Chapter 3

More than a dozen gazes turned to me at once.

I smiled coldly and didn't deny it. "Yeah. Met the right person. Just happened to snag a venue slot someone else canceled."

"Are you kidding me?!" Brad was the first to explode. "We just found out you were seeing someone, and now you're jumping straight to marriage?"

"Who exactly is this mystery guy? Could it be someone we know?"

"When's the wedding?"

The questions came one after another, lively and loud.

Just as I was about to brush them off, Hayley suddenly spoke.

"Oh, stop it, you guys. Asking so many details is just going to stress Vanessa out."

"But since the venue is already booked, you must have been dating for years, right, Vanessa?"

That question silenced the booth for a moment.

Everyone's eyes landed on me.

I picked up my water glass and curved my lips. "Known him for two weeks. He's a great guy. Very responsible."

Those words were like a bomb.

It even made the figure opposite me, who had been lounging lazily, suddenly sit bolt upright.

"Wait, Vanessa, are you serious?"

"Yeah, a girl like you with so much going for her wouldn't rush into marriage with a guy she met on Hinge two weeks ago!"

"It's not a whirlwind marriage," I replied calmly. "I met the right person. Our core values align. We've done premarital counseling. We even checked our *Co-Star* synastry chart. Two weeks is more than enough."

Sean still held that rigid posture.

Over the years, I'd hinted plenty that I wanted a family. Just two weeks ago, I even joked with him using *Co-Star*, asking for his exact birth time, saying I wanted to see if our relationship was suited for marriage in the stars.

He knew about that.

A shadow flickered across his face, then quickly melted back into his composed, elite facade.

Maybe he was relieved I mentioned two weeks, not eight years. Relieved I hadn't exposed his charade.

"Congratulations," Hayley spoke first, smiling gracefully. "So when's the wedding?"

This question was unavoidable now.

I didn't avoid it anymore. "Next Saturday. At the Lakefront Country Club. I hope everyone can make it."

Hayley smiled even sweeter, resting her chin on her hand as she looked at me. "That's great. But honestly, I thought..."

Someone caught the implication and laughed. "Thought you were waiting for someone?"

"Waiting—" Hayley pressed her lips together and smiled, her gaze drifting vaguely toward Sean across the table. "Waiting for someone to come around."

"Back in high school, you chased after him so persistently. You never missed a single football game, always bringing Gatorade. We all thought you'd never marry anyone but him."

When the mood became a bit awkward, she added, "But it's good like this. You've finally moved on."

"Dude," someone teased, "She's getting married. Aren't you going to say something?"

Sean leaned back in his chair, not even lifting his eyes. "That's all just old high school stuff."

I couldn't help but let out a cold laugh.

Old stuff?

They had no idea that during freshman year, it was actually Sean who chased after me. For a whole six months.

Just because we never went public, everyone in our class thought that all those years of me quietly showing up at his law school parties and bringing him coffee were just one-sided infatuation.

And he could have easily resolved my embarrassment just by saying, "Actually, we've been together for a long time."

But he chose silence.

He chose to let everyone believe that relationship was nothing more than my own one-woman show.

"Alright, alright, let's toast!" Marcus organized the raising of glasses. "Here's to our class solving another single person's problem!"

Glasses clinked together.

The next half hour passed nicely. I chatted with a few girlfriends about work, listened to them complain about their difficult toddlers, and occasionally chimed in with, "Being a mom is really tough."

Hayley tried several times to steer the conversation toward my "fiancé," but I deflected each time without missing a beat.

When the party broke up, everyone drifted outside in twos and threes to wait for their Ubers.

"Sean," Hayley's voice came from behind, tinged with unease. "It's so late... could you give me a ride back to my Airbnb? I'm renting in the South Side, and the neighborhood isn't great. I'm a little scared."

I was bending over to put on my coat, and my movements didn't pause for a second.

Teasing noises erupted around us instantly.

"Oooh—"

"Need you even ask? Of course he'll take you!"

"Bro, here's your chance to be her knight in shining armor!"

I straightened up, fastened my buttons, and walked past them.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Sean standing next to Hayley, chuckling. "Let's go. The car's in the parking lot."

Clean and decisive. Not a trace of hesitation.

I pushed open the bar's heavy glass door, and the cold November wind of Chicago rushed into my neck, blowing the lively sounds behind me far away.

The elevator numbers ticked down one by one.

I looked at the "8" and suddenly remembered the summer eight years ago.

At a party, he got into a fight with some guy from a college fraternity because of Hayley. I instinctively took the bottle for him.

While getting stitches in the ER, he held my hand tightly in his and said over and over:

"I'll never mistake it again. This scar is my mark. I'll recognize it my whole life."

Turns out a whole life could be so short.

Short enough that during an icebreaker game, he could justifiably take someone else's hand.

The elevator doors opened, and I walked in.

My phone suddenly buzzed. It was an iMessage from Sean.

"You were smart not to talk nonsense tonight. But joking about getting married next Saturday is going too far. Wait for me to get back so we can discuss how to smooth this over."

I let out an expressionless laugh. I swiped left and deleted our entire chat history.

Actually, there was no lie to smooth over anymore.