But Samuel had never liked me. He'd always gone out of his way to antagonize me, convinced I was some shameless social climber who'd wormed her way in.
Hearing what the others were saying, he let out a scoff and drained his glass in one go.
He muttered under his breath.
"Some people just can't see themselves clearly. Don't know their own weight."
"Pure shamelessness."
His voice was low enough that no one else heard.
I narrowed my eyes and looked at Carter.
The instant my words landed, his hand froze mid-air, his entire body going rigid.
His gaze swept over me, cold and dismissive. His eyes said it all: Don't you dare.
A moment later, my phone buzzed twice.
A message from Carter.
"Serena, don't tell anyone we're married."
"Now isn't the right time."
I almost laughed.
Not the right time? The only reason was that he and Mia had finally cleared up the misunderstanding from years ago. He thought there was a real chance of rekindling things with her.
But why should I step aside and play the selfless fool so the two of them could ride off into the sunset?
I rose slowly to my feet.
"Carter, weren't you going to tell everyone the truth?"
Carter shot up from his seat, every muscle in his body going rigid.
He stared at me for a long, hard moment. Then he turned stiffly toward the group.
"Yes."
"Serena and I were together once."
"But that's in the past."
"We broke up."
My head snapped up. I stared at him, disbelief written across my face, my nails digging into my palms hard enough to break skin.
Mia tilted her chin up, her face lighting with barely contained delight as she looked at Carter.
"Really? So you're single now?"
The words had barely left her mouth before the room erupted.
"Oh my God, I'm literally shipping them so hard right now."
"This is what soulmates look like! They went their separate ways, but the right person always comes back around."
"I would trade ten pounds off my body to see these two get together!"
Amid the noise and excitement, Samuel, the same guy who'd called me shameless earlier, glanced my way. Something like pity flickered in his eyes.
He passed by me, let out a sigh, and shook his head.
"You asked for it."
I sank back into my chair, boneless.
Never, not once, had I imagined Carter would humiliate me like this at a class reunion. That he'd look me in the eye and deny everything with his own mouth.
The mocking voices around me only grew louder.