Laura barely slept that night, and by the time she woke up the next morning, Ryder was already gone.

Looking around the empty house, she felt a wave of irritation.

Her phone buzzed with a notification. It was a message from Seth.

Seth: [Laura, it's already 9:00 a.m.! Why aren't you back at the office yet? Don't tell me you're still sleeping in?]

He added a skeptical sticker at the end.

Laura's annoyance flared, but she forced herself to reply calmly.

Laura: [I'm on my way. If anyone comes looking for me, just handle it for now.]

-

Meanwhile, Ryder had already settled into Harry's place, dragging his suitcase inside.

He was busy coordinating with the wedding planners, making sure every detail of the upcoming ceremony was adjusted—swapping the groom's name with Seth's.

The invitations had been reprinted, the suit tailored for Seth was ready, and even the wedding photos had been photoshopped to include him.

The final task was notifying Seth about his role in the wedding.

"There's no need to notify him," Ryder muttered. "He's bound to show up and cause a scene anyway."

He stared at the edited wedding photos on his laptop. "Showing up is easy. Getting him to wear the suit will be harder."

Suddenly, an idea struck him.

"Harry, the day before the wedding, can you pick up the suit and deliver it to Seth's place? Tell him it's from Laura," he said.

Harry frowned but eventually nodded.

Glancing at his schedule, Ryder saw the countdown—three days left until his departure.

Harry sighed. "Time flies. Soon, we won't be able to meet up whenever we want."

Ryder chuckled. "It's fine. Once I settle down over there, I can fly back to see you anytime you want."

-

For two days, Ryder hadn't contacted Laura.

By the afternoon of the third day, as Ryder boarded his flight, Laura suddenly felt a pang of unease, her chest tightening with an inexplicable dread.

She quickly grabbed her phone and called him, but the call didn't go through.

Panicking, she dialed Harry instead. "Where's Ryder? Why isn't he answering his phone?"

On the other end, Harry rolled his eyes so hard it seemed like they could hit the ceiling.

"Seriously? Ryder's been swamped these past two days with wedding prep. He's exhausted! On top of that, he's been helping take care of my grandma. He doesn't have time to keep checking his phone!" he lied.

Laura was momentarily speechless.

"Sorry, I was just... worried about him," she mumbled.

"What, do you think my house is some kind of danger zone?" Harry retorted.

"No, that's not what I meant, I just—" Laura started.

"Alright, alright. I'll let him know you called. Happy now?" Harry cut her off.

Before she could respond, the line went dead.

Laura tried to reassure herself. Maybe she was just overthinking things.

Back at the office, Seth sauntered in and casually stood behind her chair, starting to massage her shoulders.

"Laura, I haven't seen Granny Bambra in ages. Will she attend the wedding?" he asked.

Laura shook her head. "Her health isn't great. She can't handle big, lively events like this. Why are you suddenly asking about her?"

"No reason, just wanted to check in on one of your elders," Seth replied.

The mention of elders reminded Laura of Alexander.

Technically, Alexander was one of Ryder's elders, but since they were about to get married, he was practically hers as well.

She called Alexander to let him know about the wedding date.

"So the wedding's still happening as planned?" Alexander's tone carried a hint of curiosity, which Laura found odd.

"Yes, why? Is there a problem?" she asked.

Alexander gave a forced laugh. "Oh, no, no problem at all. It's just that the orphanage is undergoing renovations, and the place is full of kids right now. I really can't get away."

"That's alright. You handle your work. After the wedding, Ryder and I will visit you and the children," Laura said.

After hanging up, Seth started pestering her to join him for dinner.

Laura studied him for a long moment, her intense gaze making him squirm uncomfortably.

"Something wrong, Laura?" he asked.

"No," she finally said, pulling her eyes away. "I'm just tired today. Go have dinner on your own."

-

Fresh off his flight, Ryder saw Harry's message and found a quiet spot to call Laura back.

"I'm fine, just tired," he reassured her.

"If you're so tired, stop overdoing it. Whatever's left to prepare, let me handle it." Laura's tone was anxious, but it only made Ryder's forced smile grow heavier.

To an outsider, it might have seemed like she still cared for him.

"It's all taken care of. Don't worry. Oh, by the way, I've got a surprise planned for you. But you'll have to wait until the wedding day to find out what it is," he said.

The mention of a surprise caught Laura off guard, stunning her for a moment before she said, "A surprise? Oh! Okay! Thank you, hubby! You've worked so hard!"

