Chapter 3

Another message from Fiona popped up right after the photo.

[I know your wedding's the day after tomorrow, but I really couldn't stay quiet anymore.

[Natasha called all of us out tonight. She said she'd had a fight with you and was in a bad mood. But right after that, she called Vince.

[Those two… It's always been like this over the years. All of us have seen it. We just never had the nerve to tell you.

[They're at Nightfall Bar, Room 302. I think you should come see for yourself.]

I stared at the photo.

The way Vince looked at Natasha was full of concern, almost painful to watch. And Natasha didn't seem uncomfortable at all.

I took a deep breath, stood up from the couch, and grabbed my car keys. Following the address Fiona sent, I drove to Nightfall Bar and found Room 302.

The door wasn't fully closed. Laughter and chatter drifted out from inside.

I stopped in front of it. For a moment, I didn't push the door open.

"Natasha, don't stay mad too long." A woman's voice rang out. "Alan's just got that rich-kid temper. Just smooth things over with him. You two are getting married, anyway."

Another voice chimed in right away.

"Exactly. Why even bother arguing with someone like Alan?"

Then someone else laughed.

"Honestly, Vince is way better. He's gentle and thoughtful. He never makes Natasha upset."

"Seriously. If it weren't for what happened back then…

"Never mind. Natasha, you marrying Alan really makes us feel bad for Vince."

"Feel bad for him? Come on. It's obvious who Natasha really cares about. Every time they fight, who does she call first? Vince."

The whole room burst into laughter.

I leaned against the wall, feeling the blood in my body slowly turn cold.

I recognized every one of those voices.

They were Natasha's closest friends, people I had known for ten years, people I personally handed wedding invitations to.

So in their eyes, I was just some spoiled rich guy who caused trouble while Vince was the understanding gentleman.

What did Natasha think?

I stared through the narrow gap in the door.

She sat in the middle of the group. Vince fed her slices of fruit, wiping the spilled alcohol from the corner of her mouth with a napkin.

The way they moved around each other looked like a couple deeply in love.

She didn't argue or defend me. She just sat there quietly, letting everyone joke about it while enjoying Vince's attention.

In that moment, something finally made sense.

For ten years, I had always felt like I didn't quite belong among her friends.

Now, I knew why.

In that circle, I was the outsider.

Vince was the one they all secretly treated like Natasha's future husband.

I didn't have the courage to push the door open anymore.

Instead, I recorded a short video through the crack in the door, then turned and left.

Just as I reached the corner of the hallway, I ran into Fiona. She looked at my tight jaw, sighed, and handed me a tissue.

"You saw everything?"

I nodded. "Thanks."

"It's nothing," Fiona said, waving it off awkwardly. "I just thought it wasn't fair to you. Natasha… Never mind. Just don't take it too hard."

I forced a small smile. "I'm fine. Really."

But how could I be fine?

Ten years of love had just collapsed in front of me.

The woman I loved had lied to me for a decade, and the friends I trusted had been laughing at me behind my back the whole time.