His Mistress Wore My Engagement Dress

I was touching up my lipstick when Nathan walked into the private suite of our engagement party, bringing that financially struggling college classmate with him.

Chloe accidentally got her dress dirty. Could you lend her yours for a bit? He said, and after I froze for a few seconds, he added, Everyone knows you're the star today. It doesn't matter what you wear.

A girl stood by the door, her canvas shoes worn white from washing, timidly saying hello.

Tara stepped in front of me. "This is Summer's engagement party! She went to thirty stores to find this dress!"

Nathan glanced at me.

It had been five years. Every time he looked at me with that gaze, I'd give in.

I gently pushed Tara back, slowly closing my lipstick cap.

"Let her wear it."

Nathan patted my head, satisfied.

"I knew you'd be the most understanding. On our wedding day, I'll buy you the best gown."

Chloe changed into my engagement dress. Nathan knelt down to adjust her hem.

He whispered to Chloe, "You look beautiful."

I'd seen that gesture before.

During our wedding photo shoot, the photographer asked him to do it, and he said it was "too cheesy." I slipped off my engagement ring.

This time,

I wasn't going to be "understanding" anymore.

"She does look beautiful," Nathan's aunt said from a nearby table, taking Chloe's hand and looking her up and down.

Chloe lowered her head, a slight smile on her lips.

Before she could speak, Nathan chimed in from beside her.

"Chloe is a classmate of mine. Her family isn't well-off. She got her dress dirty, and Summer felt bad for her, so she offered her own dress."

His aunt nodded, then cast a glance at me.

"Then why is Summer dressed like that today? It's her engagement party, she looks a bit plain."

"She doesn't care about these things," Nathan answered for me, casually putting an arm around my shoulder. "Summer is the most generous person."

As his hand landed, I took half a step back, and his arm fell short. "What's wrong?"

I lowered my eyes.

"Nothing."

Tara grabbed my arm from behind, pulling me to the corner of the hallway. "Are you just going to let it go?"

"What else can I do?"

"You go out there and tell everyone that's your dress, and that woman isn't his fianceyou are!"

I looked at her reddened eyes. "Tara, you're more upset than I am."

"How can I not be upset?" Tara's voice was hoarse. "Do you know what the people at his table were saying just now?"

She pulled out her phone and played a video.

It was taken by Nathan's college classmates.

In the video, Chloe, wearing my dress, stood to Nathan's right, his hand resting on her lower back.

Someone cheered, "So beautiful!" Chloe lowered her head, blushing.

She didn't deny it.

Nathan didn't deny it either, just smiled and waved his hand.

Below the video was a comment: "Nathan's fiance is so pure." Thirty-plus likes, no one objected.

I swallowed the bitterness in my heart, turned off the video, and handed the phone back to Tara. A new round of laughter erupted from the ballroom.

Chloe was being pulled around for toasts, handling herself gracefully, leaning slightly as she held her glass. I had taught her that posture.

Last month, she said she was nervous about attending a formal event for the first time and asked me how to hold a glass. I practiced with her all afternoon.

"Could you call me a ride, Tara?"

"You're not going back in?"

"There's nothing left to go in for." I went back to the guest book table and placed my ring beside the guestbook. A thin layer of dust covered the table, and the ring made a soft clink as it landed.

My phone lit up.

It was Nathan's Ins post.

"Thanks to everyone for coming tonight."

He attached three photos.

One was a panoramic view of the ballroom, one was him toasting with friends, and the last one... Chloe, wearing my dress, smiling with crescent eyes.

He tagged Chloe.

The caption read: "Thanks, Chloe, for helping entertain guests. You worked hard." The entire post didn't mention me.

Not even my name.

I turned off the screen.

When I reached the other side of the road, the lights of the ballroom were still bright. Even from far away, I could faintly hear music and laughter.

Before getting into the car, I looked back once.

Nathan stood on the steps of the hotel entrance, looking down at his phone. Chloe walked out from behind him and gently draped a jacket over his shoulders. He raised a hand to adjust his collar.

The movement was natural.

"Summer, you left your ring at the guest book table." Nathan's call came at 2 AM, his voice unhurried.

"I know."

"I've kept it for you. I'll put it on you tomorrow."

He paused, then softened his tone.

