By the time we were enjoying appetizers in the garden, something felt off. I couldn’t shake the feeling that everyone’s attention was elsewhere. I glanced around, and that’s when I noticed a woman I hadn’t seen before.

“Who’s that?” I asked, leaning toward Josh.

He didn’t even look up. “Oh, that’s Linda. Childhood friend.”

She seemed to be the star of the evening. Everyone was hanging on her every word. When she finally reached us, her eyes swept over me once, and then she turned her full attention to Josh, smiling brightly.

“Josh, it’s been too long,” she said, her voice sugary sweet.

Then, she glanced at me briefly, her smile turning sharp.

“That dress… is not for such an event,” she said, eyeing me up and down. “But you wear it… well enough.”

My cheeks burned with humiliation. I opened my mouth to say something, but the words caught in my throat. I suddenly felt out of place.

As the evening went on, it became painfully clear that Linda wasn’t just an old friend. She had a connection with Josh’s family that I couldn’t quite understand.

A chill ran down my spine when I overheard Darlene whisper to Linda, “Everything will fall into place soon.”

What does that mean?

I barely had time to process it before Josh turned to me. “Kate, there’s something I need to tell you.”

I stared at him, my stomach twisting with fear. “What is it, Josh?”

He took a deep breath, avoiding my eyes.

Linda and I… we’ve been together for a long time. I tried to love you, you’re wonderful, but…” His voice cracked. “My parents know better what I need. I can’t disappoint my mother.”

I felt like the ground had disappeared beneath me.

Before I could even react, Josh walked to the center of the room, where everyone was gathered, and got down on one knee. He looked up at Linda, and in front of everyone, he proposed to her.

***

I didn’t know what to do. I ran from the estate through the garden, barely seeing anything through the flood of tears that blurred my vision.

How could he?! How could Josh do this to me?

I stumbled over the cobblestones, my shoes catching on the uneven path. Everything felt wrong as if the entire world had crumbled in a single moment.

Suddenly, I felt a hand grab my elbow. I spun around, startled, only to see Wayne standing there.

“Kate, wait!” he called out, slightly out of breath. “You forgot your purse back at the hall.”

“Oh… thanks,” I mumbled, wiping at my face with the back of my hand, embarrassed by how broken I must have looked.

“I saw everything,” Wayne said quietly. “I know how hard this must be. You shouldn’t be alone right now.”

I wanted to push him away, tell him I needed to be alone. But the truth was, I had no idea how to stay alone at that moment.

“Come on. There’s a little bakery around the corner. Let’s grab some coffee and a croissant, yeah? You need to calm down.”

***

We sat down at a small table by the window. Wayne handed me a cup of coffee. “Kate, there’s something I think you should know.”

“What is it?”

“Linda… She’s always been the one Josh’s family wanted him to be with. They’ve been talking about it for years, even when he was with you.”

Wayne’s eyes met mine, full of regret. “Josh never spoke about you seriously. You were always… temporary.”

I felt my hands tremble as I gripped the cup. “So I was just… a placeholder?”

Wayne sighed. “I know it hurts, but you deserve to know the truth. I stopped being friends with Linda a long time ago. She’s… manipulative. But I came to the party out of respect for Josh’s family.”