“We started dating our freshmen year of university, and we were pretty inseparable. I had my plan—mark at the top of my class to get into a good law school. She was taking English lit and wanted to be a teacher. The two of us were from posh upper-class families and I don’t want to sound cocky or conceited when I say this, but we were sort of known around campus as the it couple.”

“You? Come off as cocky? Never.” Kenzie smiles.

The bit of humor in her tone relaxes me further and I press on. “Audrey was the first girl I ever loved, and I fell hard. Things between us were easy. We didn’t really ever disagree on anything, and for the most part, we were completely compatible. So… in December of our final year at university, I decided to propose to her. I thought it was the perfect time of year for such an event.”

Kenzie’s mouth falls open, but she recovers quickly, picking up her pint and taking a sip.

“It was extravagant. I was so excited that I wanted everyone in our lives there to bear witness to our joyous event. And I mean everyone—my parents, some of the family members I’m closest with, all our friends, her parents. I got everyone together under the guise of it being a graduation dinner for us. Reserved a spot at the poshest restaurant in London, asked my mother if I could have my grandmother’s ring to propose with, and got ready for the big day.”

As though she can sense this is the part of the story where things take a turn, she takes my hand that rests beside the glass.

“My plan was to take her onto the dance floor, and in the middle of our song, I’d get down on my knee and propose. Which I did… except instead of being met with the excitement I expected, she pulled her hand away and stepped back.” My stomach sinks and turns over as I picture the expression on her face in that moment and my dawning horror that my proposal wasn’t going as planned. “Everyone was watching, knowing that was the moment I was going to pop the question. Instead of applause, there was a sort of collective gasp. Audrey started crying, and when I looked around, everyone had their phones out, filming. I remember thinking how they were all going to have a record of the worst moment of my life in their pockets when they left that night.”

Kenzie squeezes my hand, drawing me from my thoughts. “I’m so sorry, Andrew. That must have been incredibly difficult.”