"I know I put you in a tough spot today. Chloe's dress getting dirty really was an accident, and everyone saw how kind you were to lend her yours."

"Nathan, let's break up."

Silence for three seconds on the other end. Then he chuckled softly.

"Summer, I know you were hurt today, but breaking up? Is it really that serious?"

"I'm serious."

"You always say we should break up when you're upset." He lowered his voice, with his usual patience. "Alright, when you've cooled off, call me. I'll come pick you up."

"Nathan..."

"Summer, be a good girl. Tomorrow, I'll take you to that Japanese restaurant you wanted to try last time."

I didn't continue speaking.

After a few seconds of silence, his voice deepened.

"Summer, it's been five years. When will you ever really be able to leave me?"

His words were soft, but I couldn't answer.

He truly didn't believe it, didn't believe I would leave.

I hung up.

Tara came out of the kitchen with a glass of water and sat opposite me. "What did he say?"

"He said he's coming to pick me up."

"Are you going?"

"No."

She started to say something, then saw my expression and swallowed it back.

I stared at my phone screen.

At the top of the call log was his name, saved five years ago as "Nathan," with a little sun emoji next to it.

We had just started dating then.

He waited for me by the college gate, holding a box of fried chicken. The November wind was cold, and the steam from the chicken scattered several times.

He said, "Your roommate told me you take the long way every day just to pass a fried chicken place."

I said, "It's too expensive, 0-00 a piece."

He laughed and pressed it into my hand.

"From now on, tell me whatever you want to eat, whether it's 0-00 or 0-000." His eyes were so bright back then, they made me feel safe.

Tara suddenly spoke.

"Do you remember when he started changing?"

I thought for a long time.

"I don't."

Maybe it was the first day Chloe appeared, her eyes red, saying she couldn't afford her tuition. Maybe it was the first time he told me to "go easy on her." The change was too slow.

Just a little bit less each day, until I looked back, and there was nothing left. Tara tucked the blanket around me.

"Don't go back. Just stay here."

"Okay."

At 3 AM, another call came from him.

The screen lit up for three seconds, then went dark.

He didn't call again.

Because in his world, I'd be mad for one night, and when the sun rose, I'd go home willingly.

Just like every time before. I pressed ignore on that call.

This was the first time in five years.

"Tara, let me in."

The next evening, Nathan stood at Tara's doorstep, holding a white paper bag.

Tara blocked the door.

"She doesn't want to see you."

"I know she's angry." He smiled. "Just let me in to say a couple of words, then I'll leave."

"Say what? That you didn't even mention her name in your Ins post?"

Nathan's smile faltered for a moment.

"Tara, this is between Summer and me."

"You two have already broken up. Don't bother Summer anymore."

I walked to the door and pressed down on Tara's arm.

"Tara, let him in. I'll talk to him face-to-face."

Tara stepped aside, her gaze cold as she looked Nathan up and down. He changed his shoes and placed the paper bag on the table.

It was a box of cake.

"Your favorite chestnut cake. I didn't get a chance to give it to you yesterday."

I didn't open it.

He sat opposite me.

"Summer, what exactly do you want me to do?"

"I told you, break up."

His brows furrowed.

"You're breaking up over a dress?"

"It's not about a dress."

"Then what is it about?" He clasped his hands on the table, a posture identical to every time I'd thrown a fit before, cooperative and patient, waiting for me to finish speaking.

"Last year, for your birthday, I booked a restaurant two months in advance. Before we left, Chloe called saying she had a stomachache, so you drove to her place first."

"She was alone then. What if something happened?"

"You got there and found out she'd just eaten too much, and then you spent the whole evening watching TV with her, while I waited alone at the restaurant until closing time."

He paused.

"Didn't I apologize for that? I even bought you a necklace."

"You bought her the same necklace, didn't you?"

"She was just feeling down at the time..."

"She's always feeling down." My voice was low, yet strangely steady. "When is she not feeling down?"

Nathan fell silent.

"Last month, on your business trip, you made me take a taxi to the airport by myself. Because you had to drive Chloe to move into her new apartment."

He opened his mouth. "She had a lot of bags..."

"You gave her the special blanket from our home. The one my mom sent from back home."

"That one was old. I'll buy you a new one."

