Victory in Obscurity

rs hung from the ceiling, casting a brilliant light over the mingling tech giants, venture capitalists, and journa

ss of water. I wore a simple, tailored black pantsuit. It was a uniform o

I saw

rming and confident. Bethany was on his arm, draped in a glittering designer gown, her smile practice

eyes

usion, then a flash of something else-annoyance. Bethany followed his gaze, and her perfectly ma

a deliberate, predatory advan

er face into a mask of sorrowful surpris

loud whisper, designed to draw the attention of those n

f to hug me, a gestu

ck, just enough to mak

I said. My voice

snapped back into place. "We were so worried. When you just... ran away... David was devast

n any words. I watched the practiced act, the trembling lip, the carefully pl

on Bethany's shoulder. He looked me up a

o admit, I'm surprised to see you here. This is a rather exclusive

ou did, disappearing like that, leaving me at the altar... It was unforgivable.

t into a personal failing. He was publicly shaming me,

w. Whispers rippled th

The one who ra

ks... di

en doing here?

my past life, this would have shattered me. I would

ey were doing exactly what I expected them to d

u left me and my family to face the world alone, branding me as a man who co

arsh whisper only I could hear. "You are nothing