Chapter 4

When I walked into the private room at the hotel, Alex's parents were already there.

They immediately stood up with big smiles when they saw me.

"Emma, you're here! Come, have a seat!" Mrs. Carter said warmly.

"And you two, don't be shy. Come sit with us!"

Just as I sat down, the door to the private room swung open again.

Sophie came in first, with Alex right behind her.

Mrs. Carter looked a little taken aback.

"Who's she?" she asked.

Sophie flashed a smile. "Hi, Mr. and Mrs. Carter. I'm Sophie Lane, Emma's friend from college."

Alex jumped in, "Sophie's Emma's bestie. Emma gets nervous at stuff like this, so Sophie's here to back her up today."

My parents' faces grew noticeably colder.

Without picking up on the awkward vibe, Sophie just smiled and settled herself on Alex's right side.

She even flagged down the waiter. "Our groom-to-be can't handle cold drinks, so keep them off the table. Bring us some lattes."

Then she leaned in closer to Alex with a grin. "Pretty good memory, huh? I remember your mom likes lattes."

Alex let out a laugh.

That all-too-familiar feeling of being shoved out to the sidelines hit me all over again.

I was supposed to be the center of attention at my own engagement party, but somehow Sophie looked way more like the Carter family's future daughter-in-law than I ever could.

Mrs. Carter smiled. "I never thought Emma would have such a caring bestie."

Sophie flashed a cute grin. "Mrs. Carter, you're making me shy! I just thought, since getting engaged is a big deal, especially with Emma's personality, we really have to plan ahead."

Then she pulled out her phone and opened up her notes.

"I was thinking last night, the hotel in the south part of town is probably the best pick. Parking's easy, and the atmosphere is really peaceful.

"Emma hates having a bunch of people staring at her, so a small private suite would suit her way better," she said.

Mrs. Carter looked genuinely surprised.

"Wow, Sophie, you really went all out with this?" she said.

Sophie just smiled. "Oh, I just threw some ideas together. Emma's not the best with details, so I figured she might overlook a few things."

Alex looked at her, relaxed. "Come on, you know I always think things through better than you."

Sophie shot him a playful wink. "It's not like you just found out I'm reliable."

I opened my mouth to speak. "Actually, I..."

But Sophie suddenly cut in. "Oh, and for the party favors, let's skip anything too sweet. Alex doesn't like sugary stuff, and I doubt Mr. and Mrs. Carter are into it either."

Alex let out a laugh.

"Yeah, my mom prefers lighter flavors," he said.

"I know," Sophie replied right away.

"So I was thinking a bottle of vintage wine, elegant but understated," she added.

But I absolutely hated wine.

I took a deep breath and called out, "Alex."

He didn't even glance my way, as if my voice didn't exist.

Sophie leaned over and showed him something on her phone.

"Look at this suite, the lighting's great. The photos will come out gorgeous. Emma's not really into mingling, so just let her stay quiet and you can handle the talking," she suggested.

Alex looked at the screen and nodded, "Sure, that's fine."

I stared at his profile, my voice growing firmer. "Alex."

He still didn't hear me.

He was too busy chatting about the engagement with Sophie to even notice me.

All of a sudden, I just couldn't see the point of any of this anymore.

Honestly, what was even the point?

The tension that had been coiled in my chest finally snapped. I couldn't take it anymore. I slammed my fork down on the table.

There was a loud smack.

Everyone at the table froze.

Alex finally noticed, turning to me with a deep frown. "What are you doing? With everyone watching, you slam your fork like that?"

He shot me a look full of disapproval and went to grab my wrist.

But I yanked my hand away. "Alex, how many times did I try to say something just now?

"Did you even hear a single word I said?"

Alex froze.

"You didn't hear me because you were so caught up in what she was saying," I snapped.

"If you care so much about what Sophie says, why don't you just marry her?"

My eyes were burning, my heart pounding in my chest.

After a few deep breaths, I just barely managed to calm myself down.

"Alex, let's call off the engagement," I said.