Sophia greeted my colleagues warmly as we arrived home. My parents had a complex look on their faces when they saw me with my friends.

The atmosphere in the house was festive, with many large red "double happiness" characters adorning the door and walls, creating a joyful ambiance.

I went into the kitchen to help, hoping to chat with my mom, but she skillfully avoided me several times.

After preparing a table full of dishes, we all sat down together.

Sophia introduced our specialty dishes to my colleagues, several of which were spicy.

Everyone was soon tearing up from the heat, quickly reaching for cold beer to cool down.

Lucas occasionally served Sophia food, showing his thoughtful side. When he noticed her struggling with the spicy dishes, he magically produced a cup of lemon chrysanthemum tea for her.

Sophia frowned when she saw it.

"Lemon chrysanthemum tea? Lucas, I've told you a hundred times, I don't like it. Why do you keep forgetting?"

Lucas scratched his head, looking a bit sheepish.

"I don't know... I just make it without thinking."

Listening to their conversation, I lowered my head and swallowed the bitter beer.

I used to love spicy food, but it always made me feel unwell afterward.

After a spicy meal, my lips would be red, and Lucas would make me a cup of lemon chrysanthemum tea.

He forbade me from drinking cold drinks, saying that it would upset my stomach, and insisted I drink warm drinks instead.

The tea was supposed to relieve the heat from the spices and help with my health.

He would always say that cold drinks were bad for girls and that I shouldn't drink alcohol.

I would secretly buy cold cola or iced coffee, and he would frown at me, pretending to be stern. I would look at him with a pitiful expression, and he would sigh, gently poke my nose, and tell me not to do it again.

In the days leading up to my period, he would make me ginger tea with brown sugar every day, keeping it in my thermos and making sure I finished it all.

Sophia, unhappy with the situation, grabbed a can of cold beer, but a long hand reached out and snatched it away.

"You can't drink alcohol these days; your stomach isn't well, and you definitely can't have anything cold," Lucas said, his voice filled with concern.

Sophia pouted, "But look, Mia is drinking beer, and her hair looks amazing. It must be because she drinks cold beer!"

Lucas playfully pinched her nose, "That's just nonsense."

I looked at the icy beer in my hand and forced a smile, "My boyfriend also didn't let me drink cold drinks. He said they were bad for my health, and I should stick to warm ones."

Sophia glanced at Lucas and then back at me, "Does your boyfriend... care if you drink cold drinks? Would he be upset?"

I looked up at her, and Lucas' tall figure caught my eye.

"He doesn't care about me anymore."

"After searching for so long, haven't you found him yet?"

My voice grew heavy, "Maybe... he has already forgotten about me..."

She snuggled closer to Lucas, "Mia, I'll definitely introduce you to someone better in the future."

"When I marry Lucas, you must catch my bouquet!"

My parents exchanged worried glances, but Sophia remained blissfully unaware, still smiling brightly.

I forced a smile in response, feeling a mix of bitterness and awkwardness.

Sophia, sensing the tension, smoothly changed the topic.

As the soon-to-be-newlyweds, she and Lucas were naturally the center of attention.

Throughout dinner, my parents looked worried, I ate quietly, and Captain Johns and the others felt the awkwardness.

Only Sophia, the bride-to-be, wore a constant, radiant smile.

After dinner, she took out a stack of bright red invitations and handed them to Captain Johns and a few others.

"This is the formal invitation. Lucas and I sincerely invite you all to grace us with your presence," she said.

After they accepted the invitations, the group returned to the hotel.

Once they were gone, I felt a bit dazed.

Formal invitations...

Sophia unfolded one in front of me.

"Mia, can you take a look at this design? What do you think?"

"Lucas said it would look nice to print our cartoon avatars on it, but I think it seems a bit childish... I want to change it to a photo of us in our wedding dresses."

I took the invitation and my gaze fell on the two cartoon figures on it, embracing each other, their eyes only for one another.

My heart twisted painfully.

"Yeah, it looks good like this," I replied, trying to sound upbeat.

Sophia seemed thrilled.

"Mia, do you really think the cartoon avatars are a good idea?"

"Your taste is just like my Lucas!"

Hearing "my Lucas" felt like a sharp knife stabbing my heart.

I looked up suddenly to see Lucas, his eyes filled with affection as they rested on Sophia.

Once, I had loved cartoon characters. I had said that if I ever got married, I would design our wedding invitations with our wedding photos turned into cute cartoon images.

I wanted to print them out as huge posters to display at the entrance.

I even wanted them on the invitations, making them unique.

He had lovingly replied, "Sure, anything for my Mia."

But now, he had designed cartoon invitations, and the bride wasn't me...

Sophia continued to chatter away, her face radiating happiness, while my heart ached fiercely.

The cartoon avatars on the invitation should have been me.

I should have been the one in that blissful wedding dress!

Why had it turned out like this?

Suddenly, I wondered what would happen if I told Lucas that I was his fiancée, that I was supposed to be his bride.