My Careless Fiancé Is Someone Else's Doting Sweetheart

My boyfriend, Otis Simmons, was a careless man.

He got my birthday wrong, mixed up my stomach medication, and even lost the ring right before he proposed.

Whenever I complained to my friends, they'd only tease me.

Mr. Simmons is an artist, he's got his head in the clouds. But he treats you well already.

The next day, out of nowhere, he started fixing up the guest room in our wedding house.

New sheets on the bed, and he even set out stuffed toys, arranged just so.

"Isabel Henson gets back into the country today. I told her she could stay with us for a while."

"I'm picking her up from the airport tonight, so you should head back to your parents' place."

Right then a voice message from Isabel, his childhood friend, popped up on his phone.

"I've got a ton of luggage, so get to the airport early and wait for me."

Otis's voice went so tender it could drip.

"Don't worry, I'm leaving now. I'll be there two hours ahead of time, waiting for you."

"I already bought the strawberry cake you love, and I set up the guest room exactly the way you like it."

So it turned out he wasn't careless at all. He simply never had me in his heart.

Watching him hurry out the door, I dialed the wedding planner.

"Sorry, but I need to cancel the wedding."

1.

Otis changed after we decided to get married.

But every time I brought this change up to the people around me, they all thought I was reading too much into it.

My friends were baffled.

"Mr. Simmons is always coming up with new ways to surprise you. When you two were long-distance, he flew out to see you every week. He even set up the proposal at the foot of that snow-capped mountain you love, Snowpeak."

"And he takes such good care of us too, your whole circle of friends. Every time we go out, he's the one covering the bill."

My parents didn't get it either.

"Otis comes to see your mom and me every week, and he never shows up empty-handed."

"He's even learning to cook from me. Says he wants you to taste home-cooked meals every day."

In everyone's eyes, Otis was the gentle, thoughtful other half, a model husband through and through.

I was the only one who could feel how he overlooked me in ordinary daily life.

He gave me a grand proposal, and even got the ring size wrong.

He still prepared birthday surprises for me every year, but always a few days early or a few days late.

Once, just because I offhandedly said I wanted a sweet green pastry, he drove all the way to Westport to satisfy my craving.

But not one of the ones he brought back was the sweet red-bean kind I actually wanted.

At first I thought I was making a fuss over nothing, that pre-wedding nerves had made me suspicious of everything.

After all, Otis really did seem as thoughtful toward me as ever.

But today, seeing everything he'd done for Isabel, the doubt in my heart finally landed somewhere.

He wasn't good to me from the heart. He was only playing the part of a "good" husband.

"Evelyn Fisher, dinner's ready."

Otis's voice pulled me back. I met his faintly reproachful eyes.

"I called you several times. What are you thinking about?"

I didn't answer. I calmly sat down at the table.

The whole table was covered in red, fiery dishes.

Isabel gasped.

"I haven't been back in five years, and you still remember I love the spicy Southern comfort food from this place!"

"This place is impossible to get into, isn't it? And it's so far from your house."

Otis laughed softly, wearing that familiar thoughtful expression.

But for some reason it turned my stomach.

The two of them picked up their chopsticks, and it was Isabel who first glanced at me, puzzled.

"Evie, why aren't you eating?"

I gave Otis a flat look.

"I had surgery for a stomach polyp half a month ago. The doctor said I have to watch what I eat."

His movements froze, then quickly went back to normal.

"I'm sorry, Evie. I forgot."

"Let me go make you some porridge, something easy on your stomach."

He got up and headed for the kitchen, ignoring my protests.

Isabel sighed with real feeling.

"A man like Otis is so rare. He's always this thoughtful, with friends and with his girlfriend."

Thoughtful?

I wanted to pull my mouth into a smile, but no matter how I tried, none would come.

When we first started dating, Otis would go to every herbal medicine clinic in the city because of my stomach trouble, and he'd insist on brewing the medicine for me every night.

He still kept up the habit now, but he always mixed up the herbs, and he no longer paid attention to balancing the nutrition in each meal.

Before bed, Otis asked me to bring a glass of milk to Isabel.

"Isabel just got back and she's jet-lagged. A glass of milk will help her sleep."

When I reached the guest room door, I heard Isabel on the phone.

"Yeah, I've already settled in at Otis's place. He's as attentive as ever."

"At first I was afraid of intruding on them, so I'd already booked a hotel. It was Otis who insisted I stay at his place, that's the only reason I came"

My mind went blank with a roar, and I couldn't take in a single word after that.

Anger rose in me, and I couldn't stop myself from asking.

