He Stopped His Fiancée's Hand and Claimed the Salesgirl as His Wife

CHAPTER 1 - THE DRESS THAT TORE OPEN THE PAST

"You ruined my dress!"

The blond woman screamed it so loudly that every head in the bridal salon turned.

Elena had only taken two steps toward the fitting platform, another gown folded carefully over her arms, when the bride spun toward the mirror. Her jeweled bracelet caught the lace skirt with a sharp jerk.

Before Elena could even speak, the woman's palm struck her face.

The slap snapped through the room.

Elena staggered back, one hand flying to her burning cheek. The wedding dress she was carrying slipped and half-fell toward the polished floor.

The blond woman lifted her hand again.

Then a man's voice cut through the air.

"That's enough!"

A hand in a dark suit gripped the bride's wrist midair.

Elena froze.

That voice.

For a second, she could not breathe. Slowly, she looked up.

He turned too.

The anger in his face vanished so fast it was almost painful to watch. His eyes widened, then softened with disbelief.

"Elena...?"

Ten years disappeared and came back all at once. Her throat closed.

She bent quickly, picked up the fallen dress, and tried to move past him.

"I'm sorry. I have to go."

But he caught her arm, gently, as if he were afraid she might shatter.

The blond woman grabbed his sleeve. "Why are you protecting a salesgirl?"

He didn't look at her.

His eyes never left Elena.

"Because she's my wife."

The room went still.

Elena stared at him through tears she had sworn years ago she would never cry for him again.

"Then why did you send me divorce papers?"

His face drained of color.

"I never sent them."

For one suspended moment, neither of them moved.

Then the salon owner hurried forward, pale and shaking, and whispered, "Mr. Vale... your mother is here."

At the front of the store, an elegant silver-haired woman had already stepped inside.

And when she saw Elena, she stopped cold.

"I told them," she said quietly, "to make sure you never found each other."