Chapter 3

Tyler's POV

Just then, a man's voice came from the side. "Can you take a look to see if my wedding ring's too loose, Yvonne?"

Yvonne turned her head to the side and replied, "I'll be right there."

She looked at me again and asked, "Do you have anything else to say, Tyler? If not, I'll hang up now."

I lowered my eyes, looked at the woman on the screen, and finally couldn't help but ask, "Do you truly want to marry me, Yvonne?"

Yvonne was stunned for a moment before smiling faintly. "Of course, Tyler. I mean, we've been together for seven years. Life is only so long. Of course, I want to marry you."

I merely nodded as my finger stayed on the chat interface for Yvonne's family group chat. I had typed out a message three minutes ago. "I'd like to announce that, after discussion and agreement by both parties, the wedding set for the day after tomorrow has been canceled."

I had wanted to spare her some embarrassment, but now, I deleted the message word by word. I then said, "Got it."

…

The following day, I shipped my belongings back to my hometown. Yvonne's mother, Diana Lowe, suddenly called me and said, "You should come over for lunch today, Tyler. Yvonne is back."

She paused briefly before adding with a smile, "She has also brought along a friend, Harry. I thought it would be a good opportunity to introduce you to each other."

Diana was a very "gracious" person. She smiled and offered me drinks when Yvonne took me to her place for the first time. She complimented my looks, then proceeded to ask about my education, my family background, and how much money I made a month.

I answered her questions one by one, feeling more nervous than I had during my thesis defense. I was terrified that I wouldn't measure up as a son-in-law for her.

Diana seemed delighted, remarking that it was a stroke of good luck for their whole family that Yvonne had found a boyfriend like me.

Yet, when she turned around to call Yvonne into the kitchen to wash some fruit, I heard her sigh and say regretfully, "It's such a shame, Yvonne. The one before was still the better choice."

I knew that the one before was none other than Harry. Yvonne never told me about him—I had discovered it myself.

From then on, every time I visited Diana's place, that name would automatically pop into my head.

I was finally going to meet that man today. I had just arrived when I noticed that the living room was already crowded. Harry sat in the center of the couch, while Yvonne sat beside him, carefully peeling a piece of apple for him.

It was something she had never done for me in the past seven years we had been together.

Seeing me walk through the door, Diana instantly rose to her feet. "You're finally here, Tyler!"

She pulled me over, then pointed at Harry and said, "This is Harry Chapman, Yvonne's former classmate. He's an exceptionally outstanding man. He made a special trip here to attend the wedding after finding out that Yvonne is getting married."

She then turned to Harry and said, "Harry, I'd like you to meet Tyler Wright."

I noticed the difference in how we were introduced, but I didn't call her out. I just found a place and sat down quietly.

Diana went on making small talk with Harry. "Did you get wedding photos taken while you were in Alveria, Harry? You really should have told me earlier about something so important!"

Harry smiled sheepishly and said, "Oh, Mrs. Mullen…"

Diana smiled knowingly and asked, "Why don't you just call me 'Mom' already, Harry?"

"Mom!" Yvonne suddenly interrupted, her gaze briefly darting in my direction. "Tyler is still here!"

In that instant, the atmosphere in the living room grew tense.

Diana acted as if she had only just realized her mistake, saying sheepishly, "I merely misspoke. I just like Harry so much that I think of him as my own son."

She slid the box of wedding favors on the table over to me, grabbed a handful of candy, and pressed it into my palm. "You should have some of these wedding favors, Tyler."

I unwrapped a candy and popped it into my mouth, finding it more bitter than ever. "Thanks, Mrs. Mullen."

I didn't bother addressing her as "Mom". She wasn't worthy of it.

I hadn't expected that she also knew about Yvonne and Harry's wedding, but I still didn't make a scene. I didn't feel like there was any point. I was just waiting for tomorrow, waiting to see their expressions when they learned that the wedding had been canceled.