On the Day He Proposed, His First Love Returned to Crash the Wedding

My boyfriend, who I’ve known since childhood, just came back to the country. After five years with Zachary, he finally proposed to me. But instead of the proposal ceremony I had been dreaming of, it turned into a welcome party for another girl. She was wearing the diamond ring designed by my favorite designer, which had been stored up at home for over a month. Later, Zachary got down on one knee, begging me to take him back, holding out an even bigger, shinier diamond ring. The guy next to me pulled me close, deliberately stepping on Zachary’s foot, and flaunted his own engagement ring: “Wow, this ring is stunning. My wife designed it herself.”

——

I stood outside the private room, taking a deep breath. I was nervous and excited, thinking this was finally the moment Zachary would propose. But when I opened the door, what I saw wasn’t at all what I expected. Zachary was slouched on the couch, clearly drunk. He usually holds his liquor well, so it was obvious he’d been drinking heavily. I walked over to him, and that’s when he finally noticed me.

“Welcome, Madeline,” one of his friends greeted me.

“You’re here! They made me drink too much,” Zachary said, pulling me into a hug, sounding almost like he was whining. I hugged him back, but the excitement I’d felt earlier was quickly turning into frustration.

We’d been together for five years, and yet Zachary still acted like a kid around me. I couldn’t help but smile at how clingy he was.

“Is this Madeline? I’m Emma,” a soft voice said. I turned and noticed a beautiful, petite girl sitting next to Zachary. Her voice was gentle, her skin flawless, and she was stunning. I didn’t recognize her, but since Zachary always kept a high profile, I figured she should know I was his girlfriend.

“Emma just got back from abroad. This is her welcome party,” Zachary explained, introducing us. I greeted Emma politely, but when I shook her hand, my heart skipped a beat. She was wearing a diamond ring, a limited edition designed by my favorite designer, D. Armstrong. Zachary had taken that ring months ago, and I’d found it in a rarely opened cabinet at our house, thinking he was going to propose.