He tossed the invitation straight into the trash.
Luke's expression darkened. "You—"
He moved to confront him, but I caught his arm.
"It's fine."
I smiled. "The guest list is already packed anyway. We won't miss him."
I turned to the clerk waiting with my custom haute couture gown.
"Besides, we came for the dress. Let's grab it and go."
The moment I took the gown—the store's crown jewel—Sophie's face twisted.
"Andrew, look! She's taking the store's treasure!"
"You said Elena was ugly now. That she had nothing. That she'd be miserable without you—so how can she afford a custom haute couture wedding dress?"
"Is that guy actually loaded?"
"I don't care—you're buying me one too!"
Andrew snapped, clearly fed up with her whining.
"Get lost."
"Sophie, does someone like Elena deserve to even be compared to you?"
"This is all a performance. Can't you see that?"
"Why else would she come to this bridal shop instead of anywhere else? She's here to parade around in front of me. She's stalking me."
"Just wait. Give it a few days, and she'll come crawling back."
After we left the shop, Luke noticed my silence. That pained look crept back into his eyes.
"I'm sorry, Elena."
"Do you blame me? If it weren't for that bet... maybe things between you and Andrew wouldn't have ended up like this."
"And now he's marrying Sophie."
His voice was heavy with guilt.
I forced a casual shrug. "It's all in the past."
"Even without the bet, Andrew would still treat me the same way."
A bitter smile tugged at my lips.
"After all, the ways he's wronged me go far beyond this."
Luke's expression turned serious. He took my hand. "What else?"
What else...
I let out a soft, hollow laugh. "For example, six months ago, he listed me on a secondhand marketplace. Priced at $9.90."
Back then, Sophie deliberately posted a video to provoke me. I couldn't hold back—I slapped her right across the face.
That same night, she ran crying to Andrew.
To avenge his precious mistress, he listed me on a resale website the very next day.
The buyer followed the address, knocked me out, and dragged me into a hotel room.
Half-conscious, I heard Andrew giving instructions.
"Just feel her up. Don't go further than that."
"I only want to teach Elena a lesson—scare her enough that she won't dare touch Sophie again."
"She's still my wife, after all."
But that night, Sophie called him away.
The man he'd hired smirked and reached for my buttons.