"That was my blanket! My mom spent a week knitting it with her reading glasses on, and she packed it in three layers when she sent it, afraid the stitches would get damaged on the way."

The room grew quiet.

Tara stood by the kitchen door, her knuckles white.

I didn't cry.

Before, I would cry, my eyes red, asking him why, then choosing to forgive him after he said, "I was wrong."

But this time, I was just so tired.

"Summer." Nathan's voice deepened, tinged with subtle disappointment. "I always thought you were different from them."

"Them?"

"Those who fuss over every little thing." He frowned, looking at me earnestly.

"I thought you understood me. Chloe has no one else to rely on. You have me, you have your family, you lack nothing... What's wrong with me taking care of her a little more?"

He spoke sincerely, every word from the heart.

"You have everything, can't you just let someone who has nothing have a little something?" I looked at him.

For a long time.

There was even an expectation in his eyes, expecting me to nod as usual, to say yes.

But among the things I had, one was called Nathan.

He was slowly moving himself, piece by piece, to someone else, yet he asked me why I felt like something was missing.

"Nathan, you're right. I have everything." He visibly relaxed.

"So you, I can do without too." The smile vanished from his face.

"Summer."

"You weren't like this before." I didn't answer.

He stood up, pulled open the door, and walked out. My gaze fell on the cake box on the table. Chestnut cake.

He didn't remember anymore.

My favorite flavor had changed since last year.

The wedding dress in the mirror suited me well.

My mom from behind me adjusted my veil, the wrinkles around her eyes deepening with her smile.

"When will Nathan be here? I haven't seen him in over half a year."

I looked at my phone screen.

Ten minutes ago, Nathan had replied to my message.

"Chloe lost her graduation thesis data and is crying in her advisor's office. I need to go help her sort it out."

"You go ahead and try on the dress. Explain it nicely to your mom. She's always been fond of me, she'll definitely understand. Tonight, I've booked your mom's favorite upscale restaurant to make it up to her."

My mom had just had minor heart surgery last month, so I hadn't told her about Nathan and me.

I turned off the screen and turned around.

"Mom, he has an urgent company meeting and can't make it."

My mom paused, then smiled and patted my hand.

"Work is important. It's good for a man to be ambitious. You just need to look good in the dress. Come, let Mom take more pictures of you."

Click.

In the photo, I was wearing a white wedding dress, smiling, but there was no light in my eyes. After putting her on the train back home, I went to Tara's place. Sitting on the couch, I called the wedding planner.

"Hello, I'd like to cancel my reservation for the Clear Lake Chapel."

The person on the other end paused.

"Ms. Smith, that venue is booked eight months in advance, and the 0-02,000 deposit is non-refundable. Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure."

"You came here over a dozen times before, always so meticulous. Our designer said you put so much thought into it..."

"Please cancel it. Thank you."

I hung up.

Tara sat at the other end of the couch. "Are you really sure?"

"Yes."

That chapel was forty miles outside the city. There was no direct subway; you had to transfer two buses and then walk for twenty minutes.

I chose it because there was a lake nearby.

Five years ago, the first time Nathan took me out, it was to that lake. He spent an entire afternoon taking photos of me by the lake.

He said, "This is our secret spot."

The decoration plan was something I had worked through, draft by draft, with the designer.

For the table flowers, I chose white magnolias... his mom liked simple elegance.

The song played during the ceremony was the one we heard at a coffee shop on our first date.

I drew the seating chart myself, coloring it with markers: blue for his guests, pink for mine.

His college roommate had a fear of heights, so I specifically arranged a window seat for him on the first floor.

Nathan had never asked about any of these details.

"Summer, if you want to cry, just cry," Tara said. I shook my head.

I really felt like I couldn't cry anymore.

Tara received a call from Nathan while she was revising a proposal at work.

"Summer's phone is off. Could you tell her something for me?"

Tara put down her pen.

"What is it?"

"Chloe needs to take her graduation photos next month and wants to find a unique location." His tone was casual, as if discussing a minor chore.

"I remembered the chapel Summer booked. The lakeside view is nice. Could she put in a good word for me to borrow it for a day?"

Tara gripped her phone, her knuckles slowly tightening. "Nathan. That venue has already been canceled..."