The words landed without an ounce of mercy. Someone slammed a fist on the table and pointed at me, voice dripping with contempt.
"Seriously, Serena? What do you have to be so arrogant about?"
"If you actually had what it takes, you wouldn't have chased Carter for eight straight years with nothing to show for it."
"Do you even know how the whole circle laughs at you behind your back?"
"A delusional ugly duckling who actually thought she could land a guy like him."
Snickers rippled through the table, hushed but deliberate.
Heat stung my eyes. My face burned.
I turned to look at Carter.
He glanced at me once, then deliberately looked away.
In that moment, the wedding ring on my finger felt like a weight pressing down on my chest.
Aside from Carter's best friend, Samuel Henson, not a single person at that table knew.
Carter and I were already married.
Today wasn't just a class reunion. It was our fifth wedding anniversary.
I'd never been one for crowds. The only reason I'd come tonight was because Carter had begged me, over and over.
"Serena, it's been so many years since you've shown up to one of these. People are going to talk."
"Besides, it's all old classmates. We should catch up."
I hadn't said anything.
Carter wasn't the social type either. The real reason he'd been so eager to attend was simple: he'd heard that Mia Prescott would be there. The girl who'd been voted the beauty queen back in school.
When I stayed silent, Carter pulled me into his arms, his voice low and coaxing.
"Serena, you're always complaining that I never acknowledge you on social media."
"I promise. Tonight, at the reunion, I'll tell everyone. About us."
I couldn't hold out against his relentless persuasion, so I agreed.
And now, with all these old classmates laughing at me for being a delusional fool who'd chased Carter for eight years with nothing to show for it, Carter sat there in silence. Not a single word.
The room plunged into a dead, awkward quiet.
I set down my knife and fork and let a cold smile curl across my lips.
"Who said I never caught him?"
Everyone exchanged glances, some leaning forward with barely contained excitement.
"Wait, are they actually a thing?"
The only person who knew the truth was Samuel. He knew I'd been Carter's girlfriend for eight years and was now his wife.