My heart felt like it was about to burst. Like I couldn’t breathe. I pinched the inner part of my arm, hard, relishing the feeling of my nails digging into my skin.

I took a deep breath and counted to five.

I locked my phone, unlocked it again. Closed the email, opened it again. Read through it many, many times. There was a file attached—an image of a wedding invitation. It was rose gold and delicate and perfect, just like I was sure the wedding would be.

There really was only one person I could speak to, and I was silly not to think about this sooner.

Beth, you there?

She didn’t always reply immediately. She worked the night shift at a call center, so she kept an odd schedule. But thankfully, I didn’t have to wait too long until my phone buzzed back.

Hi babe, yes, I’m here. You okay?

I breathed out in relief. Where would I even begin?

No

At least I could be honest.

What’s going on?

I took a deep breath.

Remember my friend Kaavi? The one . . .

How would I even begin to describe that friendship?

The one I’m not friends with anymore?

Yeah, the one who made you skip your reunion.

Well, it’s not like Kaavi made me skip anything. I’d checked and double-checked that she wasn’t going when I first signed up. I mean, she lived in Sri Lanka. Why would she make it all the way to California just to attend a college reunion? Her name wasn’t on the list when I checked two weeks before the date. And so I’d RSVP’d that I was attending. Figured I would fly up to the Bay Area a day earlier. Maybe rent a car and take a drive to Napa. I’d always wanted to go wine tasting there, but it seemed like something you’d want to do with a group of your girlfriends, and I just couldn’t imagine spending an entire weekend getting drunk with Jessica, Imogen, and Deepa, I was finally feeling confident enough to book a wine tour for one. I was finally feeling confident.

But then I’d logged on to Facebook and noticed that Kaavi had checked into the first-class lounge at Bandaranaike International Airport, and was en route to SFO. I guess she’d changed her mind after all.

And so I’d unpacked my bags and ordered my body weight in Chinese food that sat congealing in the takeout boxes because I couldn’t bring myself to eat more than a few bites.

Beth knew all about that. It was around the time we met.

Yeah. Well, she’s getting married. To my ex.

There was a pause while I watched the dancing dots on my screen that showed me she was typing something.

No way.

That was it? It felt like she was typing a lot more. But, well, I guess I wouldn’t really know what to say to someone in my position either.

Yeah. I just can’t believe it. I never even knew they were together. She knew us as a couple as well. Hell, the three of us were really close.

I’m so sorry, babe. I can’t believe she would do that to you.