I Signed Away My First Love, Then Married Someone Else Chapter 03

I Signed Away My First Love, Then Married Someone Else Chapter 03

Messages kept flooding the chat.

I left the group. My phone went silent at once.

Then a private message popped up.

It was a dropped pin from Lauren.

“Private party tomorrow night. Want to come?”

The message was from my college friend, Lauren Bennett.

She’d moved back to New York less than six months earlier.

Three months ago, I’d planned to invite her out for drinks.

I wanted to ask her to be my bridesmaid.

Then everything fell apart. Ethan and I broke up, and I never got the chance.

I was about to type, “No, thanks.”

Then she sent another message.

“I heard things have been rough lately. Come out and clear your head.”

Things have been rough.

I’d heard some version of that far too often lately.

Everyone in our circle thought my life had fallen apart.

As if losing Ethan should have left me in unbearable pain.

I stared at the message for three seconds, then decided one last night out before I left couldn’t hurt.

“What time?”

“Eight. I sent the address. Give them my name when you get there.”

Around eight the next evening, I headed over.

I called an Uber.

The party occupied the top floor of a members-only club in Midtown.

When the elevator doors opened, warm light and low jazz spilled inside.

The room was full, though quieter than I’d expected.

Guests stood in small groups beside the floor-to-ceiling windows, drinks in hand.

I scanned the room but didn’t see Lauren.

I’d just pulled out my phone to ask where she was when a voice sounded behind me.

“Claire? What are you doing here?”

I turned around.

Grant stood a few feet away, drink in hand, staring at me as if he’d seen a ghost.

Nate’s face changed too.

“I knew that agreement wasn’t worth the paper it was printed on.”

They closed in, one on either side of me.

Grant lowered his voice.

“What the hell is wrong with you?”

“This is Ethan’s wedding welcome party. Did you come here on purpose?”

His wedding welcome party.

I froze for a moment.

I honestly had no idea.

I looked down and scrolled through my messages.

Beneath the address, Lauren had written only, “Give them my name when you get there.” She hadn’t said a word about whose party it was.

“I didn’t know,” I said.

“You didn’t know?” Grant seized my arm. “This party has been all anyone in the group chat has talked about for three days, and you expect me to believe you didn’t know?”

I’d barely opened that chat in the three months since the breakup.

After I signed the agreement and the messages became unbearable, I left it for good.

“Fine. Now you do.” Grant pointed toward the elevator. “Leave before Ethan sees you.”

Nate backed him up.

“You can still get out before Maddie comes downstairs. Otherwise, you’ll cause another scene.”

“She’s wearing Mom’s constellation-beaded couture gown tonight. Try not to lose it when you see her.”

I snapped my head toward Grant. “You gave her the dress Mom left to me?”

Grant looked away.

“Ethan asked for it. Maddie wanted to wear it tonight, and you never have anywhere to wear it anyway.”

“Mom left that dress to me.”

“Mom has been gone for years. What were you going to do, let it rot in a closet?”

He turned back to me, irritation sharpening his voice. “She’ll give it back after tonight. Stop being so petty.”

“Besides, if you hadn’t come back, Mom would’ve left it to Maddie anyway.”

Nate tugged at his arm. “Enough.”

“Am I wrong?” Grant shook him off. “Why are you still here? Everyone’s watching. Make a scene and the only person you’ll humiliate is yourself.”

A humorless laugh slipped out as I unclenched my fist.

“I wasn’t planning to make a scene.”

“When have you ever shown up anywhere without causing one?” Grant raised his voice.

“Did you forget getting drunk, crashing their engagement party, smashing a glass, and climbing onto the roof to threaten to jump? Why do you think Ethan moved up the wedding?”

Of course I remembered.

That afternoon, Ethan and I had fought because he’d blown off our anniversary to watch the sunset with Madeline.

I hadn’t turned on my phone in three days.

When I finally did, my screen was filled with photos from the engagement party.

No one had told me.

My father pretended he knew nothing. Grant said nothing. Nate said nothing.

Everyone had gone.

Everyone had kept it from me.