"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."