I bought the dress three weeks ago. Navy blue, fitted at the waist, with a neckline that showed just enough. I tried it on twice at home, checking the mirror from different angles, imagining Alexander's face when he saw it. Tonight was our eighth anniversary. Eight years. He'd been different this week—texting me during work, asking what time I'd be free, saying he had something special planned. The restaurant reservation was at Aurelio's, the place with the marble floors and the private dining rooms upstairs where proposals happened.
I let myself believe it.
I held the small wrapped box in my lap during the cab ride—a vintage Rolex I'd found at an estate sale, the kind he'd mentioned once two years ago. My hands were shaking. Not from nerves. From something that felt like bubbles in my chest, light and rising.
The restaurant glowed against the Manhattan night. I walked through the brass doors into warmth and noise and the smell of expensive wine. My heels clicked across the marble. I scanned the room for Alexander's dark hair, his broad shoulders in the gray suit he wore to important things.
I found him at the center of the main dining room.
Not at a table for two. Not in a quiet corner. He stood beneath a chandelier surrounded by at least thirty people, holding a microphone. The décor was gold and white. Balloons. A cake on a side table with candles already lit. No trace of anything that looked like us.
I stopped walking.
Alexander's voice carried across the room, warm and full of something I hadn't heard directed at me in years. "...and I just want to say that Karina is the most important woman in my life. She's been my constant, my North Star, and tonight we celebrate not just her birthday, but everything she means to me."
The crowd made soft approving sounds. I watched Alexander reach into his jacket pocket. My chest went tight. He pulled out a small velvet box—the exact size and shape of the one I'd been imagining all week—and opened it. A diamond ring caught the light. Not an engagement ring. A cocktail ring, oversized and glittering. He took Karina's hand and slid it onto her finger. She gasped. She pressed her other hand to her mouth. The room erupted in applause.
I stood fifteen feet away, holding my anniversary gift, wearing my new dress.
Several people at the nearest tables glanced toward me. I recognized two of them—colleagues from Alexander's firm who'd met me at company events. One woman's eyebrows lifted. Another man looked away quickly, suddenly very interested in his wine glass. They knew. Everyone knew I was Alexander's girlfriend. Everyone knew what they were watching.
Karina threw her arms around Alexander's neck. He lifted her slightly off the ground, laughing into her hair. The ring flashed on her hand. I couldn't move. My heels had fused to the marble. The gift box in my hand felt like it weighed ten pounds.
Alexander set Karina down and turned, scanning the room with the easy confidence of someone who'd just done something generous. His eyes landed on me. No surprise. No guilt. He smiled and walked over, weaving between tables, still holding the microphone in one hand.
"Oh, you came?" He said it like I'd shown up to a casual lunch. "I forgot to mention—Karina's birthday fell on the same night as ours. Crazy coincidence, right?" He gestured back toward the crowd, the cake, the woman still admiring her ring. "You don't mind, right? We'll do ours tomorrow. Or this weekend. I'll make it up to you."
He wasn't asking. He was informing me. His tone was light, dismissive, the way you'd talk to someone who'd misunderstood a minor scheduling conflict. He didn't wait for me to answer. He turned back toward Karina, already mid-wave to someone across the room, and walked away.
I stood there. The gift box was slick in my palm from sweat. A waiter passed with a tray of champagne flutes. Music started playing—something upbeat and celebratory. Karina's laugh carried over the noise, high and delighted. She held her hand up to show someone the ring, tilting it so the diamond caught the light from every angle.
I looked down at the box in my hand. The wrapping paper I'd chosen carefully. The watch inside that cost two months of saving.
I set it on the nearest empty table. No one noticed. I turned and walked back across the marble floor, past the brass doors, into the cold.
Six blocks. I walked six blocks in heels that weren't made for walking. My feet screamed. My chest felt hollow and too full at the same time. I passed the jewelry counter near our apartment—the small shop that stayed open late. I went inside. The clerk recognized me. She didn't ask questions anymore.
I bought my 498th gold bead.
