"Today is Charlotte and Liam's engagement—don't embarrass yourself."
*Engagement?*
A bitter smile tugged at the corner of my mouth.
I had actually come to attend my ex-boyfriend's engagement banquet.
"Big Sister is here, too?"
Charlotte Swanson interrupted my thoughts, her gaze locking onto the gift bag in my hand.
"You brought a gift? What is it? Let me see."
She didn't wait for an answer. She marched over and reached for it.
Instinctively, I tightened my grip on the cord, but she yanked it away with surprising force.
Charlotte's deft fingers tore open the wrapping. She popped the suede box open.
Inside, the utterly ordinary fountain pen lay exposed to the room.
Silence fell like a heavy curtain.
Then came the snickers. The shaking heads.
"That brand… isn't that from the supermarket?"
"Well, it's the thought that counts, I suppose… though it's a cheap thought."
Charlotte covered her mouth, giggling, before casually tossing the box and pen to her nanny, Maya Dickerson.
Like it was trash.
I stood there, frozen. Humiliated.
Without a word, I turned and headed for the door.
Behind me, Liam Delgado's vows echoed through the hall.
"Charlotte, from the moment I saw you, I knew you were the one I was destined to find."
"I will spend the rest of my life protecting you…"
*Protecting her.*
Broken images flashed before my eyes.
A teenage Liam, kneeling outside my house in the pouring rain, trembling yet stubborn, waiting the entire night. All because I had said in a fit of anger, *"Unless you kneel until dawn."*
And that night by the riverside—fireworks blooming behind him. He held flowers, dropping to one knee.
*"Freya Swanson! I love you! Be my girlfriend!"*
The floor beneath my feet lurched, severing the memory.
Above, the massive crystal chandelier swayed violently, glass clinking like wind chimes in a storm.
"Earthquake—!"
For a split second, dead silence.
Then chaos exploded—screams, crashing furniture, the shattering of glass.
The crowd became a stampede. Tables overturned. Chairs flew.
The panic swept me up, bodies shoving me sideways like a current dragging me under.
A hand clamped around my wrist like an iron manacle and yanked me backward.
My balance vanished. I stumbled, crashed to the floor.
The back of my head struck something hard—a dull thud echoed through my skull, and my vision blackened for a second.
I struggled to rise.
A heavy weight slammed onto my back.
Someone stepped on me.
A muffled groan escaped my lips, my face pressed against the cold marble tiles.
"Charlotte! Charlotte, where are you?!"
Liam's voice pierced the chaos, frantic and close.
He had already rushed over. Amidst the terrified herd, he had eyes only for Charlotte Swanson.
He hauled her into his arms, shielding her with his broad back as he pushed through the crowd.
He hurried past me.
The tip of his expensive shoe grazed my fingers.
My vision blurred. The screaming crowd began to fade, drifting away like a receding tide.
Darkness swallowed me whole.
