She was smiling and happy and positively glowing as she spoke.

“Hi, everyone! I’ve been getting bombarded with messages congratulating me on my engagement, and I’m so very thankful.”

She pressed her palms together in front of her. Just the right amount of tradition for her Sri Lankan audience, as always.

“But so many of you had questions about Spencer, my fiancé”—she dragged out the word like it was two syllables longer than it was— “that I thought I would make a quick video. First off, many of you have asked if this is an arranged marriage.”

She gave a little giggle at this.

“No, my lovelies, this was not arranged by my parents at all. Spencer and I have known each other for a very long time. Years and years, in fact. First as friends, and then I guess we grew into our love for each other.”

I knocked over the glass of water that was sitting on the desk next to me. Of course they knew each other for years and years. It was normal, wasn’t it, for someone to get to know their best friend’s boyfriend? The three of us were practically inseparable while we were in college. And they grew into their love? What does that even mean? This was a relationship, not a pair of shoes that Sri Lankan parents buy their children—three sizes too big so they would fit them for longer.

I wanted to turn it off. Turn it off and throw my laptop out the window.

“Spencer has been quite the supporter of my charity, and this is what really allowed us to get to know each other and build a relationship based on our shared values.”

She interspersed this bit with images of her and Spencer meeting with the girls from Pink Sapphires. There was a picture of him handing over one of those silly oversize checks, and one with both of their arms around three girls. My head felt like it was about to burst.

I remember when I first met Spencer. How he had been so different from the immature, idiotic teenagers I had dated back in Sri Lanka. He used to pick me up from my classes with giant bouquets of roses. He was so proud of me. Wanted to show me off. We didn’t have to be quiet or discreet like I had to be at home.

“The big question, of course, was why I had never mentioned Spence before. And I know, I know, it was all very sneaky of me. I hope none of you will hold it against me, because I really do love sharing my journey with you. It’s just that Spence is really quite shy and doesn’t like the limelight at all, so he asked me if I could please give him some space and not put too many details up on social media. It was something I struggled with at first, because as you lovelies know, I have no filter.”

She gave a hearty laugh, but I continued to feel dizzy. There are many words that I could have used to describe Spencer, but shy was definitely not one of them. Spencer was confident. He always knew what he wanted. Unapologetically so. It was what drew me to him in the first place. Unless he’s changed. Of course he must have changed. Five years is a long time, after all. Long enough to forget everything that happened in the past and happily move on with your best friend.