The Wedding's Ready, but My Bride Isn't

Tyler's POV

Yvonne Mullen, my fiancee, and I had been in a relationship for over seven years, yet she had never allowed me to touch her laptop. She forgot to close her laptop when she went away on a business trip this time, so I happened to see the screen light up while I was cleaning the study.

"Did you actually have a wedding with Harry in Alveria today, Yvonne? You might not have gotten legally married to Harry, but aren't you worried that Tyler will lose his mind if he finds out? You've only got three days left until your wedding with Tyler! You've got to come to your senses, Yvonne!"

Yvonne's best friend, Queenie Little, questioned her.

I steadied myself against the desk, convinced for a moment that I had to be dreaming.

Harry Chapman was Yvonne's first love from when she was 18 years old. They eventually broke up due to the long distance. It had been eight years since then.

How could Yvonne have possibly had a wedding with Harry when she and I were about to get married in three days?

I gripped the edge of the desk so tightly that the veins on the back of my hand bulged beneath my skin. I stared at the laptop screen without blinking, wanting to see how Yvonne would respond.

Yvonne replied quickly, "It's true. I'm perfectly clear-headed right now. It's a promise Harry and I made to each other when we were 18 years old. It's the only thing he has ever asked of me, so I must carry it out. As for Tyler…"

Yvonne's chat window indicated that she was typing for a long time before a message appeared.

"He doesn't know what's happening anyway, so I'll just pretend nothing ever happened."

I stared at the sentence in disbelief. After a long moment, a bitter smile escaped me. It was already too late for that, as I had already found out the whole thing.

I dragged a chair over and sat down, my hand trembling slightly as I gripped the mouse and clicked into Yvonne's chat with Harry. I never would have guessed that Yvonne and Harry had stayed in touch every single day during the seven years she and I had been together.

When Harry sent her a photo of a kitten he had spotted one day, Yvonne responded, "Just as cute as you."

When Harry vented about his stressful job and his irritating boss, Yvonne sent a thoughtful reply. "You're feeling this much pressure because you're improving. You shouldn't worry too much. I'll always be here with you, Harry."

When the power went out in Harry's neighborhood, leaving him in the darkness, he sent Yvonne a sticker suggesting he was afraid of the dark. Yvonne, without hesitating for a moment, replied, "I'll be right there."

I had been running a fever and tossing and turning in bed from a migraine that day. Yet Yvonne left the house in a hurry, without so much as pouring me a glass of warm water.

I slowly scrolled through those fragments of their daily conversations, where every message and gesture revealed how much Yvonne cared for Harry. The thing I found most unbearable was what happened last month. Yvonne and Harry had actually been preparing for their wedding.

Yvonne asked, "What kind of wedding theme do you want, Harry? Do you want a wedding surrounded by snow-capped mountains or one set against endless green fields? Do you want both, Harry?"

She then sent him photos of wedding dresses in different styles and asked, "Which style do you want to see me wear? Do you want a simple luxury design, a satin gown, or one with intricate details? I canceled my afternoon meeting, so I'll come pick you up at 3:00 pm for the fitting."

Yvonne handled everything herself, from major choices like the wedding venue to minor details like whether to use party poppers or ribbons. She was so busy that her feet barely touched the ground.

Yet, for our wedding, when I asked her whether we should host it in our hometown or in the city, Yvonne gave me an indifferent answer, saying, "It doesn't matter."

In addition, when I asked her to accompany me to choose her wedding dress, she said she was too busy and left the decision entirely to me. I finalized the guest list and wanted her to give it a final review and sign it, but she simply said, "You can decide it yourself; I don't really care."

I had assumed Yvonne was simply an easygoing person who didn't care about the details. That was until today, when I saw her chat with Harry. Yvonne had even put together a 23-page slide deck for Harry just because he was conflicted over whether to use real or artificial flowers for the wedding.