My Wedding Dress And Ring Were For My Best Friend Chapter 03

My Wedding Dress And Ring Were For My Best Friend Chapter 03

Even though I had already made my decision and thought I had braced myself, hearing her ask so directly still made my heart clench.

Tears shimmered in Paige’s eyes beneath the light.

“You’re already a team lead in product design. You’re capable, talented, and you always have people who’ll support you. I have nothing.”

So that was her excuse for taking my fiancé away.

“What if I say no?”

The pleading vanished from her face.

She held onto my hand, her expression suddenly changing, leaning closer as she spoke each word with deliberate emphasis.

“He was the one who gave the designer all those measurements.”

“Why do you think he knows my measurements so well? Don’t you want to know what he’s been hiding from you?”

I said nothing. I pushed the coffee aside, unable to listen anymore.

Paige cried out.

“Nora, blame me… It’s my fault your ring and wedding dress were both made in the wrong sizes…”

The next second, Ethan rushed out of the kitchen.

He did not even look at me. He grabbed a nearby towel, wrapped it around Paige’s head, and gently blotted the coffee away.

Then he turned on me.

“What is wrong with you? The sizing mix-up wasn’t her fault. If you’re angry, take it out on me!”

He stepped in front of her, glaring at me with reddened eyes as though I were not the woman he was supposed to marry but someone he no longer cared about.

I bit my lip, my voice trembling.

“Aren’t you even going to ask what she said?”

Ethan glanced back at Paige, his expression full of concern.

“Paige is carefree and straightforward. She doesn’t have a calculating bone in her body. I don’t need to ask to know this was your fault.”

“She’s your best friend. Why couldn’t you cut her some slack? Why did you have to humiliate her like this?”

He did not ask a single question before deciding that everything was my fault.

The room fell silent. Only Paige’s muffled sobs broke the stillness.

After a long moment, Ethan exhaled. When he looked at me again, his tone softened despite himself.

“I’m sorry. That came out harsher than I meant, but you really did cross a line this time.”

“I thought what I was about to ask might be too much, but now I think you owe Paige an apology.”

“Why don’t you give her the official lead-designer credit on the flagship project?”

I shot to my feet and stared at him in disbelief.

Last month, I had pulled seven or eight all-nighters to land the design work for the flagship project, pushing myself until I completely exhausted myself.

At the time, Ethan had told me, “I’ve got you. You don’t have to push yourself this hard.”

He knew that with this project under my name, my promotion to Director of Product Design would have been all but guaranteed.

Now he wanted me to hand it to her.

Paige did not refuse, nor did she try to smooth things over. She merely tightened her grip on Ethan’s sleeve and edged closer to him.

I stared at her hand wrapped around his sleeve and at his hand closed over hers.

My voice came out low.

“What if I refuse?”

Ethan frowned.

“Paige has been running herself ragged over your wedding. You should give her the official lead-designer credit as a thank-you.”

“If you refuse, the wedding will be postponed indefinitely.”

I clenched my fists.

“Are you sure?”

He did not answer. He simply took Paige’s hand and walked straight toward the door.

Before it closed, he looked back at me and sighed.

“We’re going out for dinner. Stay here and think about what I said. Once you’ve thought it through, the wedding will go ahead in three days as planned.”

He never said what would happen if I refused.

The sight of his fingers intertwined with another woman’s told me everything.

“But I already chose someone else to marry.”

The click of the closing door was my only answer.