On My Wedding Invite, I'm Not the Bride

I looked up at the sky. It was a different color from the sky of the city that I had just left.

I decided to switch off my phone, blocking out all my troublesome thoughts.

In the past, no matter how big of an argument Travis and I got into, I would never go radio silent.

Travis was allowed to ignore my calls and messages, but I had to pick up his calls and reply to his messages within seconds.

It was the first time I had ignored his message. I knew that he would get angry, but I still decided to switch off my phone.

I ended up staying abroad for a week. I only realized how free the wind felt after I left Travis.

I would update my social media account every time I touched down in a new place.

Travis liked all of my posts, but he never left any comments.

I ended my solo vacation a week later.

I spotted Travis the moment I disembarked from the plane. He was cradling a massive bouquet of fresh flowers in his arms, making him stand out among the crowd.

We spent the ride home in silence.

When we arrived home, I realized that the house had undergone a drastic transformation. The rooms were all decorated to celebrate our upcoming wedding.

A stack of wedding invitations were arranged on the coffee table in the living room. However, instead of the printed ones from before, these new ones were hand-drawn.

Travis possessed some artistic talent. In fact, he had won awards for his artworks during his school days. He looked at me expectantly, waiting for me to praise him.

I pretended not to notice that his eyes were shining with anticipation. Instead, I returned to my room and packed my personal belongings, thinking about how I needed to find a chance to talk to him to clarify our current situation.

I had just laid down on the bed to rest when I heard someone entering the password and unlocking the front door from the outside.

A few seconds later, a clear voice drifted into the room.

"I forgot to take my eyemask with me, Mr. Somerson."

Victoria strode into my bedroom and made a beeline for the bedside cabinet. She averted her gaze when we made eye contact.

Meanwhile, Travis stood at the doorway with only a towel wrapped around his body, water dripping from his hair.

…

In the end, Travis told Victoria to leave without giving her a chance to retrieve her eyemask.

He stood before me. His mouth opened and closed several times before he finally stammered out an explanation.

"I've been busy decorating the house, so I decided to give her the password to make things more convenient. Also, I actually haven't been home for the last few days. I had no idea that she was staying here.

"She was only helping around the house. There's nothing going on between us, so there's no need for you to overthink things."

I looked at him calmly and said, "I'm not overthinking. If anything, you're the one who's overthinking."

"Is that so?" Travis asked, his voice dripping with disbelief.

He repeated his question several times, breathing a sigh of relief when he was certain that I believed his words.

Just as I was about to use this opportunity to clear things up with him, someone rang the doorbell.

Travis dragged me into the living room and asked me to close my eyes, telling me that he had a surprise for me. He was adamant that I follow his orders and only left to open the door after I closed my eyes.

I heard people walking around the house and the sounds of items being set down.

I only realized what Travis' big surprise was when he returned to my side and told me that I could open my eyes again.

Dozens of jewelry sets were displayed before me. I could tell from a single glance that each set cost a small fortune.

I became even more certain of the jewelry sets' value when I spotted a familiar figure.

"Travis has been pulling out all the stops for your wedding, Harper. He forced me to bring all the jewelry sets from my flagship store here so that you can have your pick."

The man speaking was Travis' childhood best friend, Brandon Potts, the owner of a jewelry store.

I hadn't expected Travis to make such a fuss. If I had known what he was planning beforehand, I would have told him that there was no need to go to such lengths.