Chapter 4

Brandon was still angry at me and didn’t come home for an entire day and night.

Meanwhile, Karina smugly sent me a photo of the two of them together, flaunting how Brandon had been by her side the whole time.

Annoyed, I blocked her without hesitation. There was no point wasting energy on someone irrelevant to my future.

Remembering I still had a few belongings left at Brandon’s company, I drove over to pick them up.

Traffic delayed me, and by the time I returned, I noticed his car parked discreetly in a corner of the garage.

The car rocked unnaturally, catching my attention. Curious, I moved closer, only to see Karina’s flushed face through the window—and she was wearing my wedding dress.

I froze in place, unable to believe my eyes. To be sure, I checked the car’s surveillance footage on my phone.

Their voices filled the air.

“Brandon, you’re so unfair. You said you wouldn’t marry her, but secretly had such a beautiful wedding dress made for her.”

Brandon leaned in, kissing her lightly. “She bought it herself. If you like it, it’s yours now.”

“She must hate herself for being so filthy,” Karina mocked, “desperate to get married, afraid you’ll abandon her.”

Their laughter spilled from the car. Karina wrapped her arms around his neck, her eyes filled with languid satisfaction.

The once-pristine wedding dress was quickly sullied, stained by their disgraceful actions.

At that moment, the world seemed to tilt. Rage and despair consumed me, stripping away all reason.

I stormed up to the car and banged furiously on the window. “Brandon! How could you do this to me?!”

“That’s my wedding dress! That’s my—”

That dress represented seven years of devotion and hope, my dreams for a future I once believed in.

It was the last piece of my life with Brandon. Yet he trampled even this small fragment of my expectations.

The two inside were jolted in surprise, hastily adjusting their clothes.

Annoyed, Brandon rolled down the window and barked, “Serena, what’s your problem? Karina was just helping you try it on. Do you have to make such a big deal out of it?”

Choking on sobs, I couldn’t respond, only fixating on getting my wedding dress back.

However, my persistence angered him.

ith a sneer, he slammed on the accelerator, jerking the car forward.

“If you’re still so stubborn, I’ll teach you a lesson you’ll never forget!”

Dragged several meters by the moving car, my arms were torn and bleeding before I finally collapsed.

The car sped off, leaving my wedding dress discarded like trash in the garage.

The fabric, stained and soiled, lay in a puddle of filth, run over by tires—just like our seven years together.

What was once a symbol of love had been crushed, reduced to a worthless pile of rags.

I broke down completely, sobbing in the dimly lit parking lot.

In my despair, I shakily called my mother. “Mom, my wedding dress is gone. Everything is gone...”

“Don’t cry, Serena,” she said, her voice filled with urgency. “You still have me, and you have Wesley. We’ll fix this. Don’t cry.”

She dropped everything to come to my side. After taking me to the hospital to tend to my injuries, she brought me dozens of designer wedding dresses to choose from.

“It’s okay, Serena. Mommy won’t let anyone hurt you again. After the wedding, I’ll make sure that scumbag gets what he deserves.”

Following her reassurance, I picked a new dress—one that suited me better than the one before.

This time, it wasn’t about Brandon; it was about me.

Unaware of any of this, Brandon assumed I would eventually apologize, as I always had in the past.

As the wedding day approached, I decided to send him one final message. But when I opened my contacts, I noticed he had changed his social media profile picture to a photo of himself and Karina.

I knew exactly what he was trying to do—provoke me and get under my skin.

But this time, Brandon's games didn’t matter. He no longer had any power over me, and I wasn’t going to fall for his lies again.

Calmly, I sent him a single message. [Brandon, let’s break up.]

He shocked me by replying instantly. [Serena, who do you think you are? You don’t get to break up with me!]

[Don’t forget, you’re filthy to begin with. I’ve used you for seven years for free. A woman like you—who’d want you after me? Even your own mother probably despises you!]

As expected, he had forgotten what today was.

Seven years ago, on this very day, he made me promise. Back then, he pulled me out of despair, telling me. "Seven years. That’s how long it takes for every cell in the body to regenerate—a complete renewal. I’ll be with you for those seven years. When you’ve let go of the past, let go of all those painful memories, we’ll get married."

But seven years passed in the blink of an eye, and he had long forgotten his vows.

It didn’t matter, though. Brandon was never my salvation. He was just a heartless opportunist who preyed on my vulnerability.

The seven years were over. The past, the hurt, and the illusions were now nothing but fleeting shadows.

I wiped away the last trace of tears, concealed them with makeup, and placed the veil over my head. Stepping into the wedding car, I was ready to leave it all behind.

Rose petals floated gently along the road as the car carried me toward a new beginning.

As we passed by the place I’d lived for seven years, I saw Brandon and Karina walking hand in hand along the street.

Our eyes met across the distance, just for a moment.

In that fleeting glance, his expression shifted from disdain to shock.

He let go of Karina’s hand and began running after the car.

“Serena!”