Part 1On My Engagement Day, I Discovered My Dad's Affair Was With My Best Friend

On my engagement day, I discovered that my father's affair partner was actually my best friend.

Seeing the two of them embracing in the distance, I nearly collapsed.

Instinctively, I reached for my fiancé Parker's hand, seeking comfort. But I touched only the cold, tense back of a clenched fist.

Confused, I looked at Parker. His eyes were bloodshot, his face contorted with jealousy and madness. Before I could react, he charged forward and punched my father square in the face.

"Henry, you dare touch my woman? I'll kill you!" Parker roared.

I stood on a busy street corner in my engagement dress, feeling as if I'd been plunged into an icy abyss.

My fiancé and my father were brawling on my engagement day, all because of my best friend.

I couldn't imagine anything more scandalous and absurd than this.

All the guests stared in shock at the unfolding scene, their expressions a mix of concern and schadenfreude barely concealed by hushed whispers.

Yasmin, my so-called best friend, sauntered over to me with a smug grin, looking me up and down.

She didn't seem the least bit flustered, just utterly pleased with herself.

"Oh Hazel, why should you have everything handed to you on a silver platter while I had nothing? It wasn't fair. But now, one way or another, it's all mine."

Dazed, I turned to look at my mother, desperately seeking even a shred of comfort despite knowing she was another innocent victim in all this.

To my surprise, Mom watched the chaos unfold with cold detachment.

My heart plummeted. In disbelief, I walked towards her.

"You knew about this all along, didn't you?"

Tears streamed down my face unbidden, ruining my carefully applied makeup and painting an ugly, messy portrait of my life.

Mom sighed, her expression devoid of the warmth she'd shown earlier at the engagement party when she'd held my hand and told everyone I was her precious darling.

"Yes, I've known for a while," she admitted flatly.

"Why didn't you tell me?!" I shouted, feeling like the world's biggest fool.

"What good would that have done? It would have only caused you pain. The merger between our family and the Parkers was never going to be called off. Did you have a better option?"

I laughed bitterly, the sound hollow and despairing.

"So in your eyes, I'm just a pawn for this merger? My happiness doesn't matter, loyalty doesn't matter, and honesty from my own family matters least of all?"

Mom averted her gaze, looking towards my father and Parker, who were being pulled apart by their assistants.

"Hazel, what do you have to complain about? In this family, none of us have it easy."

I stumbled backwards, shaking my head vehemently through tear-blurred vision.

"How wonderful. On my engagement day, one of the most important days of my life, my father, mother, fiancé, and best friend all betrayed me at once. What a pathetic excuse for a human being I must be."

With that, I turned and ran, ignoring the voices calling my name behind me.

It was all too sickening. Every single person here disgusted me to my core.