Despite Alex’s clear intention to leave, Andrew’s voice boomed across the room, cutting through any chance of escape.
“Hey, Nao!” he called with theatrical enthusiasm. “How wonderful to have everyone together like this! Since Alex is engaged, we simply must throw him a proper bachelor party tonight to celebrate! You don’t mind if I steal him away for the evening, do you?”
Naosa’s eyes widened in surprise before her face softened into a radiant smile.
“How thoughtful of you! It’s heartwarming to see such devoted friends celebrating our engagement.”
Her hand moved to rest over her heart, the diamond on her finger catching the light.
She turned to Alex, her voice tender.
“Please don’t worry about me—enjoy yourself with your friends.”
With that, she departed alongside Jill.
Bound by obligation and social expectation, Alex reluctantly followed the group.
Miguel, already sensing trouble, quietly slipped away and went home.
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Andrew led the others to an upscale night lounge—dim, loud, and drenched in neon light.
Music pulsed through the floor as servers weaved through the crowd with trays of drinks and laughter rippled around them.
Someone draped a Groom-to-be sash over Alex’s shoulders.
In the blur of noise and flashing lights, a few playful strangers posed beside him for a photo.
Cameras flashed, capturing a moment that meant nothing to him—but would mean everything to someone else later.
But as the laughter swelled, Alex felt only distance.
This kind of night had once thrilled him; now it felt empty.
He thought of Naosa—of the quiet steadiness in her smile—and suddenly the whole place felt unbearably shallow.
Finally, he stood, his voice cutting through the music.
“I’ve had enough. I’m going home.”
Without another word, he left.
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The following morning ushered in the seminar’s second day, filled with presentations—including both Alex’s and Miguel’s talks.
After Alex’s presentation, two women intercepted his path—colleagues from his former institute in Africa.
Their faces were familiar, but their tone was anything but friendly.
“Alex! Tell me it’s not true. You’re not actually engaged, are you?”
Alex’s response was clipped and defensive. “Yes. It’s absolutely true.”
“Have you lost your mind?” the second woman snapped, her voice rising. “Emily was deeply invested in you. She spoke constantly about marriage—and now you’re engaged to some stranger?”
The first woman added fuel to the fire. “You’ve just been recommended for the new institute project. Emily was ecstatic—she believed you were finally coming back to us.”
Her companion’s voice turned accusatory. “Why did you decline? Was it because of this girl?”
Alex opened his mouth but no words came—he couldn’t form a coherent defense.
He couldn’t admit the truth—not here, not to them, not like this.
Naosa, who had been within earshot, quietly slipped away from the confrontation.
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Her heart pounded as she reached the preparation room.
Those women had terrified her—sharp, confident, angry.
But beyond the fear was something worse: doubt.
Someone else had once dreamed of marrying Alex.
Someone he might still care for.
She barely noticed Andrew approach.
“Hey,” he said casually. “Thanks for being such a good sport about last night.”
“It looked like you all had a wonderful time,” Naosa replied politely. “Thank you for organizing it.”
“Oh, we absolutely did.” Andrew grinned. “Alex had the best time of all. Actually—let me show you.”
He produced his phone.
On the screen glowed a photo: Alex laughing, surrounded by glamorous women, a few leaning close for the camera.
To anyone who didn’t know the truth, it looked intimate—almost incriminating.
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Naosa stared at it for a heartbeat that seemed to stretch into eternity.
“I see,” she said quietly. “It certainly looks… entertaining.”
She gathered her things with trembling hands.
“I should go. Goodbye.”
She fled the room.
Jill and Miguel passed her in the corridor, catching a glimpse of her tear-bright eyes just before she broke into a run for the exit.
Jill hurried after her. “Nao! Wait—what’s wrong?”
Naosa stopped abruptly, then broke into tears.
“Alex doesn’t love me,” she cried. “We’ve only been engaged a month, and he’s already looking for someone else. He even promised to marry another woman—before me…”
Jill rubbed her back gently, trying to soothe her, though none of it made much sense.
Moments later, Alex appeared, breathless.
Naosa tore the ring from her finger and thrust it toward him.
“Our engagement is over.”
Then she turned and fled again.
Jill looked helplessly at Alex’s stunned face before following her.
The ring burned in his palm.
Miguel arrived just then, arms full of files. “What on earth just happened?”
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Jill eventually found Naosa in a small park near the venue.
She sat with her on a bench, waiting as the sobs quieted.
Jill’s phone rang—Sally.
“Everything okay over there?” came her cheerful voice.
“The talks went fine,” Jill answered carefully. “But Nao’s… not.”
“I’m coming,” Sally said, and hung up.
A short while later, Sally joined them.
“She’s calmer now,” Jill murmured.
Naosa recounted the events—the confrontation, the photograph, the fear that Alex had deceived her.
As she spoke, tears welled again.
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Jill listened thoughtfully. “That conversation with the women—it must’ve been about something years ago, before you met him. I’ve never heard anything about another relationship since I joined Saint Clarion.”
Sally nodded. “People make casual promises all the time—‘If we’re both single at thirty, let’s marry.’ It’s meaningless. Don’t take it literally.”
“But the photo,” Naosa whispered, her voice breaking. “He was laughing, and they were leaning on him—”
Jill sighed. “It was probably staged. That’s how bachelor parties go—outdated, childish, but harmless.”
Naosa shook her head, tears spilling again. “Then why would he let them touch him?”
──────────
Sally’s patience snapped.
“Stop acting like a child! You’re engaged, you love each other—and you’re ready to destroy it all over one photo? If that’s all your love amounts to, maybe you should end it!”
Naosa stared, stunned into silence.
After a long pause, she whispered, “Should I… apologize to him?”
Sally’s eyes gleamed coldly.
“Apologize? No. Make him regret ever hurting you.”
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