During a break in the shoot, I stood with my head bowed, trying to pull myself together.
Then Oscar pointed at me.
"Hey, you. My fiancée's ankles are aching from these heels. Give them a rub."
The words had barely left his mouth.
Gwyneth's foot was already resting on my leg.
She reached down and swept the skirt aside. The tip of one long, manicured nail snagged on the lace trim of the hem.
With an impatient jerk, she yanked it free, and the lace tore clean through.
My breath caught, and I shot to my feet.
Gwyneth went sprawling flat on her back, the pain bringing instant tears to her eyes.
"Oscar..."
Oscar's face darkened in an instant.
"You crazy woman!"
His palm cracked across my cheek. The mask flew off my face, and a smear of red bloomed at the corner of my lip.
My face was bare to the air.
"Lucille?"
Gwyneth clapped a hand over her mouth and gasped.
Panic flickered across Oscar's face for only a heartbeat before his brow snapped into a frown.
"Lucille Simmons, you followed me here all along. Why didn't you just show yourself?
"So you disguised yourself as staff just to watch me make a fool of myself?"
I wiped the red from the corner of my mouth.
A bitter laugh escaped me.
Twisting the blame onto me. It was a move he never tired of pulling.
Every time I caught him doing something wrong, he'd find some way to dig up a fault in me instead.
I used to think my patience could hold this relationship together.
But now I could see it plainly. His heart had been given to someone else long ago.
"Oscar, since you and Gwyneth already finished your wedding photos, congratulations. I wish you a happy marriage."
With that, I turned to leave.
Gwyneth chased after me and caught my hand.
"Lucille, you've got it all wrong."
She bit her lip, her glistening eyes the very picture of fragile innocence.
"I really was just passing by. I saw that Oscar had forgotten about you again, and I only wanted to help the two of you."
"These photos will all be edited afterward to put your face in."
Oscar stepped up beside her.
"Gwyneth is the best friend you've known since childhood. You're the one who introduced us in the first place. Surely you wouldn't suspect her?"
His eyes raked over my figure, a barely concealed distaste threading through his voice.
"And really, take a look at yourself. You think a body like that could even squeeze into a wedding gown?"
"She was kind enough to help you out, and instead of saying thank you, you deliberately got back at her and shoved her to the floor."
Oscar's gaze settled on Gwyneth, soft with concern.
My heart gave a sudden lurch, and the pain of it felt sharp and real.
Oscar knew. He knew perfectly well.
This past year I'd put on twenty pounds on purpose, so I could donate bone marrow for him.
And yet he was holding Gwyneth's figure up against mine, humiliating me in front of all these people.
I let out a cold laugh.
"Should I be thanking her too, for kissing and clinging all over my fiancé?"
"Take all the time you want with the photos. I won't be sticking around."
Gwyneth's face went pale.
"Lucille, aren't these just the standard poses for a wedding shoot? Don't think so lowly of us."
I wrenched my hand out of Gwyneth's grip and said, each word deliberate and clear.
"Our friendship ends right here."
Gwyneth's tears fell the moment I finished speaking.
I didn't soften. I turned on my heel and walked toward the exit.
"Gwyneth, ignore her."
Oscar reached out to stop her.
"I'd like to see how long she can keep up this tough act. Sooner or later she'll come crawling back, begging me to make up."
When I heard that, my steps only quickened.
It was the middle of the night before Oscar finally came home.
He carried a takeout container in his hand.
"You went the whole day without eating again, didn't you? I went out of my way to bring you seafood porridge. Hurry up and have some while it's hot."
