Her Words Ruined My Destination Wedding

One week before our wedding, my fiance, Ashton Fraser, suddenly cancels the world-tour wedding trip that I've been preparing for the past two years.

Thinking that he's misclicked something, I turn on my tablet and am about to ask the wedding planner what's going on when I see the WhatsApp on the tablet syncing with the version Ashton has on his phone. That's when numerous text messages from one of Ashton's friends begin popping up.

"Wait, did you seriously cancel your fiancee's world-tour wedding trip just because you wanted to fulfill Mariah's wish? You even entrusted the authority to organize your wedding to Mariah?

"I'm not exaggerating when I say this wedding is practically your fiancee's life's work! Everyone knows that she went so far as to force herself to continue planning the wedding even when she relapsed from her cardiac arrest! Aren't you worried that she might not marry you at all once she finds out about this?"

With a trembling finger, I tap on the notification.

Ashton replies to the friend nonchalantly, "Laura has already given her life to me; why would she care about how her wedding goes? Mariah wants to try her hand at organizing a wedding. This is her dream.

"Don't worry. Laura cares more about this wedding than anyone else in this world. She's even willing to cut half of her heart just for me. Clearly, she loves me to the moon and back. Even if she finds out about this matter, she will never have the heart to leave me. At most, she'll only throw a tantrum that lasts for a few days. I'll make sure to coax her properly when the time comes."

I take a deep breath to suppress the irregular rate at which my heart is beating at the moment. Then, I tell another man, "Are you interested in getting married? I still need a groom for my wedding."

I had been planning that world-tour wedding trip for two years.

From Glaciera's glass house under the aurora to Solmare's glowing beaches, every detail had been carefully designed and refined again and again.

It wasn't just a wedding. It was a promise for the rest of my life with my fiance, Ashton Fraser, paid for with half my heart.

Now, it had all become a joke.

I stood outside the study, trembling all over.

Ashton's sister, Yvonne Fraser, was inside. "Ashton, are you out of your mind? That wedding trip is Laura's dream! You can't just cancel it!"

Ashton sounded annoyed. "A world tour is exhausting. Laura's body can't handle it. A hotel wedding is simpler. Mariah was just helping out of kindness."

"Kindness? More like a hidden agenda. You canceled the wedding for her sake. Did you even stop to consider how Laura would feel?"

"How would she feel?" He paused for a second before saying, "She’s madly in love with me. She's already given me half her heart. What's a wedding compared to that?"

He said it so casually, like it meant nothing.

Yvonne went quiet for a moment, then she let out a scoff. "Are you doing this for Laura's sake, or just to make Mariah happy? You should be honest with yourself."

"Yvonne, what are you trying to say?"

"That stone on Mariah's hand is worth over a million dollars, right? She didn't even blink at spending that kind of money. And Laura? If I hadn't come back yesterday, I wouldn't have known the future Mrs. Fraser was living worse than a maid."

I slipped back into my bedroom and listened as Yvonne stormed out, slamming the door behind her.

Ashton left right after her.

Only then did I finally relax and curl up on the bed.

I stared at the star bracelet on my wrist, which I had worn for five years without ever taking off.

I thought about my birthday this year, when Ashton came home late and tossed me a cheap five-dollar cake from a convenience store.

"I forgot. Just eat this. And seriously, why didn't you remind me?"

However, last month, he threw Mariah Beasley a surprise birthday party.

He rented an entire yacht, flew in fresh flowers, and set off custom fireworks. The whole thing cost over a million dollars.

Back then, I even made excuses for him, telling myself he was just too busy with work.

How ridiculous that was.

He wasn't bad at romance. He wasn't incapable of effort. He simply never reserved any of it for me.

It had been five years. It was only now that I finally saw it clearly. What I had given half of my life for wasn't love that lasted forever. It was nothing more than a heartbreaking illusion I had built for myself.