Beckett lifted his bottle with a wistful grin.
"You know, the day Serina got married, I was so heartbroken I went drinking alone by the river. I even posted about it online."
He laughed and leaned forward. "Guess what happened? She showed up in her wedding dress! We sat there like idiots, watching the stars all night."
My throat tightened.
I remembered our wedding night—how she claimed there was an urgent matter and left me waiting on the marriage bed until dawn.
"And later," Beckett went on, "I told her I'd never get married, but I wanted a kid. You know what she said?"
He paused deliberately, milking the suspense, before bursting into laughter.
"She looked me dead in the eye and said, ‘Fine. You give me the sperm, and I'll carry the child for you!'"
The crowd erupted into laughter and cheers.
"What a loyal friend!" someone hollered.
Beckett nudged Serina.
"Hey, with that kind of loyalty, what about Marvin then?"
Serina lowered her eyes, her voice casual, almost bored.
"After every time with him, I just take the pill. It's not like I ever planned to have his child."
"What the hell!"
The group gasped, and Claire exploded beside me. "You've put up with that?"
The sunlight pierced my eyes, so sharp it hurt. A laugh broke from my throat, bitter and cracked.
Laughing, until the tears spilled over.
"Ridiculous, isn't it?" My voice shook. "She even said she wanted to be childfree with me."
For three years, Serina and I had tried again and again to conceive, but she never once became pregnant.
I always thought the problem was mine. Not once did I doubt her.
She was so gentle, so tender, always whispering to me, "Marvin, it's okay. We can live as a DINK couple. Just the two of us forever. You're all I need."
But now I see the truth.
The only joke in this story—was me.
Beckett's laughter still echoed in my ears.
"Having a bestie is a thousand times better than marriage—no bride price, and I still get all the benefits. Tsk, what kind of good karma did I rack up in my past life?"
Enough. I'd had enough.
I stood up, refusing to watch that nauseatingly warm and cozy scene a moment longer, and walked away.
After copying the surveillance footage, Claire and I went straight to the law firm to submit the evidence, ready for one last negotiation with Serina.
The moment I stepped out of the firm, my phone rang. It was a police officer friend of mine—he lived next door, and we'd always been on good terms.