Jackson always sided with her, adding to my frustration.
Her behavior became more audacious as time went on.
She knew I'd be in the passenger seat and would deliberately leave her bag there, marking her territory.
It felt like a blatant provocation.
I chose to ignore it.
As we were getting out of the car, Jackson opened my door and said, "Aurora, I know you're still upset, but please try to keep your cool at this party."
"There will be a lot of old friends there. We can discuss things when we get home."
I nodded, too exhausted to argue.
It wasn't until I walked in that I realized what he meant by "upset."
Rebecca was there.
As soon as Jackson pushed open the door, Rebecca ran up and wrapped her arm around his.
"Jackson, where's my bag? My lipstick is in there, and they've been laughing at me for ages."
Rebecca pointed at a group of people nearby, then pulled out her lipstick and handed it to him.
"Jackson, help me fix this, please! I don't want to be the center of their jokes."
Jackson stood there awkwardly, glancing at me with an uneasy look.
"Go on," I said coldly, walking past them without a second glance.
Jackson, clearly flustered, hurried after me, smudging lipstick on my clothes in the process.
I looked at the red stain with distaste.
"Aurora, Rebecca's just kidding. Don't take it the wrong way."
Rebecca came over, too. "Aurora, don't be upset. With so many people here, if I had any real intentions, I wouldn't be so obvious about it. It's just friendly teasing. Don't take it seriously."
"I'm not upset, but please let go. You've stained my dress."
I went to the restroom to clean up, taking my time as I preferred not to see them.
When I returned, Jackson was clearly drunk.
He had a glass of wine in one hand and was holding Rebecca's hand with the other.
He hiccupped and buried his face in Rebecca's hand, his voice breaking with rare emotion.
"If I hadn't been late that day, you'd be my wife now."
"Rebecca, I'm sorry."
The people around us looked at me nervously, their raised glasses lowering awkwardly.
They kept their eyes on me, worried I might ruin the mood.
I smiled faintly, walked up to them, and took off my wedding ring.
"I know you've got one, but this one's bigger and more expensive."
"Congrats on your upcoming wedding. Here's to two kids in three years and three more in five."
The crowd was shocked by my gesture but quickly got into the spirit, cheering loudly.