That night, Caleb knelt by the bedside for a full three hours before I finally forgave him.

Even though I still had some doubts, we both tacitly avoided bringing up meeting Mom again. Instead, we focused on preparing for the wedding.

What I didn't expect was that when I went to try on my wedding dress, I ran into Emily again. She snapped, "So what if someone else reserved it? Whatever she paid, I'll pay double!"

The store manager tactfully said, "It's not about the money…"

"Do you have any idea who I'm marrying? My fiance is a part of the Lehman family from Crowville. Who in the whole of Wraydale would dare oppose the Lehman family?"

When the manager saw me walk in, she looked like she'd just seen her savior and finally let out a breath of relief. "This wedding dress was specially custom-made by the designer for Ms. Shaw.

"It was made to commemorate their collaborative brand's first appearance at Plavas Fashion Week."

Hearing that only made Emily's eyes burn red with hatred. "The dress honestly looks pretty average."

She came close to my ear, her voice low and sinister, sounding like a hissing snake. "But if it's yours, I just have to take it."

The next second, she adopted a pitiful, tearful tone. Tilting her head, she threw herself into Derek's arms. "Derek, everyone says I'm a fake heiress and that I don't deserve anything…"

Derek gently rubbed her head and comforted her. "No one gets to bully the Lehman family's future daughter-in-law. If you like it, take it."

Visibly hesitant, the store manager turned to me, her expression troubled. I nodded, silently allowing it. After all, with the way Emily had stuffed herself in order to have a child, there was no way she would fit into it.

As expected, a loud rip sounded.

A scream came from the fitting room. When Emily emerged, she stomped on the wedding dress twice out of rage and frustration.

With that, the few crystals left on the dress became loose and fell like raindrops.

The store manager hurried in with the bill. With a crowd around watching the drama unfold, Emily grew even more embarrassed and annoyed.

"What are you rushing me for? I'm obviously going to pay for it since I tried it on."

But the next second, when she saw the numbers on the bill, she blurted, "What? Ten million dollars?"

Emily nervously glanced at Derek. After all, Linda had only given her a budget of one million dollars. No matter how sweet she could act, she would never dare to ask for ten times that amount.

"Derek, it's all this lousy dress's fault! It cut my waist, so I panicked and I…"

Derek signed the bill without hesitation. "It's fine. But you'll have to explain this to my mom yourself."

Emily's expression faltered. Although Derek seemed as doting as usual, his gaze never left me.

Even Emily, who had been smug just moments ago, sensed something amiss.

Suddenly feeling a little mischievous, I leaned close to her ear and whispered just as she did before, "Do you think that it's possible that Derek's actually playing along with me just to mess with you?"

Just that simple sentence was enough to get under Emily's skin.

I heard from mutual friends that she'd been suspicious and paranoid but never dared question Derek directly.

As such, she had secretly checked his phone, only to find out that he had been following my social media account for ages.

Years ago, he had even been my top supporter.

After she discovered that account, she started picking fights with Derek every day, but Linda's slight frown made her fall back in line.

After my friend told me about this, she asked, "Gabriella, be honest with me. You've never introduced Caleb to anyone. With how much you're hiding him, could he actually be—"

I quickly cut her off, "The one I'm marrying has always been Caleb."

Seeing how serious I looked, she didn't press further.

I figured that from that point on, I wouldn't cross paths with them again. But on my wedding day, I discovered that we had even chosen the same hotel.

When the guests noticed that the grooms on both welcome signs looked identical, they began whispering and exchanging puzzled glances.

When I arrived, I saw Mom knocking over my welcome signs. She tore my wedding photos to pieces and slashed big crosses across the faces. She must have really hated me.

"Gabriella, why did I give birth to a monster like you? If you still want to call me your mother, then get out of my face right now!"

She expected me to break down in tears, but her words could no longer hurt me.

I calmly had my assistant call the police.

"Oh, so you've grown bold enough to ignore your own mother! Fine. Make a scene then. I'd like to see how you'll handle the fallout."

The scene was so embarrassing that the Lehman family was upset.

So even though Emily had only half her makeup done, she had to step out to try to stop Mom. "Don't get cocky, Gabriella. As long as Mrs. Lehman is here, someone like you could never join the Lehman family.

"You're the one who'll be embarrassed when you don't have a groom on your big day."

What a fool. Did she really think I was fighting with her over some trash like the Lehman family? She was probably just trying to intimidate me.

Emily quickly finished her makeup and stood at the hotel entrance to greet guests.

My assistant told me that many unsuspecting guests had been led into the Lehman family's banquet hall.

"Forget about them. They'll come back once they realize they're at the wrong place. There's only one guest that I have to welcome personally."

Just then, an understated Rolls-Royce rolled up outside. Before I could get close, Emily lifted her dress and ran toward it, only to be blocked three feet away by the staff of the approaching man.

Emily stood there awkwardly. "Mr. Walton, you probably don't remember, but we met at the Urban Young Entrepreneurs Association Conference before."

Seeing the lack of reaction, she added, "It's fine. I'm the daughter-in-law of the Lehman family."

When Adam Walton, an official, remained silent, Emily grew anxious. "Mr. Walton, I'm talking about the Lehman family from Crowville! In all of Wraydale, who else could get you to come besides the Lehman family?"

Out of politeness, he finally spoke. "The Lehman family? I've never heard of them."

Having said that, he ignored her and walked straight toward me. "Gabby, congratulations on your wedding! I'm sorry for being late."

"You couldn't have come at a better time."

Watching Adam head toward the way, the sharp-eyed guests realized they had been led to the wrong wedding. "I was wondering why the Ingram family was using such a small banquet hall.

"The Ingram family would do nothing less than book all ten of the luxurious top-floor banquet halls!"

Even the Lehman family guests began heading upstairs, taking advantage of the confusion.

Within half an hour, only Emily's bridesmaids were left at her wedding venue.

Emily was furious, but there was nothing she could do. "Gabriella, what did you do to get them all to play along?

"Mark my words, once the Lehman family arrives and everyone realizes what's happening, they won't spare you."

At that moment, a stretched Bentley pulled up outside.

The instant Emily saw who got out, she ran toward him, letting all her frustrations spill out in sobs.

"Darling, you must stand up for me!"

However, the man merely sidestepped her, letting her collapse at his feet. Looking down at her, he asked coldly, "And you are?"