Chapter 5: Public Humiliation

A friend messaged about a get-together today, asked if I wanted to come.

After three days shut in at home, I was nearly suffocating from all the negativity.

I thought, maybe it’d be good to get out for a bit.

But I didn’t expect—

at the gathering, he actually brought his new girlfriend, and even warned me to my face.

"Natalie, what’s between us is over."

"Aubrey isn’t like you—she’s innocent and sensitive. Don’t pull your boss moves on her, Natalie. Aubrey’s not like you."

I set my wine glass down on the table.

Truly, what a farce.

The restaurant was buzzing with after-work chatter, glasses clinking and laughter echoing off exposed brick. But at our table, time seemed to freeze. Derek’s words landed like a slap in the face, each one sharper than the last. Aubrey sat beside him, head down and hands folded neatly in her lap, the picture of meekness. The wine tasted sour on my tongue. I caught my reflection in the window—a mask of calm over simmering humiliation. It hit me then: this was the closing act in a play I never auditioned for, and everyone else already knew the lines.