CHAPTER 3.

Natasha’s POV.

My mind screamed that I must be dreaming, that this wasn’t real, that there was no way he would do this, not after everything we had shared and planned.

He had promised me there was nothing between them. That she was just noise, a distraction I should ignore. A spoiled rich girl who wanted everything handed to her.

But now she had him too. He was still smiling up at her as she nodded, holding out her hand. The crowd erupted in cheers. And I just stood there, invisible in the middle of it all. My hands were clenched at my sides, my nails digging into my palms.

I turned away before they could see how humiliated I was—how I had spent so long hating Amara, never imagining Josh would choose her over me.

I didn’t know how I got out of the crowd. I don’t remember walking, but somehow I found myself in the parking lot.

I stumbled back to my car, the sound of celebration still ringing in my ears. It felt like the ground had opened up beneath me.

Carol had disappeared. My parents were pushing me to marry a stranger. And the man I had trusted with my heart had just slipped a ring onto someone else’s finger. For the first time in a long time, I didn’t know what to do.

I sat frozen in my car, gripping the steering wheel so tightly my knuckles ached.

I should’ve driven off. But some part of me still wanted answers.

So I picked up my phone and called Josh twice but he didn't answer. On the third try, he picked up.

“I need to see you,” I said, keeping my voice as steady as I could. “Now.”

He didn’t ask why. He just said, “Fine. I can spare you ten minutes. Send me the location.”

We met outside the campus coffee shop. It was nearly empty at this hour because of the graduation party. I sat near the back entrance, tucked away from the few scattered tables. He arrived still in his suit, the same one he wore to propose to her.

He looked... irritated. Like I had interrupted his evening.

“What’s going on, Josh?” I asked, my voice already cracking. “How did it come to this? You never said you were tired of us. You never gave me a sign. So why now? Why her?”

He crossed his arms, looking at me like I was the one who had done something wrong.

“You should be thanking me, Natasha,” he said bluntly without even taking a breath. “I did what I had to do.”

I stared at him, confused. “Thanking you?”

“No hospital would employ you,” he continued. “Do you think it’s a coincidence you suddenly got an offer of an internship this morning? You think that happened because of your charm or something?”

I blinked. How did he know I got the offer? I hadn’t told him.

“I talked to people. Pulled strings. Made promises. And this—” he gestured vaguely, “—this was part of the deal. Did you think any hospital, especially one her family owns, would accept you with your low grades?"

“No, Josh. You know my results didn’t turn out badly. You know how hard I worked. There was a mix-up, and I’ve been running around trying to fix it. The school sold my results, we both knew it.”

“And what do you think you can do about it? You think running around will change anything when you don’t have money or connections?”

“So what are you saying? You’re marrying Amara to get me a job?” My voice was barely more than a whisper. “I would give it up, Josh,” I said.

“The job. Everything. If it meant keeping you.”

He shook his head. “What makes you think that was the reason, Natasha? It’s not just about you,” he said.

“It never was. Her family’s powerful. They own a chain of private hospitals. I want security. A future with someone who actually matters. Helping you get that job… that was just my way of making up for everything.”

“So what were we, Josh? All those years? All the nights I cried on your shoulder, all the sacrifices—what were we?”

He shrugged. “There was never a future, Natasha. I stayed because I pitied you. That’s it.”

I should’ve walked away after hearing him say that but I couldn't accept my fate.

“Don’t do this,” I said, my voice cracking.

“Please. You can still walk away from her. We can figure this out—”

And then I heard her voice. “Oh, for God’s sake,” Amara said, stepping into view like she had been waiting nearby.

“This is pathetic.” She was still in that dress. Still glowing, like none of this affected her.

“He made his choice,” she said.

“You had your chance, and you wasted it.”

“Stay out of this,” I snapped, but she only laughed.

“He doesn’t want you, Natasha. Can’t you be happy he isn’t discarding you empty-handed and at least begged for a job on your behalf?”

“You’re just a charity project he finally dropped. Accept it.” She eyed me unapologetically and boldly took his hand.

“Let’s go, baby,” she said and he followed her.

They walked away hand in hand with him not turning back. I stood there long after they disappeared, the air around me colder than before.

I couldn’t face home. Not with the weight of failure already crushing me but I had to leave the coffee shop.

My feet carried me aimlessly. I walked until the night started to blur around me.

Everything he said kept echoing in my head. There was never a future between us, he only stayed out of pity.

Still, I found myself reaching for my phone, thumb hovering over his name to call him again.

Then it rang. I checked it hoping it might be him in any way calling to say it was just a prank but it wasn’t him, It was my mother.

I almost let it go to voicemail already having the conclusions on why she was calling but something told me to answer.

“Natasha!” She was crying before I could say a word.

“Your father… he collapsed. We’re at the hospital and they took me, Natasha. I was arrested by the police who took me to the station. The groom wants us to pay for it, not meeting our bargain. Please… come.”

The call came to an end. For a second, I didn’t move. I just remained where I was, staring into space.

One moment, I was clinging to the pieces of a broken relationship. Next, everything else was crumbling too.