Then as ForestFern23—How wonderful <3 Congrats!

There were more accounts I could have commented from, but I suddenly felt exhausted.

I got off the bed.

Time for that bath.

I made it as lush as I could today. All the soap bubbles and oils and fancy salts. I needed all the pampering I could get. My oldest friend was getting married, and here I was, in a ridiculous old hotel, getting my behind spanked once a month by a man whose face I have never even seen.

I looked through the replies from my various accounts as I waited for the tub to fill. They didn’t sound too much like they came from the same person, but I doubt she analyzed all her fan responses anyway.

She’d added another picture to the post, because I didn’t notice a third one as I swiped between her face and the ring the first time around. It was a typical couples’ selfie. He had his arms wrapped around her while she had her phone pointed at a mirror.

It took a moment for me to recognize who it was. I stopped breathing.

My phone slipped through my fingers and clattered down on the marble countertop.

It couldn’t be.

There was no way.

But I’d recognize Spencer anywhere. I’d pick him out in a crowd of a thousand people. I’d find him with my eyes closed. I knew his silhouette, his shadow, I knew every part of him there was to know.

And this was definitely, certainly him.

I picked up my phone and looked at the screen again. I was never wrong. After so many years, there he was. No mistaking that it was him. The floor felt like it was tilting up. Like I couldn’t maintain my grip on the slippery tile.

So how was the man who shattered every inch of my soul suddenly wrapped around the best friend I didn’t speak to anymore?

I was sitting on the floor of the bathroom. I don’t know how I ended up there. It hurt to breathe. I couldn’t even move. How could they do this? To me? How could they do this to me?

I tried to take a deep breath and calm down. I needed to center myself. I tried counting to five. It was impossible. It felt like a knife was twisting in my side. Or in my back.

I can’t believe this is happening. Kaavi can’t marry Spencer.

SPENCER

Interview Transcript: Matthew Spencer (abbrev. MS)

Date: January 25, 2020

Location: The Mount Lavinia Hotel