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I curled my hair carefully. Got my nails done. Slipped into the emerald green dress he once said made my eyes “shine like spring.” I checked my reflection twice before leaving.
I was ready for a ring.
What I got instead was a wake-up call.
A Celebration That Was Never Mine
Dinner went smoothly at first. Wine flowed. Ryan smiled more than usual. He looked relaxed, almost excited, like someone holding a secret close to his chest.
My hands trembled beneath the table.
Then dessert arrived.
The waiter placed a pristine white plate in front of me, trimmed in gold. Written in elegant chocolate script were the words:
“Congrats on Your Promotion!”
I stared at it, confused.
Because I hadn’t gotten a promotion.
In fact, just weeks earlier, I’d been passed over for the role I’d worked toward for more than a year—given instead to a man I had personally trained. Office whispers suggested I was “about to settle down” and would be “too distracted” to lead.
Ryan knew all of this.
And yet, he leaned back in his chair, smiling.
