Part 3I Gave Up Everything For Her

“Dylan, it’d be better if you don’t go online today.”

Aidan Wright, my best friend, sent me a text at 2 a.m., but I did not see it until 7 a.m.

I called him. “What’s wrong?”

“Your photos have been doxxed online.”

I checked social media.

The trending headlines were about me.

[The Weiss Family’s Engagement Farce: Groom-to-Be Left Alone in the Banquet Hall for Three Hours]

The accompanying photo was a candid shot taken by a guest.

There I was, sitting all alone at the empty head table in a borrowed suit, smiling and toasting people around me.

The comments were all over the place.

[Getting engaged in a borrowed suit is way too tacky. How can you even force this kind of engagement?]

[Hahaha… Getting stood up in front of 200 people? Yet, he’s still covering it by saying she was on a business trip.]

[The winner of the ‘Unluckiest Person of the Year’ award has been announced.]

I locked my phone screen.

Two minutes later, the phone rang.

I picked it up. It was not Layla calling. It was her mother, Molly Weiss.

“Dylan, I’d like to discuss something with you.”

Her tone was much more polite than usual. It was so polite that it was almost unsettling.

“Don’t look at those things online. I’ll find a way to have them taken down.”

“They can’t be taken down, Molly.”

“Then, let’s handle it another way.”

She paused for a moment.

“Dylan, I’ll be honest with you. When Alban came back from abroad the year before last, he seemed wary. So, Layla came up with a plan.”

“What kind of plan?”

“To find someone to go through the motions of an engagement first, just to give Alban a little nudge.”

My ears were ringing.

“Are you saying the engagement was fake?”

“I wouldn’t say it was fake. It was just… a formality.”

I looked down at the silver ring on my finger.

It had cost $300 and came from a street vendor.

I was the one who picked them out and bought a pair.

She wore hers for two days before taking it off, but I wore mine for three years.

“Molly, I printed 200 invitations and paid the deposit for the banquet hall.”

“Layla will pay you back.”

“When?”

There was a pause of a few seconds on the other end of the line.

“When she’s a little better off. Oh, by the way, Dylan, the $200,000 you invested in her company…”

“What about it?”

“The company’s been tight on cash lately. Could you maybe—”

I did not let her finish.

I hung up, opened my mobile banking app, and checked the joint savings account I shared with Layla.

[Balance: 0.]

The last withdrawal was three days ago. It was the day she and Alban got their marriage certificate. She had taken out $120,000.

There was a note attached to the transaction.

[Honeymoon Fund.]

That $120,000 was what I had saved up after six months of freelancing.

She said a joint account would be convenient and that once we were married, it would be joint property anyway.

I had believed her.

My phone vibrated. It was a text from Aidan.

[Dylan, there’s something I shouldn’t have kept from you.]

He sent me a screenshot of a group chat.

The group had a name.

[Layla’s Exclusive Planning Team.]

Layla had sent a text there the night before the engagement party.

[Once tomorrow’s charade is done, it’s all over. Make sure Dylan doesn’t find out.]

The replies that followed were unanimous.

[Got it.]

[Layla, you’re amazing!]

[That dunce Dylan actually believed it!]

The last text was from Layla herself.

A giggling emoji accompanied it.

Aidan sent me another text.

[Sorry, I only found out yesterday that you were with her. She told everyone you were just helping out temporarily. If you don’t have a place to stay, come over to my place.]

I stared at the screenshot for a long time.

‘Dunce…’ I thought.

They called me a dunce, and she posted a giggling emoji underneath it.

At 9 p.m., Layla finally called.

“Dylan, don’t take what my mom said to heart. She’s just not good with words.”

“What about those screenshots from the group chat?”

There was silence on the other end.

“Who showed them to you? It’s just friends messing around.”

“Was the giggling emoji just a joke too?”

She sighed. She seemed impatient.

“Dylan, can’t you just let these things go? I told you I’ll come back and explain everything.”

“Haven’t you always said that?”

“What exactly do you want?”

I clutched my phone and said nothing.

She waited a few seconds. Then, her tone softened a little.

“Don’t get so worked up. It’s not what you think.

“I’ll come back and explain everything in person."