The Stolen Wedding Dress

On the day of my wedding, my senior military officer fiance took off the wedding dress I had designed myself. “You know that Crystal got hurt and can’t have children. She won’t be able to get married. Lend her your wedding dress so she can experience what it’s like to get married.” I was stunned in place, but Jordan Langford was already slipping off my dress. “We’re just going to do a wedding rehearsal so she can have the experience. Then, I’ll come home and get you, and we can have our wedding.” I looked at him, flabbergasted. I could not believe that he could say such a thing on such an important day. Jordan helped Crystal into the dress before patting me on the head and saying comfortingly, “It’s just a ceremony. You’re the woman I want for my wife. Don’t think too hard about it.” After that, he left with Crystal in the dozen-car-strong motorcade while I waited at home. Jordan was a senior military officer, while Crystal had been an army medic. Because of an injury that made her lose the ability to have children, Jordan was giving her my wedding. Tears poured down my face, and I felt my heart go cold. I bought a plane ticket back home and left without telling anyone. If that was Jordan’s choice, then I would not marry him. Chapter 1 The pure white wedding dress slid off my frame, and the room instantly went icy. Jordan Langford took the dress I had spent three months designing and brought it before Crystal Mahoney. “Didn’t you say your greatest regret was not getting to wear a wedding dress? This is yours now. You can give it back to Valerie after you’ve had your wedding experience.” I stood in place and stared dumbly as my fiance helped another woman into my wedding dress. “What is the meaning of this, Jordan?” I asked him in disbelief. Jordan was too busy helping Crystal into the dress to even look at me once. “Didn’t I just say it? Crystal can’t get married, so I’m just trying to give her the wedding experience.” “I’ll take her to the wedding venue and do a rehearsal. Once that’s done, I’ll come back and get you.” After putting on the dress, Crystal spun in a circle before the mirror. She carefully admired her reflection before shooting me a taunting gaze. “This really is the work of a famous designer. It’s so unique! Don’t worry, Valerie, I’ll return it to you in perfect shape once I have my wedding experience.” I shook violently with rage, but Jordan did not see it at all. He was too absorbed in taking Crystal’s hand, leading her to the motorcade of a dozen luxury cars. I could hear the gossip from the surrounding crowd. “What an impressive wedding! It really is the kind of event only a senior military officer could have. I heard the motorcade will be escorted by helicopters! The bride is so lucky!” “That’s just how much he loves his bride. Look at how beautiful she is! It’s no wonder he loves her!” “Who’s that woman behind the bride?” “Who knows and who cares? She must be a maid or something.” Those sharp words cut me to the quick. I swallowed the bitterness and watched Jordan and Crystal leave. “Oh, right,” Jordan said, turning to shoot me a look. “Don’t sneak over to the wedding venue before I come and get you. “Don’t let Crystal see you at all. She doesn’t like being outshone. If people see that there are two brides, people will talk badly of her. I’ll get you a cab once Crystal has had her wedding experience.” This was the first time Jordan was looking at me, and all he talked about was consideration for Crystal. However, he had taken off my wedding dress with his own hands just moments ago. During all that, he never considered what people would think of me and whether I would be humiliated or not. After saying that, he got into the car with Crystal without looking back again. Crystal got a motorcade and helicopters, but all I got was a cab. It was clear to anyone just who Jordan really cared about. Only two people were left in the room: I, a bride-to-be, and a middle-aged housekeeper. Since Jordan did not care about me, then I would not marry him. I pulled out my phone to buy myself a plane ticket home when a notification popped up on the screen. Crystal had tweeted. There were a dozen photos of her and Jordan, intimately close. The background showed the luxury cars and helicopters escorting the motorcade. There was a caption as well. [My friend’s the best. He’s giving me a wedding experience at his own wedding.] The comments on the tweet were rabid. [What a beautiful couple! How lucky you are to be marrying a senior military officer!] [I’m so envious! Wishing you all happiness!] There were some congratulatory comments from unknowing netizens, but one of the comments made my hand freeze as I scrolled. I recognized the account handle; it belonged to Jordan’s military friend. [You made a mistake, Jordan. Had you told us you were marrying Crystal Mahoney, we wouldn’t have run out of the ceremony.] [If Crystal hadn’t gone overseas back then, that hag Valerie Rhodes would never have had the chance to get to you.] [That’s right. That woman got so clingy just to marry a military man and live a comfortable life.] I recognized many of the handles in the comment section. They