They only remembered that I used to hang around Carter a lot.
They assumed I was the one chasing him. A lovesick nobody reaching for someone out of her league, desperate to land the golden boy.
But they didn't know the truth.
From the very beginning, Carter was the one who pursued me.
He was reserved by nature, never one for public displays. He'd never once posted about us on social media. Every step forward in our relationship had been his initiative, his doing. Yet somehow, he always came out looking like the innocent party.
He was the prodigy of the business school, turning heads wherever he went, impossible to ignore. And me? In everyone's eyes, I was never good enough for him.
But that was no reason for me to be mocked. To be humiliated.
I turned to face the classmate who'd spoken, my expression flat.
"If your tongue's that useless, you could always cut it out."
The words landed without an ounce of mercy. Someone slammed a fist on the table and pointed at me, voice dripping with contempt.
"Seriously, Serena? What do you have to be so arrogant about?"
"If you actually had what it takes, you wouldn't have chased Carter for eight straight years with nothing to show for it."
"Do you even know how the whole circle laughs at you behind your back?"
"A delusional ugly duckling who actually thought she could land a guy like him."
Snickers rippled through the table, hushed but deliberate.
Heat stung my eyes. My face burned.
I turned to look at Carter.
He glanced at me once, then deliberately looked away.
In that moment, the wedding ring on my finger felt like a weight pressing down on my chest.
Aside from Carter's best friend, Samuel Henson, not a single person at that table knew.
Carter and I were already married.
Today wasn't just a class reunion. It was our fifth wedding anniversary.
I'd never been one for crowds. The only reason I'd come tonight was because Carter had begged me, over and over.
"Serena, it's been so many years since you've shown up to one of these. People are going to talk."
"Besides, it's all old classmates. We should catch up."
I hadn't said anything.
Carter wasn't the social type either. The real reason he'd been so eager to attend was simple: he'd heard that Mia Prescott would be there. The girl who'd been voted the beauty queen back in school.
When I stayed silent, Carter pulled me into his arms, his voice low and coaxing.
"Serena, you're always complaining that I never acknowledge you on social media."
"I promise. Tonight, at the reunion, I'll tell everyone. About us."
I couldn't hold out against his relentless persuasion, so I agreed.
And now, with all these old classmates laughing at me for being a delusional fool who'd chased Carter for eight years with nothing to show for it, Carter sat there in silence. Not a single word.
The room plunged into a dead, awkward quiet.
I set down my knife and fork and let a cold smile curl across my lips.
"Who said I never caught him?"
Everyone exchanged glances, some leaning forward with barely contained excitement.
"Wait, are they actually a thing?"
The only person who knew the truth was Samuel. He knew I'd been Carter's girlfriend for eight years and was now his wife.
But Samuel had never liked me. He'd always gone out of his way to antagonize me, convinced I was some shameless social climber who'd wormed her way in.
Hearing what the others were saying, he let out a scoff and drained his glass in one go.
He muttered under his breath.
"Some people just can't see themselves clearly. Don't know their own weight."
"Pure shamelessness."
His voice was low enough that no one else heard.
I narrowed my eyes and looked at Carter.
The instant my words landed, his hand froze mid-air, his entire body going rigid.
