I was finishing up the last of my packing, smoothing folded clothes into a half-zipped suitcase, when the doorbell rang.
For a second, I paused. My heart jumped. Julian?
I checked my phone. No missed calls. No messages. With a slow breath, I headed toward the front door.
A large white box rested neatly on the welcome mat, wrapped in a wide gold ribbon. It was heavy. Elegant. My name was written across the top in bold, flowing calligraphy. No card. No explanation.
Just my name.
Curiosity pulled at me as I carried it inside. I placed it on the table, sat down, and slowly lifted the lid.
My breath caught.
Inside was a wedding dress.
Not just any dress — my dress.
The exact style I had sketched years ago, back when I still believed Damien and I would stand at an altar someday. Ivory silk that caught the light softly. Lace sleeves so fine and delicate they looked like they’d dissolve at a touch. I reached out, hands trembling, and brushed my fingers over the bodice.
A small tag had been stitched on the inside.
Talia — embroidered by hand in gold thread.
My vision blurred.
Was this real?
Was this… him?
For a heartbeat, my mind ran wild with dangerous hope. After all the distance. The coldness. The betrayal. Was this Damien’s way of saying sorry? Was he finally ready to give me what he’d taken away? Was he ready to make things right without saying a word?
I let myself believe it.
Just for a moment.
I stepped into the gown, careful and slow, holding my breath as the fabric fell against my skin like it had been waiting for me. It fit almost too perfectly. I turned toward the mirror, hands pressed against my chest, eyes shining with fragile, foolish hope.
That’s when the door flew open.
“Talia, what the hell do you think you’re doing?!”
I jumped.
Damien stood there, his face dark with anger and disbelief. He crossed the room in long strides and grabbed the fabric at my shoulder, yanking it away so roughly it almost tore.
“Why are you wearing that dress?”
“I—” My voice shook. “Isn’t this… for me? My name is on it. It’s the design I made. The one I dreamed of. I thought maybe… we were finally having a real wedding?”
A sharp, humorless laugh left him.
“Wedding? Have you lost your mind? We’re already married.”
“Then why send this here?” I whispered, my throat tight.
“It’s not for you,” he snapped, brushing his hands over the fabric like he was cleaning it. “It’s for Bianca. She’s always wanted a ceremony. A real one. We’re giving her that. She deserves it. She’s sick.”
My body went cold.
“She’s sick,” he repeated, like that single sentence explained everything.
“She wants to walk down the aisle,” he went on. “Wear the dress. Have the wedding she was supposed to have five years ago. This was her dream.”
“But it was mine too,” I said quietly. “I designed it. That was my sketch. Why give her something that belonged to me?”
Voices came from behind him.
Marcus and Elliot stepped into the room.
“What are you two shouting about?” Marcus asked. His eyes landed on the dress and he scoffed. “Oh. That. Come on, Talia, you’re not dying. Let her have it. If she likes your design, you can just make another one.”
Elliot nodded like that settled everything.
“You always turn things into drama,” he said. “Just let her have this one day. At least she deserves that much.”
“She deserves… my dream?” The words barely came out.
Bianca appeared in the doorway, wrapped in a soft shawl, playing the part of fragile perfectly.
“I’m sorry,” she said softly, her voice trembling. “I just… I just want to be a bride. I want to walk down the aisle once before…” She stopped, letting the sentence hang. Her eyes filled with the same tears she’d used since we were children. “I won’t take him from you forever. Just for a moment. Just let me borrow him.”
I stared at her.
At all of them.
Something inside me went very still.
“You’re all unbelievable,” I said quietly.
Bianca’s lips trembled.
“Do whatever you want,” I continued, my voice flat. “Have your ceremony. Take the dress. Use my design. Borrow my husband. Take everything. I’m done.”
I turned and walked out.
My legs felt numb, but my chest burned like it was being carved open.
Back in my room, I opened drawers, closets, boxes. I pulled out shirts, photos, old letters — every piece of the girl I used to be. Every soft memory I’d guarded. I carried them outside one by one.
Behind the house, there was an old metal barrel.
I dropped it all inside.
And I lit the match.
Flames rose quickly, hungry and bright. Smoke twisted upward, carrying everything I’d once believed in. I watched the fire eat through photos of Damien and me, through handwritten love letters, through the old wedding dress sketches I thought I’d one day wear.
I remembered my brothers promising to protect me. I remembered believing I belonged there. I remembered Bianca clinging to my arm, whispering that I was her favorite.
It was all a lie.
Every single bit of it.
And as the last fragile page of my sketchbook curled into ash, arms wrapped around me from behind.
“Tal…,” Damien murmured. His voice was low, close, breath warm at my ear. “I’m sorry. I know this hurts. I didn’t want things to go this far. Just… do this for her. She’s sick. You’re stronger than this. You can handle it.”
I said nothing.
“Let me make it up to you,” he whispered. “Tomorrow, just us. A proper date. I’ll fix everything. I swear.”
I was too tired to argue.
“…Fine,” I said quietly.
His breath left in relief.
“Thank you,” he said, pressing a soft kiss into my hair.
That night, I closed my eyes and waited for sleep to bury the ache in my chest.
But just as I began to drift—
“Talia! Get up!”
I sat upright, heart pounding.
Damien was at my bedside, eyes wide and urgent.
“We need your blood,” he said quickly. “Your sister needs a transfusion. You’re a match.”
My throat went dry.
“What…?”
“She’s deteriorating,” he said, already grabbing my arm. “Don’t make this difficult. Be useful for once. Be her blood bank.”
