Vivian recognized the ring before she saw the woman standing beside Cole.
The private dining room was filled with warm light, modest flower arrangements, and people holding their phones toward the man near the windows. Cole wore the navy blazer Vivian had helped him choose. An open ring box rested in his left hand.
Inside it was an oval diamond surrounded by smaller stones.
One side of the band curved slightly beneath the setting. Vivian knew that detail because she had spent an entire afternoon deciding whether she loved it.
She had.
Until Cole told her he had returned it.
Now another woman stood in front of him with both hands pressed over her mouth.
Someone whispered, “She said yes.”
Vivian stopped beside the doorway.
Her friend Rachel, who had invited her to dinner downstairs, touched her elbow.
“Viv?”
But Vivian was already walking.
She crossed the room in her emerald dress, her black curls brushing against her gold earrings. Conversations faltered as she stepped between Cole and the woman he had just proposed to.
“That’s my engagement ring.”
Cole’s smile disappeared.
He drew the box against his chest.
“Don’t make a scene.”
“You said you returned it!”
A guest lowered his phone. Somewhere behind Vivian, a chair scraped across the floor.
Cole glanced at the woman beside him, then back at Vivian.
“Why buy another? She said yes.”
Vivian slapped him.
It happened before she formed another thought. Her right hand struck his left cheek, then dropped immediately.
Cole’s head turned.
The ring stayed in the box.
Nobody spoke.
Vivian stared at her hand, horrified by what she had done.
Then a quiet voice broke the silence.
“Who are you?”
The woman beside Cole was looking directly at her.
Vivian swallowed.
“His former fiancée.”
The woman’s hands lowered.
Cole stepped forward.
“Elise, let me explain.”
But Elise was still watching Vivian.
“How former?”
Vivian answered before Cole could.
“We ended our engagement six weeks ago.”
Elise took a small step backward.
She and Cole had been together for five months.
