Instead of arriving at the restaurant to fulfill his promise, Lewis was elsewhere.
My chest tightened as I stared at a story posted by one of his friends. A photo of him at the airport, welcoming Katrina, his childhood sweetheart who had just returned to New York.
My hands trembled as I gripped my phone, the betrayal stinging sharper than I thought possible.
For a fleeting moment, I wanted to smash every carefully placed decoration on the table, to vent my anger and frustration in a way that mirrored the chaos in my heart.
Before I could act on those impulses, my phone buzzed in my hand. A call. Not from Lewis, but from Tobias, my brother.
“Where are you? My elementary school friend just came back, and she’s throwing a party. Wanna come?” he asked casually.
The question pulled me out of my haze of disappointment, but his words twisted the knife further.
My engagement to Lewis was meant to be private, something we had decided to keep secret until we officially exchanged rings. It was his request.
He said it would be more intimate and more memorable.
So, I had agreed, not realizing that the secrecy could so easily become an excuse for him to break his promise.
Under the disappointment, I replied to Tobias, “Sure. Pick me up at…”
I gave my brother the location of the restaurant.
It was not long before he arrived, his car pulling up to the curb.
As I climbed into the passenger seat, Tobias blinked in confusion at my formal attire.
“I didn’t expect you to be so ready. It’s just a regular party at a bar, doesn’t need to be that fancy,” he said, his tone light.
Fastening my seatbelt, I answered coldly, my voice devoid of the usual warmth I reserved for my brother. “I was at a friend’s birthday party earlier. I didn’t feel like going home to change.”
“I see,” Tobias replied, shrugging, his curiosity dulled by my clipped tone.
Driving to the destination, my chest tightened with unease.
As I suspected, the friend Tobias mentioned was Katrina, the very girl Lewis had just picked up from the airport.
I was consumed with curiosity about the girl who had so thoroughly captivated Lewis that he had forgotten about me.
As soon as we stepped into the bar, I noticed how the atmosphere shifted. The lively chatter and laughter dulled as heads turned toward me, their gazes filled with thinly veiled curiosity.