Athaliah could still remember every single exhausting second she had poured into that dress, the endless days and those brutal sleepless nights where she barely stepped foot outside her studio.
The client had been breathing down her neck with one impossible deadline after another, demanding absolute perfection, and she had pushed herself to the limit until it was finally done.
Even thinking about it now made her shoulders throb with that old familiar ache.
Voren stared at the gown with genuine confusion written all across his face, his brows pulling together as he glanced back and forth between the dress and Athaliah.
"This is Elodie’s design."
The second Elodie’s name slipped out, everything suddenly clicked into place in Athaliah’s head. Her eyes went wide, and she let out a soft groan while rubbing her forehead with her fingertips.
"That explains absolutely everything." A helpless little laugh bubbled out of her. "Elodie’s my assistant. He told me some anonymous client wanted the dress made but wouldn’t say who it was for. I had no idea that client was you the whole time."
Her smile softened and grew warmer as she turned to look at Seraphine. "Don’t you worry about a thing. I’ll whip up something even more breathtaking for your wedding."
That was the moment Seraphine realized Athaliah still had no clue what had actually happened. It meant Corvine had not spilled their secrets, though he looked genuinely interested in Athaliah.
Seraphine’s respect for him grew. She shot a quick glance at Voren before offering a shy little smile, her cheeks flushing with a faint blush.
"This has to stay between us until Voren makes the big announcement..." Her voice stayed soft. "We actually got married a few days ago."
Athaliah froze completely. Her mouth dropped open, her eyes flooding with pure disbelief for a heartbeat before the most explosive wave of excitement lit up her entire face.
"Oh my Goddess!"
Without wasting another second, she rushed forward and pulled Seraphine into the tightest, warmest hug imaginable, squeezing her like she never wanted to let go.
"I’m so incredibly happy for you!" The words came out in a delighted squeal as she hugged even tighter. "Congratulations! You have no idea how relieved this makes me feel."
Seraphine blinked in total confusion while hugging her back. "Relieved?"
Athaliah finally pulled away, though she kept her hands planted firmly on Seraphine’s shoulders, her eyes still sparkling with emotion.
"You don’t even know how those Alphas were staring at you during the full moon festival." Her expression darkened with clear annoyance. "I hated every single second of it. Their eyes were all over you, and none of it felt right at all. It made my skin crawl."
She let out a long, dramatic breath before her smile returned, brighter than ever. "Thank the Goddess you’re already married."
Then she threw the back of her hand against her forehead in the most theatrical way possible.
"But... my dream of becoming your maid of honor just died way too soon." The groan carried pure exaggerated heartbreak.
Seraphine reached over and gave her hand a gentle, affectionate squeeze.
"We still have the coronation coming up." Her blue eyes sparkled with playful mischief. "Voren keeps swearing he’s already got the perfect dress waiting for me... but I’ve got this strong feeling you can still blow everyone away with something even better."
Athaliah practically bounced with pure delight, her eyes lighting up even brighter than all the diamonds sparkling across the gown.
"That’s exactly my specialty." She tapped her chest proudly. "Leave it all to me, Sera. I promise you’ll walk in there and leave every single person completely speechless."
The happy excitement extended inside the car until Seraphine’s phone suddenly rang and cut through the moment. She glanced at the screen before picking up.
"Damon, what’s going on?"
"They’re about to exchange vows, but the weather’s turning nasty way faster than we thought. The snowstorm’s hitting sooner than expected, so we’re moving everything back to the gym. We’ve already got it all set up over there."
Seraphine nodded along. "Got it."
The gym had always been the go-to backup spot for big ceremonies like this, so the last-minute switch didn’t throw her off at all.

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