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On Our Pre-Wedding Camping Trip, My Fiancé Climbed into Another Woman's Tent
Novelix
Completed
I spent three years chasing Ethan. He finally said yes—only because his first love had gone abroad. Now, three weeks before our wedding, his friends drag me on a camping trip and rig the tent draw so he can share a two-person tent with his "childhood friend"—his ex. I'm left in a leaking one. In a group chat they forget to delete, I see the truth: this whole trip was a setup to put me in my place. Fine. I paid for every tent, every meal, every mile. So I cancel it all—and leave them stranded in the storm. By the time he realizes I'm gone, the wedding is already off.
Chapters (3)
第1章
On My Pre-Wedding Camping Trip, My fiancé Ethan's closest friends announce that we’ll be drawing names for tents.
Ethan and his childhood friend Ava draw the same two-person tent.
I draw a beat-up old tent.
I look at Ethan, but he doesn't seem bothered.
“You drew it, so you have to live with it. That tent is still good enough to sleep in. Don't be so delicate. The guys don't like high-maintenance women.”
He pauses, then adds, “Besides, Ava and I grew up together. She is one of the guys. Sharing a tent isn't a big deal.”
That night, it starts pouring.
My tent leaks badly. When I go to the car for a dry towel, I find Ethan and Ava asleep inside together.
Ava clings to him, her voice small and aggrieved.
“If I hadn't broken up with you back then, would you have ended up with her?”
It takes Ethan a long time to answer. “There's no point asking that now.”
Then my phone buzzes.
Two messages pop up in our camping group chat, then are quickly deleted. But I see them.
[It's raining. Ethan and Ava are having a little private time in the car. Nobody go bother them lol.]
[Perfect. Let Nora in that crappy tent get soaked. If she hadn't shoved her way in, Ava would still be Ethan's girlfriend.]
The messages are from Ethan's best friend.
I grip my phone so tightly that my nails dig into my palms.
So the invitation was just an excuse. They brought me here to put me in my place and haze me.
Fine.
This trip, which I paid for in full, is over.
So is my relationship with Ethan.
…
“Why are you standing out there?”
The car door opens a crack, and Ethan's voice drifts out over the rain.
I’m holding the dry towel I just pulled from the trunk.
“My tent is leaking. I came to get a towel.”
The car goes quiet for a couple of seconds.
“Got the towel? Then go back. Don't stand out here in the cold.”
His voice is calm. “Ava just fell asleep. Don't wake her.”
I look down and give a mocking smile.
The second I turn around, I hear Ava shift in her seat. She mumbles something.
Ethan's voice immediately softens. “It's okay. I'm right here.”
The rain comes down harder.
My one-person tent is at the edge of the campground, and half the zipper is broken.
Water keeps pouring through the gap. My sleeping bag is already soaked.
I sit on the sleeping pad and wipe my wet hair.
Then I open the camping app and pull up our reservation.
I select all the gear and campsite fees for the remaining four days and cancel the reservation.
A message pops up:
[After cancellation, the campground will clear the site and collect the remaining gear by 2 p.m. tomorrow.]
I confirm the cancellation.
The rain doesn't let up for the rest of the night.
By morning, it finally starts to ease. The campground slowly comes alive.
Jake and Mason are the first ones out of their tents.
“Well, look at you, Nora. Up early?”
Jake stretches and looks down at my soaked pants. “Last night's rain was brutal. Did that tent hold up?”
I stand up and roll up my soaked sleeping bag. “Fine.”
Ethan and Ava get out of the car.
Ava has Ethan's black rain jacket draped over her shoulders.
With everyone looking at her suggestively, she clears her throat.
“The tent was freezing last night, so Ethan said the car would be warmer with the heat on. We ended up sleeping in the car.”
Then she finally notices me. Her eyes widen when she sees my soaked pants.
“Nora, why didn't you come sleep in the car with us?”
Ethan walks over and hands me a cup of warm milk, frowning slightly.
“Didn't you get a towel last night? How'd you still end up like this?”
I ignore him and start packing up my sleeping pad.
He sets the milk down with a sigh.
“Drawing for tents is how we've always done it. You drew the one-person tent. There wasn't much I could do.”
I scoff. Right. Nothing he could do?
Ava is cold, so she gets to warm up in the car.
I get stuck in a tent that leaks, and I'm the one who has to follow the rules.
What a joke.
Seeing my expression, Ethan steps closer and softens his voice.
“When we get home, I'll take you shopping and we'll get that jewelry set you wouldn't splurge on. Call it making up for this.”
That's always how he does it.
He hurts me, then gives me something sweet to make up for it.
But I don't need it anymore.
I zip up my bag and shake my head. “No, thanks.”
Ethan studies me, suspicion crossing his face.
第2章
He probably thinks my reaction is too calm. “Come on. Eat breakfast first. We're hiking to Butterfly Valley after that.”
Jake calls from nearby. “Nora, where's Ava's coffee? She needs her morning cup.”
I point at the storage box without looking up. “Get it yourself.”
Mason takes a sip and frowns. “Why's this coffee so sour?”
I sit by the campfire on a small folding stool, scrolling through the cancellation confirmation on my phone.
I don't bother responding.
Jake purses his lips and casually sets his cup down on the table.
“Nora, can you get dark-roast beans next time?”
