I laughed until the laughter cracked into sobs, and the sobs cracked into screaming, and the screaming echoed through the empty apartment until it became the only sound left in my life.
Then Odette's message came through. A wedding design mockup. And her words underneath.
"Louisa, see this?"
"Everything you begged for and never got? I get it handed to me."
"Justin told me, you know. When he left the Simmons family for you, you two started from nothing. You didn't even have a real wedding. That's just... so sad."
She sent a laughing voice message.
"What a shame."
"You spent seven years by his side, built everything from the ground up, turned him into the great Mr. Simmons. And now that life is finally good..."
"It's all about to be mine."
"Hahaha."
Then she sent a video.
In the video.
Justin was down on one knee, stars pooling in his eyes, his face written over with devotion.
"Odie."
"You said you wanted a rock."
"But I figured even the biggest diamond wouldn't be good enough for you."
"So," he opened the jewelry box, and the pink diamond caught the light so fiercely I felt my heart clench, "I won this ring at auction. I'm hoping you'll say yes."
The proposal setup was gorgeous. Romantic.