deliers. Our engagement party was perfect, exactly what I had dreamed of. I squeeze

made my stomach flutter. He was a successful project manager, I

" he whispered, his bre

so wide it almost hur

y faces a blur of support. Ethan' s parents, Mr. and Mrs. Miller, beamed fro

wd. "Thank you all for coming. O

ing wail cut th

year-old niece, stood by the cake tabl

shed to her side, gathering the little girl into a dramat

d my hand and took a step toward t

e joyful bubble of

ng a trembling finger at me. "She was kiss

. I stared at her, confused. We we

enom. Her voice, however, was

child. She thinks of Ethan as a father figure. Seeing y

d shared a simp

at the faces around us, some confused, som

s down immediately. To laugh it off, to tell

e did

ms around his crying niece. He didn' t even look at me. He just held her, murm

. "What is the meaning of this, Et

"Now, now, let' s not overreact. Chloe is sensitive, and Lily.

ory of his brother was the sh

wd, but still not looking at me. His a

," he announced, his voice strained. "Lily is u

ngagement on hold fo

ing. The humiliation was a physical

leading. "Olivia, just apologize to her. Pl

For being happy? For

ry. "She needs to learn some decorum! A woman in her position should know bet

begging him to intervene, to say

ion and resignation. He was choosing them. He was choosing his codepende

forward. It looked like an accident, a cl

the rug. The small, velvet box containing our engagement rings flew from

placed on my finger just an hour before during

gasp went thr

a deep, crushing blow. The symbol of our commitment was lost

a mixture of anger and concern. "Are you okay, Olivia?"

ight behind them,

w peeking out from behind his leg with a smug little smile on her face. He hadn' t eve