“Ava can't stand fruity light roast.”
I lock my phone and look up. “I bought those for myself.”
Jake blinks.
I used to keep careful track of everyone's tastes, just to fit in with them.
I was like a perfect personal assistant, trying to win Ethan's friends over with all those little details.
In the end, they just took it for granted.
Ethan walks out of the tent, holding Ava's insulated tumbler.
He notices the tension and frowns. “What's going on?”
Jake gives a sarcastic laugh. “Nora says the coffee is hers. Guess we're not good enough for her coffee.”
Ethan looks at me. “It's one cup of coffee. Do you really have to make a thing out of it?”
“I'm just stating a fact.”
The mood shifts.
Ava wanders over, sticking one foot out in front of her. “Ethan, my shoe's untied.”
Ethan turns away from me at once, crouches in front of her, and ties her shoe as naturally as breathing.
He has never done that for me.
I turn away, giving myself a bitter smile.
Whatever.
Who Ethan wants to take care of is none of my business anymore.
He finishes tying her shoe and claps his hands.
“Okay, everybody, get your stuff together. We're heading to Butterfly Valley.”
We start getting our things together.
Mason pushes a cooler bag toward me.“Nora, carry the cooler bag with the sandwiches and fruit, yeah? We'll take the canopy and the stove.”
I look at the bag. It has to weigh at least ten pounds.
I give a small smile. “I can't carry that.”
Mason stares at me. “You always carry it.”
I look him straight in the eye. “I don't want to carry it today. Is that a problem?”
Ethan walks over and lowers his voice.
“Everyone's helping out. Do you really have to make this difficult right now?”
I almost laugh.
I've been taking care of them like a maid, and they just take it for granted?
The second I say no, I'm the difficult one.
I look at Ethan. “I got soaked last night. I have a fever.”
Yet my actual fiancé doesn't say a single word of concern.
After staring at me for a few seconds, Ethan finally sighs.
“Since when are you this fragile? ”
“Fine, I'll take it. You can walk empty-handed. Happy now? ”
He swings the bag over his shoulder. Then he takes Ava's small water bottle from her.
“Ava, stay close. The trail's rough.”
She smiles sweetly. “Thanks, Ethan.”
Everyone starts up the mountain.
I walk at the back, watching them laugh and talk together.
They've always been a closed circle.
And I'm the clown who kept trying to squeeze in and got bloodied for it.
At least now I've finally woken up.
My phone buzzes.
It's a message from the campground.
[Your refund has been returned to the original payment method.]
[We'll be there at 2 p.m. to collect the tents and the remaining gear.]
第3章
We stop halfway up the mountain. Ethan and the others gather around and start handing out sandwiches.
No one remembers to save one for me.
“Ethan, look at that tree.” Mason points toward an old tree nearby.
I follow his finger. It's huge, with moss covering most of the trunk.
“I can't believe it's still there after all these years.”
Jake walks over and pushes aside the vines covering the trunk.
I get up and slowly walk closer.
On the shaded side of the trunk, a line of writing is carved into the bark.
Ethan's name and Ava's are carved there, together.
The cuts are deep. The edges have been worn smooth by time, but the names are still clear.
I stand in front of the tree, staring at the words carved into it for a long time.
The chatter around me suddenly dies.
They exchange awkward looks, as if they realize they've said too much.
Ethan walks over and steps between me and the tree. “Forget it. We just carved that stuff there back then.”
Ava comes up behind him with a smile.
“Nora, we carved those on a camping trip when we were eighteen.”
“Back then, Ethan even swore he'd marry me someday. It was just a joke. You don't mind, do you?”
Eighteen.
I met Ethan during the spring semester of my freshman year.
I chased him for three years, and he stayed distant and cold the entire time.
Then, during our senior year, he finally said yes.
I thought my persistence had finally won him over.
Now I understand.
That was the same year Ava went abroad to study.
He didn't fall for me. He just needed someone obedient to fill her place.
The corner of my mouth lifts. “You said it was a joke. Why would I care?”
Ethan seems relieved. He reaches for my wrist and gives it a gentle squeeze.
“There's no reason to keep bringing up the past.”
I look down at his hand.
His fingers are long and warm. That warmth used to be something I craved more than anything.
Now it just makes my stomach turn.
I slowly pull my hand free. “I'm going to wash my hands.”
Ethan's hand is left hanging.
He kicks a rock away, looking annoyed.
“I already explained everything. What else do you want me to do?”
I don't answer. I crouch beside the stream and rinse my wrist over and over.
Jake comes over and hands me a paper towel.
“Nora, Ava grew up with all of us. We're just used to looking out for her.”
“Try to be understanding.”
That's what I've heard most over the past three years.
Be understanding when Ethan is cold.
Be understanding when his friends give me a hard time.
Be understanding when he makes exceptions for Ava.
Without a word, I ball up the soaked paper towel and toss it into the trash.
“I've been plenty understanding. So I'll leave them to each other.”
I’m done being the outsider in this relationship. I'm walking away.
Jake doesn't seem to understand what I mean. He just pats my shoulder.
By then, the sky has darkened. The wind picks up in the valley.
A weather alert pops up on my phone.
[Heavy rain is expected in the western mountains within the next hour. Hikers are advised to head downhill as soon as possible.]