all belonged to Jordan’s military friends, including some of his best friends and even family. Jordan had once introduced me to every single one of them, and they had all been friendly to me. They had all thanked me for being there for Jordan while he was going through his most painful time. I never imagined that they would spout such filth about me in secret. The direction of the comments changed after theirs popped up. Many people found my account and started sending me vicious private messages. I was forced to set my account to private. Seeing the comments get even more absurd, I typed out my own. [Do you have any proof behind these accusations against me?] Chapter 2 My comment received combative replies in an instant. Countless clueless netizens started verbally abusing me. Very quickly, I received a call from Jordan. He made no attempt to explain and only gave me a cold “Apologize.” I thought I might have heard him wrong. “What am I apologizing for? What have I done wrong?” Jordan let out a frustrated sigh. “Crystal used to be one of our army medics and helped many of my military friends. It’s only normal for everyone to dislike you when you came in later. “Apologize to Crystal and tell her you didn’t mean to leave that comment. She’s crying very hard right now. She thinks she’s at fault for not defending you.” His words were like icy daggers stabbing into my heart. We fell into silence for a long moment before I spoke up. “Let’s break up, Jordan. I’m not marrying you.” Through the line, I could hear Crystal crying and Jordan consoling her. I could not hear what they said exactly, but Jordan’s tone was very impatient when he next spoke. “Enough. Stop causing a fuss and apologize to Crystal immediately. She’s crying so hard her makeup is ruined. “Besides, I’m a senior military officer. I am powerful and respected. Countless women would kill for me to even look at them. Marrying me gives you wealth and prestige. How could you give that up?” I was enraged, but those words made me want to laugh. So he thought that I was only marrying him for his position and power. In his eyes, I was apparently just a shallow and materialistic woman. I hung up as tears streamed down my face, washing away the intricate makeup I had spent three hours working on. I looked at the photo on the table. It was our first-ever photo together. I could not help but wonder how we had gotten to this point. Seven years ago, a war had split my family apart. During one icy winter night, I stumbled through a storm. I was shaking hard from the cold and nearly froze to death. However, the second before I fainted, I saw a figure walking toward me. This person laid their hand on my feverish forehead and brought me back to camp. During the journey, they put their coat over me. By the time we got back, they were covered in so much snow that they looked like a snowman. By contrast, I was untouched. When I next opened my eyes, the first thing I saw was Jordan’s handsome face. I knew that he was the person who had saved me. After the war, we went back to our own lives. I thought that we would never meet each other again. However, on what was a typical afternoon, I saw him on the street, drunk. Crystal had gone overseas, and Jordan had lost his main pillar of support. As such, he could only wallow in his grief and drown himself in alcohol. During this time, I was always by his side, comforting him and motivating him. However, I never had any intentions of getting romantically involved with him. It was after I spent all this time with him that he suddenly confessed his feelings to me. “Valerie, thank you for being there for me during the hardest time of my life. If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t have been able to weather it. Would you be my girlfriend?” He had put a bullet on a chain and turned it into a necklace. Then, he put that necklace around my neck. “This bullet once pierced my chest, barely millimeters from my heart. But I miraculously survived, and I’ve kept this bullet ever since. I think of it as a lucky charm. Now, I’m giving it to you.” I was so touched by this gesture. I thought that we really loved each other, but Crystal’s return turned all of these thoughts into dust. He once left me in the rain to go and comfort Crystal, who was scared of thunder. He once missed our anniversary to celebrate Crystal’s birthday. When he found out that Crystal could no longer have children after getting injured, he openly shifted all of the love he showered on me to her. I had been disappointed again and again, but I had chosen again and again to forgive him. However, I was truly tired at this point. Chapter 3 I went to the washroom to remove my ruined makeup. When I got back to the living room and checked my phone, there was a livestream of Jordan’s wedding. Something must have possessed me to click on the livestream. Crystal was wearing the wedding dress I had designed, walking slowly toward Jordan. Witnessed by the pastor, family, and friends, they promised never to leave each other. It was only then that I understood how meaningless a promise could be. It was something that could just be said, not meant, even if it