My Perfect Fiancé Was Living a Second Life in Messages Chapter 03

My Perfect Fiancé Was Living a Second Life in Messages Chapter 03

It was two days before the scheduled wedding.

That morning, I went to the wedding venue to pick up the refund confirmation.

The staff member looked at me hesitantly. “Ms. Hart, does your fiancé know?”

I smiled. “He’s busy with work. I’ll handle the little things.”

Outside on the street, I scrolled through my feed and saw Chloe’s Instagram post.

A limited-edition custom brooch, lying in its box.

A sleek, petal-shaped design. Delicate and playful.

I recognized it immediately, it was my design.

Last winter, I spent two weeks hunched over my desk, sketching.

The curve of the petals, the veins of the leaves, the tiny initials hidden on the back. Every detail identical.

The day I finished it, I excitedly showed it to him.

He glanced at it and frowned. “This little thing is too childish. Wedding favors need to be more formal. Don’t go overboard with something flashy.”

I put the drawing in a drawer and never mentioned it again.

Now, the design he had called childish was real jewelry. In another woman’s hands.

Chloe had captioned it: [He said a random little sketch could be turned into an actual piece. My boss’s taste is unmatched. He even said this design is perfect for my style.]

Someone in the comments asked how much a custom piece like that cost.

She replied with a blushing emoji. [I didn’t pay for it. He said it was just a little trinket, nothing expensive. Just something to put a smile on my face.]

That night, James came home.

I placed my phone on the coffee table, the screen showing that exact post.

He changed his shoes, walked over, and his eyes caught the screen. He hesitated for a brief moment.

Then he picked up the remote as if nothing had happened.

“Did you take the drawing from my drawer?”

He flipped through channels, his voice flat. “What drawing?”

“The design for that brooch, I drew it.”

He finally looked at me. His expression wasn’t guilty. Just genuinely confused.

“Didn’t you say you didn’t want that sketch anymore? Chloe saw it and liked it, so I had the factory make a sample.”

“It’s just a little thing. Fine for her to play with. If you want one too, I can have another one made.”

Another one.

The TV was on, the AC hummed, and everything seemed normal.

But something inside me snapped.

I walked into his office and opened the drawer.

The drawing was gone, the drawer empty except for the faint indent left by a paperclip.

I ran my finger over that indent.

I didn’t cry, didn’t yell, didn’t walk back out to confront him.

He called from the living room. “The wedding is in two days. I had my assistant confirm the timeline. Do you have anything left to prepare?”

I stood in his office, my gaze wandered to the small safe in the corner.

I didn’t have the code. I had never opened it. I had no idea what was inside.

“No,” I said. “Everything’s ready.”

He made a sound of acknowledgment.

He didn’t ask anything else.

He didn’t know that what I had ready wasn’t a wedding, it was a departure.