All too late for his love

Matthew's brows furrowed. "Willa?"

AND 1/1

He hadn't meant to hurt Wilhelmina while he was in a daze. He hurried forward and pulled Wilhelmina into his arms. "I'm sorry, Willa. I was just..."

What was he supposed to say? That he had imagined the love of his life as some other woman? It was unforgivable of him to do that, and it would come out wrong no matter how hard he tried to explain himself.

Wilhelmina's heart tightened. She was afraid to hear Matthew speak the truth- that he had pictured her as Willow and lost control of himself.

Wilhelmina wouldn't know how to live with the shame.

She threw herself into Matthew's arms and said sorrowfully, "It's okay, Matt. You don't have to say anything. I believe you, and I have faith in our relationship.

"We've stuck by each other's side for four years. We promised we would face the world together. You wouldn't betray me after all we've been through.

"If you did, then there truly would be no good men left in this world. I know your love for me is true, and you'll always have my trust."

Wilhelmina had come to the booth today to give Willow a hard time, yet despite her effort, she only succeeded in humiliating herself. Willow, in contrast, was unscathed. Wilhelmina was too embarrassed to linger around. She gripped Matthew's hand tightly and pleaded, "I'm not feeling too well, Matt. Can we go home?"

lan, who had been silent all this while, suddenly interjected, "Hold on, Ms. Foster."

Wilhelmina's embarrassment gave way to delight and relief when she heard lan's voice. She couldn't help feeling like she had just seen the light at the end of the tunnel.

She reckoned lan had stopped her from leaving because he wanted to offer her an endorsement deal after seeing how beautiful she looked in the gown.

"Mr. Nightingale, is there something I can help you with?" Wilhelmina asked. She wouldn't ask for an endorsement deal outright, so she settled for flashing a demure and polite smile at lan.

For some reason, lan's stomach churned every time he looked at Wilhelmina.

He had to keep himself from retching as he pointed out impassively, "Ms. Foster, I believe we should discuss compensation after you ripped the gown."

"What?" Wilhelmina demanded loudly, her surprise evident in her voice.

She had to take a few deep breaths before she found her voice again. "Mr. Nightingale, I thought... you gave me this gown as a gift."

lan regarded her like she was an idiot. "I believe you've misread the situation, Ms. Foster. Why would I give you the gown when I barely know you?"

Wilhelmina was rendered speechless by his retort. Now that she thought about it, he was right. He had allowed her to try on the gown, but he hadn't explicitly said it was a gift. In any case, Wilhelmina had misconstrued his intention.

She looked down and appraised every detail of the gown she was wearing. The delicate embroidery, threaded with gold and depicting subtle patterns, was a work of art. The mother-of-pearl sewn into the bodice and pleats looked fine and expensive. The Fosters ran their own business, but it wasn't faring well and the family didn't come from money.

Dorothy, Matthew's grandmother, had pulled a calculated move by secretly having Wilhelmina sign a prenuptial agreement before Wilhelmina married Matthew.

Wilhelmina's career in the entertainment industry wasn't exactly flourishing, either.

She couldn't bring herself to ask Matthew for the money for the gown, for out but compensating for it out of her own pocket would cost her an arm and a leg. Text property © Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org.

Not wanting to pay a cent in damages, Wilhelmina mustered her m courage to reason with an "Mr. uson Nightingale, I would never have tried on the gown if you hadn't asked me to. "So I can't be held liable even if I ripped the gown."

lan countered sharply, "While I let you try on the gown, I never said your could try to squeeze yourself into it even when it wouldn't fit."

Wilhelmina blanched at lan's sharp remark.

Meanwhile, Eric couldn't resist applauding lan's retort and sounding his agreement.

At first, Eric thought lan was insane for letting Wilhelmina try on the gown.

He had questioned lan's judgment and wondered if lan had a thing for unavailable women who were vapid, washboard lookalikes.

He was relieved when he realized lan had only done so to make fools out of Willow's