Chapter 2
"Surprise!"
The elevator doors slid open, and a chorus of party poppers exploded into the air.
As a storm of confetti rained down, Alex stepped out, fixing his eyes on Sophia with absolute tenderness.
He didn't even notice me curled up in the dimly lit corner of the room.
Sophia practically launched herself into his arms and chirped, "Happy birthday, baby!"
Alex gently brushed a piece of confetti from her hair and leaned down to kiss her forehead.
"Thank you, my sweet girl," he murmured.
As the room erupted into a chorus of envious awws and cheers, Sophia brought over the cake and lit the candles.
This time, Alex leaned in and kissed her passionately on the lips.
"I don't even need to make a wish," he said softly, looking her in the eyes. "Heaven already sent me the greatest gift in the world."
I stared numbly at the flickering candlelight.
During our first three years of long-distance, Alex had scraped together enough money for countless overnight bus tickets—those grueling rides on the Greyhound—just to spend hours with me.
On my birthday during our fourth year, he finally flew out, but he spent the entire night completely distracted, glued to his phone screen.
For the last two years, he had basically been a ghost in my life.
And now, he was standing here telling another woman that she was the best gift heaven had ever given him.
My chest felt numb, but a sharp ache radiated through my ribs. One single sentence kept echoing in my mind on an endless loop.
Then what the hell was I to him?
Sophia let out a soft, playful huff and leaned in to blow out the candle for him.
"If you won't make a wish, then I will!" she teased.
Their friends immediately jumped on the opportunity to hype them up.
"Ooh, what did you wish for, Sophia? Let me guess. It has something to do with Mr. Carter!"
"Come on, we all know Sophia only has eyes for Alex!"
Sophia blushed a deep, pretty pink and playfully swatted Alex's chest.
Alex just smiled at her with a look of pure adoration on his face. And then, the room stopped breathing as he dropped down onto one knee.
The crowd went absolutely wild.
He pulled out a pristine red velvet box, looking up at her with utter devotion.
"Sophia, I know you've been waiting. It's been four years. Will you marry me?" he asked.
Sophia covered her mouth with both hands, tears instantly welling up in her eyes.
The entire restaurant held its breath, waiting for her to say yes.
And that was when I let out a sharp, abrupt laugh. It sliced through the romantic silence like a knife.
"Four years?" I said, my voice trembling with a toxic mix of rage and heartbreak. "Alex, what about my ten years? What the hell did our ten years mean to you?"
Every single head in the room whipped around to stare at me.
Alex's head snapped in my direction, sheer terror and shock exploding across his face.
The friends exchanged highly confused glances.
"Who is she?"
"I have no idea."
Matilda stormed over and slapped me hard across the face.
"What's your problem?" she screamed. "Sophia was nice enough to let a total stranger crash her party, and you pull this dramatic bullshit?"
My head snapped to the side. The sting of the slap left my ears ringing. I was completely stunned.
Sophia spun around to look at me in shock. Turning back to Alex with a wounded expression, she whimpered, "Babe, do you know her?"
"No," Alex replied coldly.
He looked away from me without hesitation.
He let out a helpless laugh and looked back at Sophia. "You really need to stop inviting crazy people to things. Just ignore her."
My eyes widened in horror.
This was the same man who used to have a full-blown panic attack if I got a papercut. And now, he was watching someone physically assault me, and he was pretending I didn't exist.
I loved Alex Carter for ten years, and my reward was being dismissed as a "crazy person."
My hand was shaking violently, but I raised it and slapped Matilda right back.
Matilda crashed to the floor, clutching her cheek and shrieking.
In a fraction of a second, two massive bodyguards grabbed me from behind, pinning my arms.
Sophia marched over to me and slapped me across the face three times in rapid succession.
One of the bodyguards kicked the back of my knee, forcing me to collapse and kneel on the floor right in front of her.
Alex stood completely still. I saw a microscopic flicker of guilt cross his eyes, but he did absolutely nothing.
My face was burning and swollen, my ears were buzzing, and in that exact moment, every shred of my dignity and my heart shattered into dust.
Sophia looked down at me, a cruel sneer twisting her lips.
"I was just trying to be nice and let you have some fun tonight. I never thought you'd be trashy enough to cause a scene.
"Honestly, hitting you just makes my hands feel dirty. Throw her out!"