The Belated Bride: Becoming My Own Muse Chapter 25

The Belated Bride: Becoming My Own Muse Chapter 25

Bianca lunged at her, hands reaching.

“You’re lying!”

Grant’s security team stopped her.

The assistant was crying. “I’m not lying. You also said as long as Mr. Van Ness was on your side, Mrs. Van Ness could have all the ability in the world, but she’d still have to swallow it.”

Every camera was recording.

Bianca was finally panicked.

She turned to Christian, tears falling faster.

“Chris, you have to believe me. I was just terrified of losing my job. I never meant to hurt anyone…”

Christian looked at her, his gaze as cold as a sheet of ice.

“Bee. This ends here.”

Bianca looked like all the strength had been sucked out of her body in one pull.

She finally understood. This time, there was no one left to shield her.

And I didn’t spare her another glance.

I turned and walked toward the show platform.

Grant walked beside me and asked quietly, “Still holding up?”

I glanced at him.

“Mr. Ashford. Are you underestimating me?”

He smiled.

“Then I’ll be waiting for you in the front row.”

I stepped onto the platform. The lights came on, one by one.

The audience below was packed. Media. Clients. Fellow designers. Van Ness family relatives who had once looked down on me.

And at the very back, standing against the wall, Christian.

I stood at the microphone. My palms were dry.

The giant screen lit up.

Belated’s design sketches appeared behind me, visible to everyone.

I began to speak. “This dress was originally a wedding I had planned for myself. A ceremony that was long overdue.”

The hall below was very quiet.

“I once believed that a woman put on a wedding dress to walk toward someone else.”

“Later, I realized—that’s not true.”

The screen shifted, showing a detailed close-up of the restored back panel.

The silver thread gleamed like a seam of light cracking open the dark.

“A wedding dress doesn’t have to represent being chosen by someone.”

“It can also represent, finally, choosing myself.”

When the applause started, I saw Christian still standing in the back row. His eyes were rimmed red.

I didn’t pause.

I continued presenting. The material. The structure. The strength hidden beneath every stitch of romance.

This was my show.

Not my divorce announcement.

I wouldn’t let Bianca steal it. And I wouldn’t let Christian be the headline.