Today would've been my seventh wedding anniversary...

Fresh white roses lined the aisle, and crystal chandeliers cast a warm glow across the room. Beyond the floor-to-ceiling windows, the Bellagio fountains danced against the Las Vegas skyline.

It was the perfect place for a wedding.

I stood near the bridal suite, smoothing an invisible wrinkle from my lavender bridesmaid dress before taking a slow breath.

"Mylene, can you help Sophie with her veil?" one of the bridesmaids asked.

"I've got it," I said with a smile.

I carefully pinned Sophie's lace veil into place before stepping back to admire my best friend.

"You look beautiful," I said softly.

She turned to face me, her eyes already shining with happy tears. "You really think so?"

"I know so."

Sophie wrapped me in a quick hug before another bridesmaid laughed.

"Okay, save the tears for the ceremony!"

The room filled with laughter, and I laughed right along with them.

I was genuinely happy for Sophie. No one deserved a day like this more.

I just wished the date didn't mean something else to me.

My phone buzzed inside my clutch.

**October 18.**

My breath caught.

Seven years.

Today would've been my seventh wedding anniversary...

If I'd ever made it down the aisle.

For a moment, the laughter around me faded. I could still picture my wedding dress hanging in my childhood bedroom. The invitations had already been mailed. The flowers had been picked. Every little detail had been planned down to the last place card.

An entire future had been waiting for me.

It never happened.

"Mylene?"

I blinked and looked up to find Sophie watching me.

"You okay?"

I forced a smile, the kind I'd become far too good at over the years.

"Yeah," I said. "Just feeling emotional. It's a beautiful day."

It wasn't a lie.

I was emotional.

Just not for the reasons everyone thought.

"It's time," the wedding coordinator announced.

I picked up my bouquet and fell into place beside Sophie and the rest of the bridal party.

Today wasn't about the life I never got to have.

It was about celebrating the life my best friend was about to begin.

Still, as I walked toward the ceremony, I couldn't help but wonder what my life would look like if seven years ago had gone the way I'd always imagined.

The ceremony was beautiful.

As Sophie and Daniel exchanged their vows, I found myself smiling through tears that, for once, weren't entirely my own. They looked at each other the way every couple hopes to on their wedding day—with complete certainty.

I couldn't help but be happy for them.

After the ceremony, everyone made their way to the reception ballroom. Soft music drifted through the room as servers passed trays of champagne and hors d'oeuvres. The room buzzed with laughter, hugs, and the familiar sound of people reconnecting after years apart.

Las Vegas had somehow become the perfect reunion.

Growing up in San Diego, you never imagine how far life can pull everyone apart. Some friends stayed close to home. Others scattered across California. And then there was me.

Washington.

Not exactly where I'd imagined I'd end up.

It hadn't even been my first choice.

The acceptance letter I'd spent months dreaming about never came, and when the disappointment settled, I packed my bags and left for Washington instead. Four years somehow turned into seven. Between college, work, and life, trips home became less frequent, and somewhere along the way, keeping in touch became harder than I'd ever expected.

Now, standing in the middle of the reception, I was surrounded by faces I hadn't seen in years.

Some looked exactly the same.

Others had children hanging onto their legs or wedding rings glinting under the ballroom lights.

"Mylene?"

I turned toward the familiar voice.

"Darlene?"

She laughed as she pulled me into a hug.

"Oh my gosh! I almost didn't recognize you!"

"It's been forever."

"It really has." She stepped back, looking me up and down with a smile. "You look amazing."

"So do you."

For a few minutes, we caught up on work, our families, and all the years we'd missed.

Then she glanced around the room.

"So..." she asked casually, "where's your husband?"

Everything inside me froze.

She didn't know.

Of course she didn't know.

Darlene had been one of the people who'd received an invitation seven years ago.

She had RSVP'd yes.

But she lived out of state then, and after everything fell apart, I never had the heart to explain why there was suddenly no wedding to attend. Eventually, enough time passed that the conversation felt impossible to start.

I swallowed the lump forming in my throat.

"There... wasn't a wedding."

The smile slowly faded from Darlene's face.

"Oh..."

"I know you got an invitation."

She nodded carefully.

"I always wondered what happened."

I looked down at the champagne glass in my hand, tracing the rim with my thumb.

"That's a long story."

She reached over and gently squeezed my arm.

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to."

I looked back at her and managed a small smile.

"Maybe someday."

She smiled back, letting the silence settle between us without making it uncomfortable.

For the first time in years, I realized there were still people who remembered the life I'd almost lived.

And somehow...

That hurt more than I expected.