Part 2Regret After Goodbye

"Callum, why are you just standing there? Aren't you going to greet my friends? You're so useless!"

Kristen's shrill voice pulled me out of my memories. Only then did I realize I had been standing in the blazing sun for a long time, my whole body drenched in sticky sweat. I wiped my forehead and gave a faint smile.

"What, am I the hired help now? Am I supposed to handle everything?"

Kristen clearly had not expected me to talk back. She looked at me coldly, her disgust written all over her face. "I only agreed to get engaged to you because I felt sorry for you. Instead of being grateful, you're disrespecting me and Lance? You've really got some nerve!"

She stared at me with contempt, as though I had committed some unforgivable crime. I let out a long breath and looked at her hand locked with Lance's, then at their matching outfits that anyone could spot from across the room.

A revulsion I had never felt before welled up inside me. "You two look so sweet together that anyone would think you were the ones getting engaged. Sounds like I'm the third wheel here, huh?"

Kristen gazed at Lance adoringly, her eyes so soft they looked ready to melt. "Of course! All our friends say Lance and I are the perfect couple! Lance, don't worry. Even if I'm engaged, my heart will always be with you. No matter what happens, I'll never stop loving you!"

The moment Kristen finished, the entire venue fell dead silent. Lance turned to me with a nasty smile, his eyes full of mockery.

Kristen had not exactly kept her voice down, and with those loud matching outfits, the two of them quickly drew everyone's attention.

A few of Kristen's friends were already covering their mouths to hide their giggles. I had become a laughingstock, and Kristen was the one who had pushed me into the center of all the gossip.

The amused faces around me finally made me understand. To Kristen, my five years had been nothing but a joke.

I let out a soft sigh, took off my suit jacket, and tossed it on the ground. "Well, since the stage is already set, why not make this your engagement party instead?"

I turned to leave, but Kristen scoffed and nudged the jacket with her foot.

"Callum, who are you trying to fool with this act? Don't think this is going to make me back down and apologize. If you say sorry right now, maybe I'll still do you the favor of going through with the engagement."

I was not surprised to hear her say something like that. In her eyes, I was not allowed to have a temper at all. The moment she gave even an inch, I was expected to accept it with gratitude.

In the past, I would have found some way to smooth things over and rushed to put Kristen in a good mood again. But now I was exhausted, body and soul, and I had no energy left to deal with anyone else's sudden mood swings.

"I think I've made myself pretty clear, Kristen. We're done. As of today, we're strangers. We're not even friends."

I pressed my lips together, grabbed my car keys from the table, and walked out.

Kristen was still yelling something behind me, but I no longer cared. All I wanted was to get away from that mess as fast as I could.

As soon as I stepped out of the venue, it was as though a massive weight had finally been lifted off my shoulders, and I felt lighter than I could put into words.

Maybe today's engagement party had been the universe's way of telling me that Kristen and I were not right for each other, and that I needed to cut my losses before it was too late.

At that thought, my grip on the steering wheel tightened.