My Betrothal Partner and the Secrets We Share

“Fire!”

Someone in the restaurant shout their lungs out. The moment the words rang out, the restaurant descended into chaos. People scrambled to get out, their faces pale with fear as they pushed and shoved, trying to escape the danger.

I quickly snapped out of my stupor and stood up, trying to make my way toward the exit. But before I could take a single step, a figure collided into me, hard. Before I could even steady myself, I heard a familiar, frantic voice call out, “Grace, don’t worry! I’ll get you out of here.”

Daniel didn't miss a step as he rushed to guide Grace out of the restaurant. His heart raced, flooded with relief and in a moment of overwhelming emotion, he hugged her tightly.

“Are you okay? Did you hurt? No? Thank God…” he murmured, his voice thick with gratitude.

Then, suddenly, something seemed to hit him. He turned back, his eyes landing on me, standing nearby, watching them in silence.

His voice faltered, nearly choking as he stammered, “Lenore, I—I was just in a hurry. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to help you, I just...”

“I know,” I interrupted coldly, cutting him off before he could continue.

In that moment, as I stood there, watching Daniel’s desperate attempts to explain himself, I realized something that had been brewing inside me for a while. The man who once promised to always protect me—Daniel, the one who said he would stand by me through anything—was no longer the same person. The man I thought I knew had changed.

His face seemed to relax when he saw that I wasn’t angry, but there was still a tension in his posture. He immediately offered to drive me home.

“I’m good. I don’t need a lift. She, on the other hand, could use your help—shaking like a leaf. You better help her first, drive her home.” I spoke with a tone of finality, not bothering to look at him again.

The following days passed and I didn’t contact Daniel. Instead, I focused on preparing everything for my wedding. The designer had sent me a message, asking me to come by during lunch to pick up the custom-made wedding dress. It was supposed to be for my engagement to Daniel, for that moment when he proposed—but fate had taken a different turn and that moment

As fate would have it, as soon as I walked into the boutique, Grace followed closely behind me.

She saw the gift box in my arms and gave me a haughty look, turning to the designer. “I want to try on that wedding dress.”

The designer replied politely, “I’m sorry, Miss, but this dress was specifically made for the lady here. It’s a custom-made order.”

Grace sneered. “A custom wedding dress, huh? You’re acting like you’re about to get married…”

At that moment, it seemed like she realized something and her face twisted with rage. “Wait, are you going to wear that dress and run to crash my wedding?!”

I rolled my eyes, uninterested in her outburst. “You’ve got something wrong with your head. You should get it treated. Don’t come here and act crazy.” With that, I turned to leave, holding the wedding dress box in my arms. But just as I moved, she lunged at me, grabbing the box from my hands. Before I could react, she ripped open the packaging and began violently tearing at the wedding dress.

That wasn’t enough. She ran to the counter, snatched a pair of scissors and started cutting at the fabric.

“Lenore, don’t even think about ruining my wedding! I’ll destroy your dress and let’s see how you try to sabotage my wedding then!” she screamed, her voice shrill with fury.

“Grace, are you insane?” I shouted, furious, as I tried to grab the dress back from her. In the chaos, the scissors grazed my arm and blood started seeping out.

Grace froze, her eyes wide with shock. Then, after a long, tense pause, she too began slicing her own arm with the scissors, her face twisted in a manic expression. She collapsed onto the floor, softly sobbing, clearly out of control.

I was stunned, unable to comprehend her erratic behavior. I hadn’t even had the chance to speak when Daniel suddenly burst through the door, running towards the scene. His eyes immediately took in the scene—the dress shredded, Grace on the floor and me standing there, bleeding. His face twisted with fury.

“Lenore!” he roared, his voice filled with anger and disbelief. “What have you done?!”

His gaze softened as it shifted to Grace and his expression filled with concern. He rushed to her side, carefully lifting her into his arms. Grace, ever the performer, played weak and try coax Daniel.

“Daniel, don’t blame her. It’s not her fault. She didn’t mean to hurt me. It was an accident.”

“You think I’m going to believe it was an accident?” Daniel snapped, turning to me with venom in his voice. “If Grace is hurt because of you, Lenore, I swear I’ll make you pay for this.”