell.

I knew exactly what swallowing this drink meant.

But I opened my mouth and drank it anyway.

Someone shouted, "It's time! We need to go to the wedding!"

Dominic scooped me up in his arms and carried me downstairs, step by step.