I didn’t have a lot of luggage, so I was done
in no time.
Before leaving, I stood in the room staring at
the dress I had made.
T
All I could think about was Ashley, strutting
around and grinning.
Then, I grabbed a lighter from the nightstand,
dragged my suitcase and the dress
downstairs.
I had the butler find a metal trash can. I
tossed the dress inside, then lit the fabric.
The flames lit up my face, and the burning
smell filled my nose. It was nasty.
It smelled like love gone rotten.
I watched as the flames engulfed the dress,
consumed with an eerie calm.
The dress was nothing but holes.
く
Just like my relationship with Liam.
I took one last look at the ruined dress,
burned the image into my mind.
After leaving the house, I went back to my
family home and called my mentor.
“Professor, I’m thinking about studying
abroad in America.”
I was a fashion designer.
My professor suggested I go to a well known
international school. She said it was
something that would take my talent to the
next level.
I listened to her and applied to a famous
<
school, and got in.
When I got the acceptance letter, I talked to
Liam about it and asked if I could study
abroad after the wedding.
He raised an eyebrow and asked how long I’d
be gone.
Before I could even answer, he scoffed.
“You? Studying abroad? What if someone
takes advantage of you?”
“After we’re married, just be my good wife,
okay? The family has enough money, why go
looking for trouble?”
To him, it was pointless to study abroad.
As Liam’s wife, all I needed to do was be
quiet and obedient.
And I was about to give up my dream for him.
I’m glad I came to my senses in time.
Without him, I’ll have a bigger world to
explore.
But before flying off, I wanted to see my
grandpa.
I was a little guilty about breaking off the
engagement, especially with him.
He pushed for the wedding because he knew
I liked Liam.
I was letting him down.
<
Seeing my sad face, my grandpa patted my
shoulder.
“That boy wasn’t good enough for you
anyway. Don’t blame yourself.”
“I should have had you two spend more time with each other before getting engaged.”
I shook my head.
Getting engaged to Liam was my choice, and
now I had to deal with the consequences.
It was fine.
I was just in love with the wrong person at the
wrong time.
The important thing was that I caught it in
<
time.
Liam and I grew up together.
When I was younger, I had a crush on him.
He would scowl and patiently walk me to and from school, always muttering about what a
pain it was. But he would never leave me
alone.
When other guys gave me love letters, he was
upset, scolding me for getting close to those
guys, though he was worse than any of them.
I always thought he liked me too.
But our young love was fragile and couldn’t
stand up to Ashley’s presence.
く
After we got engaged, we had a lot more
problems.
Over the past year, he’d worn away all the
love I had for him.
“Well, enough about him.”
My grandpa waved his fan.
“I heard you’re going to America to study?
When are you planning to go? My birthday’s
in a few days.”
I wanted to be at his party. Just as I was
about to answer, Liam arrived.
“Studying what, now?”
He frowned and strode over.
He looked at me and asked “Hailey, what’s the issue? The wedding is right around the
corner, so why are you leaving?”
