Chapter 2 - The Words Hidden Inside The Dresses
The handwriting belonged to Celeste.
Dominic stared at the small piece of paper between his fingers.
For several seconds, he forgot how to breathe.
His sister's name was written at the bottom.
Not a rumor.
Not a misunderstanding.
Not a suspicion.
A signature.
Celeste Serrano.
The person who had stood beside him his entire life.
The person who had helped him build his first company.
The person who had hugged Mara on their wedding day and called her "the sister I never had."
Dominic slowly placed the note back on the table.
"Mara."
She looked at him.
"I need you to tell me everything."
Her eyes became distant.
Like she had been waiting for this moment but was still afraid of it.
"You don't want to know everything."
"Yes, I do."
"No."
Her voice was quiet.
"You want the version where someone made a mistake. You want the version where your family said something careless and apologized."
She looked at the dresses hanging around the room.
"But the truth is harder."
Dominic stepped closer.
"Try me."
Mara looked at the note.
Then she looked at him.
"When I first married you, your family didn't hate me."
Dominic frowned.
"They didn't?"
"No."
She touched the copper silk gown.
"They were polite."
The way she said the word made Dominic understand.
Polite was not the same as kind.
"They smiled."
Mara swallowed.
"They complimented my dresses. They told me how lucky I was. They told me how beautiful I looked."
Dominic watched her carefully.
"Then what changed?"
Mara laughed quietly.
"The first time you left me alone with them."
A cold feeling moved through Dominic's chest.
"When?"
"The charity dinner three months after our wedding."
Dominic remembered.
He had been called away because of a business emergency.
He had apologized repeatedly.
He remembered Mara telling him she was fine.
He remembered her saying:
"Go. I'll be okay."
But now he realized something.
She had always said she was okay.
Even when she wasn't.
"What happened that night?"
Mara looked down.
"Your mother asked me why I wore the emerald dress you bought me."
Dominic frowned.
"My mother?"
Mara nodded.
"She said it was beautiful."
A pause.
"Then she said something else."
Dominic waited.
Mara's fingers tightened.
"She said, 'It's interesting how quickly some people adjust to luxury when they marry into it.'"
Dominic's expression changed.
"She said that?"
Mara nodded.
"I laughed because I thought she was joking."
She looked away.
"Then Celeste smiled and said, 'Don't worry. Everyone feels uncomfortable at first when someone from a different world joins the family.'"
The room felt smaller.
Dominic had spent years believing he knew his family.
But suddenly, every memory looked different.
Every dinner.
Every conversation.
Every moment Mara became quieter.
He had ignored the signs.
"What else?"
Mara hesitated.
Dominic saw it.
"There is more."
She didn't answer.
"Mara."
Her eyes filled slightly.
Not with tears.
With exhaustion.
"They didn't attack me when you were there."
"Because they knew I would stop them."
"Exactly."
The word hurt.
Dominic looked away.
Because she was right.
His family knew him.
They knew what he would tolerate.
They knew what he wouldn't.
So they waited.
They chose moments when he wasn't watching.
Mara walked toward another rack of clothing.
She pulled out a silver-blue dress.
"This one."
Dominic recognized it immediately.
He had bought it after their first anniversary.
"You returned this too."
"Yes."
"Why?"
She touched the fabric.
"Because your sister told me something when I wore it."
Dominic's face hardened.
"What?"
Mara closed her eyes.
"She said you only loved me because I was different."
Dominic said nothing.
"She told me powerful men get bored."
The words stayed in the air.
"She said eventually you would realize you needed a woman who understood your world."
Dominic looked at the dress.
"And you believed her?"
Mara looked at him.
That question hurt her.
Not because it was cruel.
Because it showed he still didn't understand.
"I didn't believe her."
She spoke softly.
"But I started wondering why everyone around you kept reminding me I didn't belong."
Dominic lowered his head.
He had no answer.
Because the worst part was not what they said.
The worst part was that Mara had carried it alone.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
Mara smiled sadly.
"I tried."
"When?"
"Many times."
Dominic looked confused.
She walked back to the table.
"You remember when I asked if your family really liked me?"
"Yes."
"You said they were just adjusting."
Dominic froze.
Because he remembered saying that.
He remembered thinking he was protecting her.
He had explained their behavior.
He had made excuses.
Mara continued.
"You told me they came from a different generation."
Dominic looked down.
"You told me not to take everything personally."
The silence after those words was painful.
Because he remembered.
Every sentence.
Every excuse.
Every time he chose peace over asking questions.
Mara opened another drawer.
Inside were photographs.
Dominic picked one up.
It was from a family dinner.
Everyone was smiling.
Mara stood beside him.
She looked happy.
But Dominic noticed something he had never seen before.
Her hands.
She was gripping her dress tightly.
"When was this?"
"The night before I returned the first gown."
Dominic stared at the picture.
"Why didn't I notice?"
Mara didn't answer.
Because neither of them needed to.
He didn't notice because he wasn't looking.
A knock suddenly came from the workshop door.
Both of them turned.
Mara's expression changed instantly.
Fear.
Not sadness.
Fear.
Dominic noticed.
"Who is that?"
She didn't respond.
The door opened slowly.
A woman stepped inside.
Celeste.
She looked at Dominic.
Then at the notes on the table.
Her face changed.
"You read them."
Dominic stared at his sister.
"Why?"
Celeste remained silent.
"Why did you write these things?"
She closed the door behind her.
"Mara, you shouldn't have shown him."
Dominic stepped between them.
"Answer me."
Celeste looked at him.
For the first time in years, she didn't look like his sister.
She looked like someone hiding something.
"You think this is about dresses?"
Dominic's eyes narrowed.
"What is it about?"
Celeste looked at Mara.
Then back at Dominic.
"It is about what she never told you."
Mara whispered:
"Celeste..."
But Celeste continued.
"You don't know who your wife was before she met you."
Dominic became still.
"What does that mean?"
Celeste reached into her bag.
She pulled out an old envelope.
The paper was worn.
The name written across the front made Mara's face lose all color.
Dominic saw it.
And before Celeste could open it, the workshop lights suddenly went off.
The room became completely dark.
Then Dominic's phone vibrated.
A message appeared from an unknown number.
One sentence.
May you like
One name.
"Ask Mara why she lied about who she really was..."
