Chapter 3  As the sound of the police echoed in the background, I couldn’t help but wonder, ‘Would Chase feel even a flicker of sadness if he heard I was gone? Surely, decades of shared memories couldn’t just vanish into thin air, right?‘  But there he was, with that annoyingly handsome face of his, looking as calm as ever. He casually asked, “Is it just the wedding dress? “Yes, for now, it’s only the wedding dress. But Ms. Kennedy could be in danger. We can’t rule out the possibility of suicide. We found that the dress has…”  Before the officer could finish, Chase cut in abruptly, “I don’t know who called this in, but I know Amanda well enough. She’d never take her own life. She’s pulled these over–the–top stunts plenty of times before. You don’t need to waste your time on her drama”  The officer was taken aback. They’d just tied the knot yesterday, yet here he was, completely unbothered by his wife’s supposed plight.  Chase had hung up before the officer could say another word.  felt an unexpected urge to laugh at myself for ever thinking Chase might still care about me. The police were calling him, for heaven’s sake, and he still thought I was playing some ridiculous game!  Nicole, with the slyness of a serpent, wrapped herself around Chase. “Chase, what if Amanda is really in trouble?”  Chase’s brow furrowed, “Yesterday, on the phone, Amanda did sound like she was weakly asking for help.”  “Maybe it’s because I tried on her wedding dress earlier. She probably tossed it into the river out of anger. But we’re truly in love. I’ve already pushed my feelings aside to let you be with her. What more does she want?  “That dress was designed to my taste anyway. Was she really that petty to get mad over me trying it on? She just tossed away a dress worth a fortune and is causing a scene at the police station… isn’t she deliberately shaming the Reyes family?”  Chase’s unease melted away, replaced by the familiar disdain he held for me.  A week ago, I was supposed to try on my wedding dress, only to find Nicole had already slipped into it, with the design and size altered to suit her.  I asked her to take it off and did not even raise my voice, but my family exploded at me, insisting it was just a dress and letting my sister try it wouldn’t hurt.  She paraded in the wedding gown, arm–in–arm with Chase in his groom’s suit, making it seem to everyone else like she was the real Mrs. Reyes and I was just an afterthought.  My family’s favoritism dated back to when Nicole fell into the river at five, and despite my attempts, I couldn’t save her.  I hit my head on a rock and blacked out, only to wake up and find out it was the heir of the Reyes family who had rescued me while my sister vanished beneath the water.  That was how Chase and I first crossed paths, growing up together like childhood friends.  At eighteen, Davin brought Chase’s stepmother into the fold, and Nicole came along. Back then, Chase couldn’t stand her.  At my engagement party three years ago, Nicole suddenly remembered she was the fifth daughter that the Kennedy family had lost.  Amidst all the celebrations, she knelt before me, clutching my gown, and cried, “Amanda, why did you trick me all those years ago and push me into the river?”