Chandler got the invitation card out and handed it to John politely. “Mr. Stovall, I hope you can attend our wedding and give us your blessings.”
John merely glared at Chandler, and Yvonne accepted the card on his behalf. “Who knew Ms. Anne’s wedding would be so soon. John and I are also getting married next month. I wonder if the dates will clash!”
She opened the wedding invitation and smiled when she saw the date. “Thankfully, our wedding is on the tenth, so we’ll be able to make it to your wedding. Don’t worry, Ms. Anne. John and I will be there.”
Hannah didn’t entertain her any further as she continued to check herself out in the mirror. John’s eyes lingered on her, and I could see the hurt in them. It was then I knew that John had really fallen for her.
Then, why is he still marrying Yvonne? He knew very well the kind of woman Yvonne was. Why would he still make such an irrational decision?
Yvonne was mad after getting snubbed by Hannah, so she decided to throw a fit at the manager. “Why did you let someone else try on my custom-made wedding dress? What kind of customer service does your shop provide? I want to make a complaint!”
The poor manager got all flustered as she started apologizing. “Ms. Wilde, I’m very sorry! But when Mr. Stovall had the dress made, he did say it would be fine to let others try it on… “
Yvonne drew a sharp breath when she heard that. “John, how could you? You had the dress custom-made for me. How can you let others try it on?”
After realizing what she had done, Hannah immediately spoke up, “Sorry, I didn’t know this was for you! I’ll go take it off right now.” As she hurriedly dragged herself back to the dressing room, Chandler followed closely behind to make sure she didn’t trip.
John stared longingly at her as his face drained of color. “No need. This dress looks good on you. Take it as a gift from me.”
“No, thank you!” Hannah shouted as she got into the changing room with Chandler.
Yvonne could see that John was in a foul mood and decided not to upset him any further. “Forget it. That wedding dress doesn’t fit me anyway. Why don’t you show me around and find me a suitable one?”
The manager looked relieved as she eagerly nodded and showed Yvonne around.
I saw the disappointment on John’s face and tried to find the words to comfort him. “You made that dress for her, didn’t you?” It was clear to see how every detail of the dress seemed to complement Hannah so well. I wouldn’t believe him even if he tried to deny it.
“I had this dress made for her right after she gave birth to Kiki. I wanted to wait till she had recuperated before planning for our wedding. But it’s too late for that now,” he said with a tone of resignation.
I didn’t want to ask how he and Hannah got to be in their current state, so I changed the subject. “Why Yvonne then?”
John looked a little annoyed when my question came out so bluntly. “I’m getting on with age, and it’s time to get married. Since it doesn’t matter who I marry, I might as well choose someone whom I can easily control.”
“John, have you gone mad? Don’t you know what kind of woman Yvonne is? Do you want to bring chaos to the Stovall family by marrying her? I don’t know why you had to let the perfect wife go and settle for someone like her. I can tell you now that Uncle Louis and I won’t agree to this marriage. Even if you must marry, there are many other socialites you can pick from in K City. Any one of them would be better than Yvonne.”
His expression darkened as he looked at me. “When have you become this snobbish? Why do you care about one’s social status now?”
“You’re my brother, and I only want the best for you. You know very well the kind of woman Yvonne is. Other people can’t wait to get away from her, yet you’re marrying her? I don’t care about social status, but I do care about character and morals. If you were marrying a kind-hearted woman who knew when to give and take, I wouldn’t oppose. But Yvonne is nothing like that.”
“So what? You said I’m a terrible person, and even if I found a good woman, I’d only be holding her back. If that’s the case, why not just find myself another terrible person to be with?” he retorted, his voice full of self-hatred and despair.
Seeing him so disheartened made me wonder if I should comfort or scold him. After much hesitation, I let out a big sigh. “What are you doing? Where were you at the start? Hannah waited for you for so many years, yet you constantly let her down. Why did you have to wait till she found someone she deserves before you start to cherish her? Why do you have to degrade yourself like this?”
He laughed bitterly and gave a nonchalant shrug. “That’s right. I’m degrading myself. So what? I deserve it!”
I had given up on him at this point. I knew nothing I said would knock any sense back into him, so I remained silent. Just then, Hannah came out of the changing room in a Chinese-style wedding dress, complete with a phoenix coronet. I was stunned at how drastic the change was that I couldn’t help but ask, “Didn’t you want to stick to a Western-style wedding? Why the sudden change?”
