Chapter 3

The main hall of the convention center was a sea of expensive suits and polite, ambitious chatter. Glass chandeliers hung from the ceiling, casting a brilliant light over the mingling tech giants, venture capitalists, and journalists. It was a world I once knew, but now I observed it from a distance, an outsider with an insider's knowledge.

I stood near a display for a new quantum computing startup, nursing a glass of water. I wore a simple, tailored black pantsuit. It was a uniform of quiet power, a stark contrast to the memory of the white wedding dress.

Then I saw them.

David and Bethany were across the room, holding court. David looked every bit the successful CEO, charming and confident. Bethany was on his arm, draped in a glittering designer gown, her smile practiced and perfect. They were the king and queen of this technological kingdom, and they looked untouchable.

Our eyes met.

For a split second, David' s smile faltered. Recognition flickered in his eyes, followed by confusion, then a flash of something else-annoyance. Bethany followed his gaze, and her perfectly made-up face tightened. The mask slipped, revealing the raw jealousy and resentment I knew so well.

They started moving toward me, a deliberate, predatory advance. The crowd parted for them.

Bethany reached me first. She arranged her face into a mask of sorrowful surprise, her eyes welling with crocodile tears.

"Amelia? Oh my god, is that really you?" Her voice was a loud whisper, designed to draw the attention of those nearby. "I can't believe it. We looked for you everywhere."

She reached out as if to hug me, a gesture of fake intimacy.

I took a small step back, just enough to make her reach fall short.

"Hello, Bethany," I said. My voice was calm, level.

The small rejection threw her off. Her eyes hardened for a moment before the mask of concern snapped back into place. "We were so worried. When you just... ran away... David was devastated. We all were." She was playing to the audience, painting me as the unstable, cruel one.

I didn't respond. I just looked at her, my silence a more powerful weapon than any words. I watched the practiced act, the trembling lip, the carefully placed hand on her heart. It was a masterful performance. It was also pathetic.

David arrived, placing a proprietary hand on Bethany's shoulder. He looked me up and down, a dismissive, appraising glance.

"Amelia," he said, his tone dripping with condescension. "I have to admit, I'm surprised to see you here. This is a rather exclusive event." The implication was clear: You don't belong here anymore.

He continued, his voice rising slightly so more people could hear. "After what you did, disappearing like that, leaving me at the altar... It was unforgivable. It took Bethany years to help me recover from the public humiliation you caused."

He was twisting the knife, turning my strategic retreat into a personal failing. He was publicly shaming me, reinforcing the lie they had built their marriage on.

People were staring now. Whispers rippled through the nearby crowd.

"Is that her? The one who ran out on him?"

"She looks... different."

"What is she even doing here? So embarrassing."

I felt the weight of their stares, their judgment. In my past life, this would have shattered me. I would have flushed with shame, stammered a defense, and fled.

Now, I felt nothing but a cold, clear focus. They were doing exactly what I expected them to do. They were handing me the ammunition I needed.

"You publicly humiliated me," David repeated, his voice firm, righteous. "You left me and my family to face the world alone, branding me as a man who couldn't even keep his own fiancée. You are the architect of your own disgrace."

He leaned in slightly, his voice dropping to a harsh whisper only I could hear. "You are nothing, Amelia. A ghost. You should have stayed gone."