Chapter 2: The Bridesmaids Desert the Ship
The air inside the locked boutique was thick with a suffocating tension. The five bridesmaids stood huddled together near the designer shoe display, their expensive silk dresses looking ridiculous in the middle of a corporate lockdown. The two bridesmaids who had laughed the loudest only minutes ago were now desperately checking their phones, their faces pale with anxiety.
"Claire... look, we didn't know," one of the bridesmaids, a girl named Chloe, stepped forward with her hands raised in a defensive gesture. "Vanessa told us that you were just a low-level alterer who worked out of a basement. She said she was doing you a favor by letting Lily be in the wedding party. We had no idea you owned the luxury label."
"Chloe! Shut up!" Vanessa hissed from the floor, where she was sitting on her heels, trying to hold the paper robe together around her knees. "Don't apologize to her! She’s doing this to humiliate me because she’s always been jealous of my mother’s wealth!"
Claire looked at Chloe, ignoring Vanessa's shouting entirely. "You laughed when my daughter was crying, Chloe. You said it was 'just a child's dress.' If you truly believe that human decency is optional based on a person’s perceived income, then you deserve the company you keep."
"I’m leaving," another bridesmaid, a wealthy tech heiress named Sarah, said flatly. She immediately walked over to the security guard standing by the door. "Open the door, officer. I’m canceling my bridesmaid dress order right now. I don't want my name associated with a bride who gets stripped by corporate security two days before her wedding."
"Sarah! You can't leave me!" Vanessa screamed, standing up, her bare feet slipping slightly on the polished marble border. "We’ve been friends since college! You’re my maid of honor!"
"I was your maid of honor when I thought you were a sophisticated society girl, Vanessa," Sarah said, her voice cold and analytical. "But this... this is trash behavior. My family’s foundation cannot be linked to a child abuse scandal on TikTok. Eleanor, please charge my card for any cancellation fees. I am out of this wedding."
The guard looked at Claire, who gave a brief, subtle nod. The electronic lock clicked, and Sarah stepped out onto the busy Manhattan sidewalk, slamming her designer purse against her side as she hurried away.
Within three minutes, the remaining four bridesmaids followed her example. They didn't even look at Vanessa as they muttered their apologies to Claire, signed their cancellation waivers at the front desk, and hurried out the door like rats fleeing a sinking ship.
The grand showroom, which had been filled with laughter and excitement an hour ago, was now empty, save for Claire, Lily, the boutique staff, and the broken remains of the Mercer family.
Diane stood up, her face tight, her expensive diamond earrings catching the light as she glared at her niece. "You think you’ve won, don't you, Claire? You think because you have a fancy title and a multi-million dollar business, you can look down on us? We still have the venue! We still have the catering! The Mercer family name is more powerful than your little dress shop! We will find another gown by Saturday morning!"
"There is no other gown, Aunt Diane," Claire said softly, walking over to the reception desk and picking up a master corporate ledger. "The Belladonna gown was the only exclusive design available in the city for this season. Every other high-end boutique in Manhattan is a subsidiary of my parent company, Vance Luxury Group. I’ve already sent an automated corporate alert to every showroom from here to Long Island. Your name, your daughter’s name, and your credit card profiles have been blacklisted across the entire industry."
May you like
Vanessa let out a choked, silent gasp, her hand flying to her mouth. "You... you blacklisted me? Across the whole city?"
"Every store, Vanessa," Claire said, looking her directly in the eyes. "You wanted to be the center of attention on Saturday. Well, now you will be. You’ll be the only society bride in New York history who walks down the aisle in a bathrobe."