was said before a pastor or God. Jordan and Crystal exchanged rings, even though the rings were engraved with my name. They cut the wedding cake, even though the cake had my name on it. Crystal threw the wedding bouquet, which was an arrangement I had spent three hours at the florist deciding on. I watched all of this numbly through the livestream, feeling like the wedding I had anticipated for so long was nothing but a joke. It was only until everything was nearly at an end that Jordan called me. “The rehearsal’s over. I’ll get the driver to go and get you immediately. Once we have our wedding, don’t forget to apologize to Crystal. You owe her that.” I did not reply. My gaze was still locked on the livestream on the screen. I watched as Crystal opened a bottle of champagne, the bubbles spraying all over my wedding dress. She only looked at herself coldly and said, “This dress is gorgeous, but it’s so hard to walk in it. Since it’s trendy now, I’ll change the design.” With that, she lifted the hem of the skirt and ripped it hard. Fabric fell onto the floor as she laughed maniacally. My eyes narrowed, and my fists clenched so hard that my knuckles went white. My lips trembled as I gritted out, “How could you let her rip my dress?” I had spent three grueling months designing that dress. My scrapped drafts could have filled an entire box. All I wanted was to wear a dress that I could be proud of at my own wedding. But the dress had been viciously ruined by Crystal and stomped under her feet. I could not bear to watch my most precious design be demeaned this way. I turned off the livestream, but the most painful words would come next from Jordan’s lips. “It’s just a dress, Valerie. Don’t be so petty. If you want, we can pick you a new one at the shop. “But Crystal only has one chance to wear a wedding dress. Besides, her parents are here. Do you want to embarrass her without a dress? None of your family members are here. None of them care about our wedding.” Hearing the mention of parents, my heart squeezed painfully. It was true that only those you loved could hurt you the most. I tried my best to keep my voice from shaking even when every breath I took was achingly painful. “Shouldn’t you be the most aware of why my family can’t come?” Memories that I wanted to forget rushed into my head. Chapter 4 We had a child once. When I was hurt and lying in a pool of my own blood, Jordan had been playing with Crystal. Holding on tightly to consciousness, I called Jordan, but no one picked up. Then, I blacked out. It was only afterward that I found out that Crystal had turned off Jordan’s phone because she was afraid I would interrupt their game. Because I had missed out on the ideal timeframe to get treatment, I lost my baby. When the doctor took the dead baby out of me, I found out that it was a boy. I had lain on the surgery table and cried all I could cry. When the doctor said that I could have kept the baby had I arrived just half an hour earlier, choking despair enveloped me. That day, I was so dejected as I flew back home. My family told me to break up with Jordan, and I really did want to at the time. But he had stayed outside our door all through the icy winter night, begging for my forgiveness, so I had relented. I had wanted to open the door to admit him, but the second my hand touched the door handle, my father told me decisively, “If you step out of this house, I’m disowning you. You won’t be my daughter anymore.” Thinking of the baby I had lost, I withdrew my hand. Jordan stayed outside all night, and I was with him the whole night, too, on the balcony. The next morning, he got a fever, and he fainted in the snow. I was so worried, and I was about to open the door again. My father’s voice rang out. “You have to choose between Jordan and this family; you can’t have both. If you walk out this door, you’re never coming back.” Feeling pained, I closed my eyes but finally opened the door after a long struggle. Jordan had been so worked up when he took my hand, promising me ardently, “I won’t let you down. I swear that we’ll have another baby.” From then on, I did not have any contact with my family. I did not receive any form of congratulations from them, even for my wedding. I used to think that I had made the right choice, that Jordan would bring me more warmth and happiness than my family had. But reality had taught me a cruel lesson. It was foolish to believe a man’s promises. It was evening by the time Jordan called me again. “Sorry, I was having too much fun. The ballroom’s decorations have gotten quite ruined, too. I’ve arranged for a smaller ballroom. We can have our wedding there.” The smaller ballroom would hardly be a tenth of the size of the original one, but I had no energy to argue that with him. Duly, I said, “Sure.” Jordan must have thought I would pitch a fit, but I was surprisingly calm. He was overjoyed and praised me for being sensible. “We’ll be married soon. You’ll be my wife in just a moment. Just wait a bit. I’m coming to get you now.” The line cut. I took off the necklace with the bullet on it and placed it on the bedside table. Then, I turned around and made my way to the airport.