"So it was you who insisted on bringing Isabel back here?"

Otis glanced at me carelessly, his brush never pausing over the canvas.

"Sure. A hotel's nowhere near as comfortable as staying at home."

I forced myself to stay calm.

"But have you thought about it? Isabel has jet lag to get over, and we have to leave for work in the morning. It's inconvenient for everyone."

"And this is the new home we bought for the wedding. Do you really think it's okay to bring someone in without talking to me first?"

He finally set down the brush and met my eyes with a frown.

"Evelyn, it's such a small thing. Is it really worth all this?"

"Isabel's a friend I grew up with. You're about to be my wife. Isn't helping me take care of a guest just the normal thing to do?"

Something clamped around my heart like a big hand, a dull, heavy ache spreading through it.

So it was because we were getting married.

I took a deep breath and asked it anyway.

"Have you ever noticed you care less and less about me?"

Otis went quiet, and it was a long time before he spoke.

"Evie, we're going to be family soon."

"If I still had to weigh every little thing when it comes to you, that would be exhausting."

The answer was exactly what I'd expected, and somehow that dulled the pain a little.

It wasn't my problem. It was that this man just wasn't right.

The words "Let's break up" were already on my lips when his phone rang and cut them off.

"Otis, I've been putting together my art show lately, and money's a little tight. Could you..."

Otis understood before the sentence was even finished.

"I'll wire you five hundred thousand dollars."

"Are you out of your mind?"

The moment I spoke, he frowned and stepped out, only coming back after he'd hung up.

"What are you doing? That's Kent Gilbert, my best friend."

"Your best friend. He's borrowed money this many times. Has he ever paid it back?"

I curled my lips into a mocking smile.

That was Otis. He helped people without limit, without any line at all.

Even now, with the wedding to prepare for and money needed everywhere, he was sure to put others first.

"Evelyn, I already told you, we're family now. When a friend's in trouble, am I supposed to just stand by and do nothing?"

I had no strength left to argue. I went back to my room and sent my parents a message.

Mom, Dad, I'm not getting married.

Almost the next second, their call came through.

"Evie, what are you making a fuss about now? Otis is such a good partner. What more could you possibly find to nitpick?"

My mother chimed in from beside him.

"That's right, Evie. When your dad was in the hospital a while back, Otis ran himself ragged for us. He's done more than enough."

He played the dutiful part in front of everyone, and it was my feelings he ignored most of all.

I couldn't hold it back. It all poured out of me, everything I'd swallowed down, every feeling from these six months of wedding prep.

Before my parents could even answer, Otis pushed the door open again.

"Evelyn, it's this late. What's all the noise about?"

"Isabel's already asleep. Keep it down."

He seemed to have forgotten.

Every time he stayed up all night doing line art, he'd play his music out loud, and the constant knock of brush against board never stopped.

Even when I reminded him before bed, being woken in the middle of the night was a regular thing.

Otis went on talking to himself.

"Tomorrow I'm going with Isabel to look at apartments. She's a girl on her own, I don't feel right about it."

My heart felt soaked in water, swelling with a rising sourness.

"Tomorrow's the wedding dress fitting. We set it a month ago."

"I had a hard enough time booking it around your art show schedule."

He froze for a second, as if only now remembering.

"Then you go on your own tomorrow first. I'll see if I can make it over."

Only after he'd left the room did I slowly raise the phone.

"Mom, Dad, you heard that, didn't you."

"This marriage. I really don't want it anymore."

I started sending out rsums for jobs in Westport.

For Otis, I'd given up the city I loved and a good offer to stay here.

Now it was time to take myself back.

That evening, a friend called.

"Evie, I just ran into Otis. He said he missed the wedding dress fitting today, so he's buying you a necklace to make it up to you."

The corner of my mouth twitched. I was about to say I wasn't getting married, but her excited voice cut me off.

"Otis says he's putting together a dinner tonight, getting the college crowd back together as a little pre-wedding celebration."

"He's probably almost home to pick you up. We'll be waiting at the restaurant!"

The next second, Otis pushed the door open.

"Get ready. I've got dinner with some old classmates."

He glanced at my bare, makeup-free face.

"You didn't go to the fitting today?"

"No"

"It's fine that you skipped it. I'll take you again in a few days. I'm free this weekend."

I let out a slow breath and decided I'd say it plainly, in front of everyone.

In the car, the same jasmine sachet I'd told him a dozen times I hated was still there.

He still hadn't swapped in the seat cover I'd bought two months ago, and the protection charm I'd gotten blessed for him half a year back was still sitting in the glove box.

