Chapter 4 What Did You Do This Time?

I looked at Tristan.

He kept his head lowered, not meeting my eyes.

I let out a small laugh. "Fog lamps were the theme of my wedding."

Lorraine said, "The wedding's already postponed. Letting it sit unused is a waste anyway."

I turned to Tristan. "Is that how you see it too?"

He was silent for a second. "It's just borrowing the concept. It won't affect anything in the future."

Again—the future. He was always generous when it came to giving me a future.

Gabriella spoke softly. "Victoria, if you mind, I won't use it."

"I do mind," I said.

Lorraine turned grim at once.

Tristan finally spoke upon hearing that. "Victoria, don't make a scene in front of my mother."

I nodded. "Alright."

At that, I took a planner with a small fog-lamp sticker on the cover out of my bag. It contained every detail I had worked on bit by bit over the past few years.

Tristan's gaze flickered when he saw it. He probably remembered. He was the one who had given it to me.

I opened it and tore out the first page.

Gabriella froze.

Then, I started tearing page after page.

Tristan grabbed my wrist. "Victoria, what are you doing?"

I looked at him. "If letting it sit unused doesn't matter, then destroying it shouldn't matter either."

Lorraine trembled with anger. "Have you lost your mind?"

I slipped the remaining half of the notebook back into my bag. "Mrs. Shepherd, take care."

Gabriella suddenly stood up, knocking over her water glass. Water spilled onto the fog lamp Tristan had placed in the living room. The light flickered twice, then went out.

She hurriedly apologized. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to."

Tristan's first reaction was to steady her.

I stood where I was, watching the lamp go dark.

I should have known. Even when the light broke, he still would not look at me first.

…

After I returned home, I packed everything related to the wedding into a box—invitation drafts, the guest list, makeup trial photos, and the bracelet Lorraine had given me years ago.

At the very end, only the engagement ring remained.

I stared at it for a long time.

When the doorbell rang, I thought it was Tristan. However, when I answered the door, it turned out to be Gabriella, holding the broken fog lamp in her arms.

"Victoria, Tristan asked me to return this to you."

She walked in and set the lamp on the table.

A crack ran through the lampshade. The engraved words on the base had faded from the water.

"Why didn't he come himself?" I asked.

Gabriella smiled faintly. "He's keeping Mrs. Shepherd company. You upset her quite a bit today."

I said nothing.

She looked around the living room. "Your place hasn't changed. Tristan said you're sentimental. You never throw anything away, no matter how worn out it is."

I picked up the lamp. "You can leave."

Gabriella did not move. Instead, she took out a photo from her bag and placed it on the table. In the picture, she and Tristan stood outside the bridal shop. She was wearing my wedding dress, her arm looped through his.

"Tristan let me take it in the end," Gabriella said lightly. "He said you would calm down eventually. There was no need to ruin my mood over a dress."

I looked at the photo.

He had not put the dress away after I left. He had only waited until I was gone.

Gabriella's voice softened. "Victoria, do you know where you lost?"

I lifted my gaze.

She smiled. "You're too sensible. People like you never come first."

I tore the photo in half.

Gabriella's expression shifted for a moment, then she quickly put on a composed smile. "Go ahead and tear it. Tristan still has it on his phone."

I pointed to the door. "Get out."

But she suddenly reached for the fog lamp.

By the time I turned, it had slipped from her hands.

With a sharp crash, it shattered on the floor.

She immediately crouched down, a cut appearing on her finger as glass sliced through it. Tears fell quickly. "Victoria, I was just trying to help you pick it up."

At that moment, the door was pushed open.

Tristan stood there.

He saw the blood on Gabriella's hand, then looked at me. And his first words were, "Victoria, what did you do this time?"