After the call ended, Laura felt her earlier worries dissipate.

See? Ryder still loved her.

-

Far away in a foreign land, Ryder blocked her number after ending the call.

Once Laura convinced herself that Ryder still loved her, she forced down her unease and went about her days as usual—working at the office, having meals with Seth, and enjoying the peace of her routine.

Life felt easy and pleasant.

That was, until the night before the wedding, when she found herself unable to sleep.

Even after spending the entire day shopping with Seth, exhaustion couldn't lull her to sleep.

-

The next morning, dark circles rimmed Laura's eyes. She was so out of it that the driver had to practically drag her into the car.

When she arrived at the hotel lobby, it was already packed with guests.

Everyone who saw her came up to congratulate her, but she only responded with perfunctory nods. Her eyelids felt too heavy to stay open.

After half an hour resting in the dressing room, she went through makeup and wardrobe.

Finally, she stood at the entrance to the hall.

Laura waited for what felt like an eternity until it was time for the bride to make her entrance.

Her nerves instantly tightened, and most of her sleepiness disappeared.

She was excited for this moment.

For as long as she had been with Ryder, she had dreamed of walking down the aisle toward him, becoming his bride.

Today, that dream was finally coming true... right?

The grand doors slowly opened.

Laura smiled, lifting her dress as she took her first steps toward the groom.

The spotlight illuminated her, but through the floating ribbons and decorations, she couldn't quite see the groom's face in the distance.

Step by step, she moved closer. And then—she saw him clearly.

It was Seth.

Laura's smile froze and vanished.

Ignoring the officiant's attempts to stop her, she marched straight up to Seth and grabbed him by the arm. "What are you doing here? Why is it you? Where's Ryder?"

Her rapid-fire questions stunned Seth, the anticipation in his eyes replaced by confusion.

"Laura… wasn't it you who sent me this suit? Didn't you invite me to attend the wedding today?" he asked.

"What? When did I—" Laura began.

Seth pointed to the large screen behind them.

Laura followed his finger.

The words on the screen were painfully clear—Seth's name was there as the groom.

Laura's mind reeled.

She stormed over to the officiant, her voice sharp and demanding. "How could you mess this up? How could you get the groom's name wrong?"

The officiant's microphone was still on, and Laura's words echoed throughout the hall.

The guests started murmuring, their whispers swelling into a noisy commotion.

Frustrated, Laura snatched the microphone. "I'm so sorry for the mistake. The groom's name is Ryder Lineker!"

She glared at the officiant. "Well? Fix it now!"

A voice from the crowd called out, "That's not right, Ms. Moon. The invitations clearly say Seth Yarde."

Laura froze, her movements stiff as she turned toward the speaker.

The guest held up their invitation. As expected, it clearly listed Seth as the groom.

Laura snatched the invitation and scrutinized it, reading it over and over. She then grabbed a few more invitations from nearby guests.

Without exception, every single one named Seth.

Suddenly, she laughed—a cold, hollow sound.

In that instant, it felt like everyone in the room was playing a cruel joke on her.

She bolted from the hall, heading straight for the hotel entrance. She needed to see the wedding photo display.

Just as she approached the door, a realization hit her like a thunderbolt.

For weeks, she had been spending every day with Seth. She hadn't taken any wedding photos with Ryder. And come to think of it, Ryder had never even mentioned taking any.

As she stood in front of the photo display, her worst fear was confirmed.

The photos showed her and Seth.

The invitations, the photos—everything had been arranged by Ryder. He had coordinated the details with the wedding planners himself.

It was all Ryder's doing.

This was the surprise he had promised her.

But where was Ryder now?

Behind her, Seth approached cautiously, reaching out as if to steady her.

"Don't touch me!" Laura growled, her voice trembling with rage.

Seth froze in place, his hand dropping to his side.

That was when Laura's eyes landed on the watch on his wrist. It was a mechanical watch—the watch she had given to Ryder.

She seized Seth's hand. "Why are you wearing this? Why is this watch on your wrist?"

Without waiting for a response, she yanked it off, the metal strap scraping Seth's skin and leaving angry red marks.

"How dare you wear this watch?" she demanded.

Seth, now visibly shaken, bit his lip before quietly muttering, "Stop looking for him. He left something for you."

Laura froze, her wild fury suddenly replaced by a chilling stillness. She turned stiffly to face him, her voice wavering. "What is it? Do you know where Ryder is?"

"He left you a letter," Seth said.