It turned out everyone had known about Ryan and Claire all along—except me.
I grabbed the glass of water on the table and drained it in one go.
Just then, Claire walked in, frowning at the sound of their gossip.
"What are you all saying in front of my fiancé?"
She came over to me, wearing her usual sweet, caring expression.
"Ethan, don’t be upset. They were just practicing their French. They didn’t mean to leave you out."
The moment her hand brushed mine, a wave of disgust shot through me.
A second ago she had been fooling around with Ryan, and now she was playing the doting bride-to-be.
Everyone thought Claire loved me.
Once upon a time, I thought so too.
I calmly avoided her touch and, with a blank expression, said,
"The wedding is about to start. Go chat with them for a bit."
Claire didn’t think twice and turned back to her friends, speaking French again.
The group, emboldened after her scolding, teased her with mischievous smiles:
"Claire, you defend Ethan and still can’t stay away from Ryan. Who do you actually love?"
"Who says I can only love one? Ryan’s fun, but he’s not husband material. He’s just for playing around with."
Their laughter filled the room.
"Only Claire could juggle two men and keep her fiancé completely clueless."
Then someone turned the conversation toward Ryan:
"Claire’s about to get married. Aren’t you going to do anything special?"
Ryan chuckled. "Special? I’ve already stayed in Claire’s condo plenty of times. Every corner is full of our memories. And even if she marries Ethan, I can still drop by whenever I want. After all, Ethan’s my good buddy."
The more they said, the more revolting it became.
I suddenly shot to my feet, startling everyone.
They all turned to look at me as I kept a cold, hard face.
"I’m going to check if the ceremony is ready."
As I walked out, my thoughts swirled with memories of the years Claire and I had spent together.
Back then, she was the one who had pursued me.
She’d seemed gentle, understanding, rarely losing her temper. I’d thought she loved me wholeheartedly.
Over time, I let myself fall deeper and deeper.
I’d originally only come to New York on a short business trip.
But once I fell for Claire, I couldn’t bear to leave—so I stayed.
My family had called me several times, asking me to come back. I refused every time.
They didn’t approve of Claire, even threatening to cut ties with me, but I chose her anyway.
Years of devotion—turns out, it was all a joke.
Just then, the wedding planner approached me to go over the program one last time.
This wedding had been in the works for months, but I suddenly felt no joy at all.
"Simplify the whole program," I told him.
As I said it, it felt like something inside me had been lifted away.
I let out a long breath of relief.
I decided I’d let Claire go gracefully.
If she liked Ryan so much, I would give them my blessing.