We rode in silence the whole way, but before we walked in, he slid an arm around my shoulders.

The moment they saw us, the classmates laughed.

"If it isn't the golden couple of our year. Finally tying the knot."

"Right? Four years together and still this close."

I forced a smile and sat down.

Otis chatted and joked with everyone while peeling shrimp for me.

Our friends egged him on.

"You two are unbearable. Flaunting it right in front of us."

He loved the mood of it, and reached over to feed me.

I frowned and shook my head, turning it down.

"My stomach's off. I think I want to head out early."

The whole scene was pressing down on me until I could barely breathe.

I couldn't perform being in love with him anymore.

He knitted his brows and dropped his voice.

"Everyone came here to wish us well. Can you not be such a killjoy?"

"It'll wrap up soon. I'll brew you some medicine when we get home."

A few rounds of drinks in, they started up a game"same wavelength."

A friend asked the question.

"What's Evie's favorite dessert right now?"

Otis wrote Basque cheesecake.

When they asked what I most loved doing, he wrote watching the sea.

When they asked what my biggest wish was, he said marrying him.

But after a checkup showed my blood sugar was up, I'd stopped craving sweets.

Watching the sea was what I did alone, to clear my head after we fought.

And marrying him hadn't been my wish for a long time.

In the middle of all that warmth, I stood up.

"Otis, I don't want to get married anymore."

The private room went dead silent.

I unfolded the answer sheet in my hand.

"Every one of your answers is wrong."

Otis froze for a moment. The others exchanged glances.

"And that necklace you bought me todayyou already gave me the same one half a year ago."

"Otis, our relationship went wrong a long time ago."

When I got home, Otis and I had a huge fight.

He didn't think I was serious. He treated it as if I were throwing a tantrum because he hadn't come to my dress fitting.

"Evelyn, it's such a small thing. Do you really have to threaten me with a breakup over it?"

I didn't answer. I just gathered my things and walked out of this "home."

Otis didn't try to stop me.

For a while now, in fight after fight, he'd stopped lowering his head to coax me the way he used to.

When I asked him why, all he said was,

"Evelyn, we're about to get married. What's the point of all this coaxing back and forth?"

We gave each other the silent treatment for three days.

In those three days, I passed my interview and got the offer in Westport.

Even as I booked my flight, my parents were still trying to talk me out of it.

"Evie, are you really sure about this?"

"Otis has probably just been too worn out lately, that's why he's been neglecting you."

"Can't the two of you sit down and talk it through properly?"

This time, I didn't hesitate.

"He started ignoring how I feel a long time ago. There's nothing left to talk about."

The day I was leaving, I got a message from Otis.

Today's the dress fitting, isn't it? Do you want me to come pick you up?

The whole time we were planning the wedding, he never once kept the schedule straight.

Now that I was leaving, he suddenly remembered the dress fitting.

How laughable.

I didn't reply, so he called me directly.

"When we do the fitting, I'll bring Isabel along and let her try a few on, see if anything suits her."

"We'll add her to the bridesmaid lineup."

I let out a small laugh.

"Whatever you want."

I hung up on him right there.

A little while later, I got a message from the bridal shop clerk.

Miss Fisher, didn't you say the wedding was canceled? Why is Mr. Simmons saying he wants a custom gown made for his childhood friend to wear as a bridesmaid?

Then one from the wedding planner.

Miss Fisher, Mr. Simmons suddenly says he wants to add a solo song by a woman to the wedding. What should I tell him?

I answered,

Just tell him it doesn't matter.

Then I dragged my suitcase out and took a cab to the airport.

Right up until boarding, messages from Otis kept pouring into my phone.

Where are you? We're almost there.

Don't try anything on yet. Isabel's a germophobe. Wait until she's tried it, then you can put it on.

Why aren't you saying anything? Where are you?

I didn't answer a single one. I just switched the phone off.

And then, without looking back, I left this city that had him in it.

From that day on, our paths would never cross again.

Meanwhile, Otis and Isabel had already arrived at the bridal shop.

The clerk looked at the two unfamiliar faces and asked,

"Sir, miss, do you have an appointment?"

Otis went blank. The wedding had been my job alone from the start. He didn't know a thing about it.

"Could you check? It should be under Miss Fisher."

While the clerk was looking it up, the message he'd sent the wedding planner finally got a reply.

Mr. Simmons, Miss Fisher let us know the wedding is canceled.

It was like thunder cracking open beside his ear.

Then the clerk's words reached him too.

"Sir, Miss Fisher's order was canceled a long time ago. Would you like to double-check?"