His Trial Bride, My Exit Plan

After getting my boss' reply, I slumped against the wall, drained of all energy.

Henry Somerset's voice echoed in my ears again.

"Stop kissing me. If Chris runs into us later, you'll be in trouble.

"Oh, right, he still doesn't know you gave me the draft designs of dress and suit he made for his own wedding. I showed him the finished design, and he actually thought we just had the same taste. What a joke! He's so naive, it's almost hilarious."

My face turned pale instantly.

I had been with Jenna Rogers for six years. Everyone in her social circle knew me.

They all knew I didn't care about fame or money. My only hope was that Jenna could have a bright future.

Once, she promised me she'd give me a grand wedding.

I was so happy that I stayed up night after night designing our wedding outfits myself, revising them again and again until I finalized the last version.

But a while back, the drafts suddenly disappeared. I tore the place apart looking for them, but I found nothing.

Jenna hugged me with a guilty expression. She cried as she said, "Maybe I accidentally threw them out with the trash. I'm sorry, Chris."

The effort from countless hours of work and sleepless nights, gone just like that.

Of course, it hurt.

But I still forced myself to comfort her, telling her it was okay, that I could just redo everything.

Now, the truth hit me like a sledgehammer.

My sketches hadn't ended up in the trash at all. She had handed them over as a gift to the man she was actually engaged to.

I couldn't listen anymore. My steps faltered as I stumbled into the restroom.

Just then, my phone buzzed. It was a message from Henry.

[Chris, when are you coming back? My fiancee stopped by and left. Otherwise, I really would have loved to introduce you two.]

I stared at my reflection. My face was pale. I splashed cold water on myself, trying to clear my head. Slowly, I walked back out.

Henry was humming to himself. When he saw me, he looked me straight in the eyes with a knowing smirk.

"What took you so long? Did you see my fiancee? She's gorgeous, isn't she?"

I met his gaze, and in that instant, I understood.

He had done all of this on purpose. He wanted me to see everything and to crush whatever feelings I still had left.

However, he seemed to forget something.

Jenna and I had been publicly dating for six years. Even if we couldn't make it to the end, I wasn't some third wheel hiding in the dark.

I swallowed my anger, forced a smile, and said, "Great. You two look good together. I hope you're happy."