Dear Ex Wife, Please take me back novel Chapter 118

LEAH

“What are we doing here, Alex?” I whisper, my voice barely coming out, unable to believe what’s standing right in front of me.

A bridal boutique.

A real, shimmering bridal boutique.

My fucking dream boutique where they sale the best and most expensive wedding gowns!

The doors swing open as if they were expecting us.

A woman in a sleek black dress smiles warmly and gestures us inside.

"Welcome Mr. King, ma'am. We've been expecting you."

Ma'am.

Mrs King is the name but I have to play nice so I smile.

“Thank you!”.

When we step In…. my breath stops!

I stumble forward, my heart slamming into my ribs so hard it hurts.

I turn to Alex, blinking up at him, my mind spinning, almost scared to say the words out loud.

“Alex, really... what is this?”

He doesn’t smile.

He doesn’t soften.

He just looks at me with those icy green eyes and says, his voice low and serious,

“To be my wife... you need a dress.”He shrugs like it’s obvious, like it’s the most natural thing in the world.

“Isn’t that what you’ve always wanted?”

I can’t breathe.

I'm finally going to be his wife!

If I knew this was all it took I would have asked Athena to get pregnant faster!

I should probably reduce on the trouble I cause her at the hospital. She did birth me a golden ticket after all.

Tears rush to my eyes, blurring everything around me into a dream.

It’s happening.

It’s finally happening.

All the years.

All the sacrifices.

All the suffering.

Finally worth it.

I clutch my hand to my mouth and nod, too choked up to speak.

The assistant beams and claps her hands together, leading me deeper inside.

Everything becomes a blur, silks, pearls, diamonds, all for me to choose.

They treat me like a queen.

I try on dress after dress, each more beautiful than the last.

But when I find the “one” I know.

A soft mermaid, stitched with tiny crystals that catch the light with every step.

Long sleeves and buttons down the back.

Elegant.

Timeless.

Expensive.

Fit for a Queen I am.

I don't even bother to ask for the price because I know he's got all the money in the world!

I twirl in front of the giant mirror, tears sliding silently down my cheeks.

Mum and Dad will be thrilled.

This is a beautiful surprise!

When I turn to Alex, he’s standing there, hands in his pockets, watching me.

I don't even try to hide the way my heart is bursting open.

"Well?" I ask, laughing shakily. "Do I look like a woman about to be Mrs. King-"

But his face doesn’t change.

Cold.

Detached.

Dead serious.

"I don't tell jokes," he says simply.

He steps closer, his presence like a sudden shadow over me.

"And if you want to be my wife," he murmurs, his deep voice low enough that only I can hear, "you have to prove you're not marrying me for my money."

He reaches out and gently moves a strand of hair from my face, his fingers cold against my burning skin.

"Buying your own dress," he says softly, "doesn't seem like a bad start."

I can’t breathe.

I can’t breathe.

Panic spikes through me so violently my knees almost buckle.

Buy it?

Me?

Buy a ten-million-dollar dress?

I'm not even worth two million!

Where the hell would I get that kind of money?!

I force a brittle laugh, trying to keep my voice light.

"Of course, baby," I say, my throat so tight it hurts. "I’ll just... transfer it later. You know, banks have limits..."

Alex’s smile doesn’t reach his eyes.

He tilts his head slightly, studying me.

"Or maybe..." he says, his voice dripping with cruel amusement, "you're broke."

His fingers trail lightly down my cheek, the touch almost tender if not for the blade of mockery hidden underneath.

"Unless you've been pretending all these years," he says, his voice so soft, so venomous it slices me in half.

"Have you been pretending, Leah?"