phia shook her head. “No, it was only when Director Lowell asked for a fitting just now that we realized the dress was damaged.”


    So, from start to finish, only two people had handled the dress.


    One was Noreen. The other was Bianca.


    She couldn’t say for sure whether Bianca had damaged the dress on purpose, but she was certain about one thing: this whole mess was aimed squarely at her.


    She wasn’t someone who went looking for trouble–but that didn’t mean she’d run from it, either.


    Now that it hadnded on her doorstep, there was no reason to hide.


    “Sophia, have Security pull the surveince footage,” Noreen instructed immediately.


    Bianca remained perfectlyposed, as if the ruined dress truly had nothing to do with her.


    After Security finished their review, Noreen received a few key details.


    Once the dress had been returned, only three people had entered the storage room and had a chance to handle it: Noreen, Sophia, and Bianca. But there was a catch–there were no cameras in the storage room, so there was no way to confirm direct evidence of sabotage.


    Sophia panicked first. “It really wasn’t me! I would never dare ruin the dress! I couldn’t afford it even if I sold everything I owned!”


    Bianca scoffed. “Are you saying it was me? Seth had this dress custom–made for me. I treasure it–I’d never dream of ruining it. What am


    I supposed to wear to tomorrow’s celebration if it’s ruined?”


    Her meaning was clear: the only one left to me was Noreen.


    14 26


    “Maybe someone’s jealous. Maybe someone deliberately sabotaged the dress so I couldn’t attend this important celebration.”


    Her words hung in the air, and even Sophia cast a sidelong nce at Noreen.


    Just then, Bianca’s phone rang.


    She nced at the caller ID, and her face lit up in an instant. She answered sweetly, “Seth, I was just about to call you! The dress you ordered for me–it’s ruined.”


    “I have no idea how it happened. Secretary Gilmore just checked the cameras. The only people who touched the dress were me, Sophia, and Secretary Gilmore.”


    “Tomorrow’s the big night, and the dress just happens to get ruined now? What a coincidence, right?”


    Seth asked Bianca to hand the phone to Noreen.


    Bianca hesitated, but did as he asked.


    As Noreen took the phone, she saw what Bianca had saved Seth’s contact as: “Sweetie Seth.”


    The kind of intimacy she could never put into words.


    Seven years, and she’d never achieved that level of closeness.


    Was this the power of the “one who got away“?


    Noreen didn’t have time for self–pity–Seth was waiting on the other end.


    “Mr. Harcourt, this is Noreen,” she said evenly.


    “Was it you?”


    No beating around the bush–no questions, just a direct usation.


    For a moment, Noreen felt as if she’d fallen into an ice–coldke, her chest smothered under a thickyer of frost that numbed her to the bone.


    14.26


    Chapter <b>64 </b>


    She could ept his betrayal. She could ept that he’d fallen out of


    love.


    She could even ept that their paths were diverging for good.


    But she could never ept his doubt or his contempt.


    Seven years together, and she’d thought he at least knew her character–that Noreen Gilmore would never stoop to petty jealousy or


    sabotage.


    It takes endless days and nights to build trust between people. It only takes a second to destroy it.


    Noreen drew a steadying breath and answered him, her voice


    unwavering. “It wasn’t me.”


    “Bianca says only you and Sophia had ess to the dress. Sophia wouldn’t dare.”


    “So now, Mr. Harcourt, you’ve started making judgments based on your own assumptions?” Noreen’s tone was sharper than she intended.


    Seth clearly hadn’t expected her to snap back; silence stretched between


    them.


    Noreen’s gaze, cold and unflinching, fell on Bianca. “Let’s call the police. Let them decide what’s right and wrong.”


    14:26<b>! </b>