We had registered our marriage during the most difficult time in our lives. Back then, he held my hand and promised me, “Hailey, focus on your design work. I’ll take care of earning money. Once we’ve both made it, I’ll give you the grandest wedding imaginable.”
Now, at the peak of his success, I was the one severing our bond. The wedding I had longed for had devolved into nothing but a farcical spectacle.
A bitter smile crept onto my face as I picked up my modest luggage and headed to board a flight to Shayle City.
Back in university, I had changed my major to fashion design to support his career. I knew nothing about the field at first, but for his sake, I started from scratch.
Over time, I became a recognized designer, even granting all my designs to Blue Ocean Group’s fashion department without compensation, helping Bruce secure vital investments during his company’s most trying times.
When the company flourished, he told me, “Hailey, you don’t need to work so hard anymore. Just enjoy life at
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Chapter 5
home, and leave everything else to me. Once I’ve dealt with everything, I’ll fulfill my promise and give you the grandest wedding.”
And soon, he no longer needed my designs. The company could afford to hire more experienced and renowned designers. Slowly, I realized that once someone is immersed in the pursuit of fame and fortune, their sense of right and wrong becomes irreparably blurred.
Strange women’s belongings began to appear at home. At first, I questioned them, then doubted, and eventually, I grew numb.
Even when Shayle City Design Academy extended me a job offer, my first thought was, If I leave, will Bruce feel uncomfortable? Will he miss me? Will he feel sad?
But I was wrong, so very wrong.
Bruce wished for nothing more than my absence. How could he possibly miss me?
At some point, he stopped calling me “honey.” He stopped coming home on time, stopped planning surprises for me. Every day, I saw him laughing and chatting with other women, and then came Kathy.
She became his everything. I protested, but he brushed me off, saying he’d be more careful next time, that Kathy was just a naive newcomer and I should be more understanding.
And I, blinded by love, kept falling for his empty promises, hoping that one day he’d turn back to me.
That hope shattered the day I received that ill–fitting wedding dress.
It was personally delivered by none other than Kathy, the woman he adored most.
I don’t remember how I felt as I took the dress from her hands. All I knew was a bone–deep exhaustion. The promise I had waited years for was finally about to come true, and yet, I no longer had the strength to hold on.
It felt much like this moment now.
“Bruce, I can’t wait for you any longer. The promises you made, save them for someone else.”
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