My Fiancé Chose His Ex, So I Chose Myself novel · Chapter 21 of 24

Chapter 21: The Invoice

Shayla's scream bounced around the empty dome for a long time.

I walked out the side door into the dark with her fake pearls in my pocket.

Hugh was waiting at the curb with the truck running.

On Monday morning the News Tribune ran it on the front of the local section.

HE HAS THE MONEY, the headline said, with a photo of Shayla alone at the end of an aisle of empty chairs.

Bonnie taped it to the back of the workroom door.

"I'm framing it later," she said. "Real gold."

At eleven, the bell over the door rang.

There were three brides in the shop.

One stood on the platform in a lace sheath, and two waited on the bench, one with her mother.

Shayla walked in carrying the gown over her arm, out of its bag, the torn train dragging behind her on my carpet.

She had no makeup on.

She was still wearing the Meade emerald.

The bride on the platform said, very softly, "Oh no."

"I want to sell it back," Shayla said.

I set a pin in the lace sheath.

"I'm an alterations shop. I don't buy dresses."

"It's fourteen thousand dollars of silk. You can sell it to one of these girls." She swung around to the bench. "Anybody want a designer gown? Worn once. Barely."

The bride's mother put her hand on her daughter's knee.

Nobody said anything.

"Mrs. Meade paid for that gown," I said. "Talk to her."

"She won't take my calls. Her lawyer sent me a letter about the honeymoon money." Shayla's voice went up. "Do you know where I slept last night? On my bridesmaid's couch. With her cat on my face."

"I'm sorry about the cat."

"Fine. Then I'll sue you. You ruined my wedding. You sabotaged that bustle so it would fall apart."

"You ripped it off with both hands. There's video from two hundred and forty angles."

The bride on the platform nodded, very slightly, before she could stop herself.

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