Wishes Exhausted, Love Dispersed

Someone in the crowd couldn't resist stirring the pot.

"Wait... isn't that ring about Cecily's size?"

Cecily's face immediately flushed. She quickly hid her hands behind her back.

"Don't be ridiculous."

The more flustered she looked, the more suggestive the atmosphere became.

Someone else laughed.

"Cecily, why are you hiding your hands?

"Don't tell me it really is your size."

Amid the roomful of laughter, I stood frozen as my fingertips slowly turned cold.

Cecily hurried over and gently looped her arm through mine.

"Summer, don't take it the wrong way.

"I'm sure Donald didn't do it on purpose."

Her voice was soft, as though she were sincerely worried about me.

"He helps me hold my rings and bracelets all the time.

"He probably just mixed up the sizes."

Her eyes were slightly red, but beneath the concern flashed a fleeting look of triumph.

So they had already become that close.

Close enough that Donald held onto her rings, fastened her bracelets…

And remembered the size of her finger better than he remembered mine.

Still smiling, Cecily lightly squeezed my hand.

"You're just too skinny, Summer.

"Everything you wear ends up feeling loose."

Her gaze casually drifted over my chest as if it were all a harmless joke.

"Remember when we used to shop for bras?

"Even the smallest size still had gaps on you."

The room instantly erupted in laughter.

Heat crawled across my face as I stood there, humiliated.

Donald only shot Cecily a helpless look.

"Quit teasing Summer."

It sounded like a reprimand.

But his eyes were filled with nothing but indulgence.

Someone urged them on.

"Come on, the proposal was a success. Birthday boy, cut the cake!"

I picked up the cake knife and handed it to Donald.

Just then, Cecily's phone chimed.

She glanced at the screen and immediately smiled.

"Oh! Someone sent a video of Mochi."

Donald paused and leaned over without hesitation.

"Let me see."

Cecily held up her phone.

In the video, a chubby little kitten was batting around a toy ball.

Their shoulders brushed together.

So close that it felt as though there had never been room for a third person between them.

Standing in front of the birthday cake, I felt like nothing more than an extra in someone else's story.

A moment later, Donald finally remembered the cake.

He took the knife from my hand and cut the first slice.

Then, without a second thought, he handed the plate to Cecily.

"You barely ate anything earlier.

"Have a bite first."

Cecily hesitated.

"Are you sure?

"Summer made this cake herself. She should have the first piece."

Donald answered without thinking.

"She won't mind."

As his words hung in the air, I suddenly found even a smile too exhausting.

Over the past few years, that was the sentence Donald had said to me more than any other.

When Cecily worked late, he drove over to pick her up.

"She's your best friend. You don't mind, do you?"

When her project ran into trouble, he stayed up all night helping her finish it.

"I'm only helping because of you. You don't mind, do you?"

When Cecily said Mochi was sick, he spent the entire night taking care of the kitten.

"It's just a cat. You don't mind, do you?"

But Donald had never once asked me...

Whether I actually minded.

Cecily accepted the plate of cake, her eyes glistening as she looked at me.

"Summer, please don't be upset.

"My blood sugar's just been a little low today."

As if afraid I wouldn't believe her, she feigned a slight stumble.

Donald immediately reached out to steady her.

"Why didn't you tell me sooner?

"Sit down."

He helped her onto the couch before placing the cake into her hands.

The movements were so practiced, as though he'd done it countless times before.

He never asked if I was tired after standing there for so long.

He never noticed that I'd spent the entire day preparing his birthday party, without eating a single bite myself.

I lowered my eyes to the ring on my left hand.

It looked absurdly oversized.

With the slightest bend of my finger, the ring would slip off.

Just like this relationship.

I'd tried countless times to hold on.

But no matter how tightly I grasped it...

I could never keep it from slipping away.