On the Day He Proposed, His First Love Returned to Crash the Wedding

I had discovered it a month ago, thinking he might propose to me. I never expected him to give it to Emma as soon as she got back. Sensing my unnatural look, Emma let go of my hand and said calmly, “You’re a fan of D. Armstrong too? This is an exclusive limited-edition ring she made for me. Such a sweet little gift.”

The way she said it made it sound like the ring was just some trivial gift from Zachary. “You have no idea how hard it was to get this. I had to fly all the way to Country A to buy it. You owe me big time for this,” Zachary joked, sounding pretty pleased with himself. He knew how much I loved D. Armstrong’s work, and this ring was her final masterpiece.

“Since you love D. Armstrong so much, how about we use her designs for our wedding?” Zachary suggested, looking at me with a hopeful expression. I had been collecting D. Armstrong’s design books for years, so I knew exactly what he meant. But now, that ring was on Emma’s hand. I bit my lip, trying not to cry. Zachary was still chatting with Emma, as if he’d forgotten everything we’d discussed before.

Seeing how upset I was, Zachary finally spoke up, “Emma and I grew up together. She went abroad for college and just got back. We’re really close.” So they were childhood friends, which meant their bond went back further than our five years together. He had never mentioned Emma to me before. I couldn’t help but wonder if it was because I wasn’t important enough to him or if she was too important to mention.

“I’m not feeling well. I caught a cold today, so I’m going to head back,” I whispered, tugging on Zachary’s sleeve.

“Okay, take care on your way home,” Zachary said, barely glancing at me as he waved me off at the door. It was obvious that the party was far from over for them.

As I walked away, I couldn’t help but wish for something more. I didn’t drink much, and I wasn’t very familiar with his friends who liked to party. I usually felt out of place at their gatherings, and I hated to be a burden. My friends, who were always having a good time, would end up having to carry me home. Zachary knew I struggled to fit in, but he would still play around with them for a while before taking me home. He used to say, “My girl is so lovely; of course, I have to take care of her.” Later, I was afraid of dampening the mood, so I rarely attended their gatherings. But this time, I told myself that maybe he just hadn’t seen Emma in a long time and didn’t want to leave her side.