My words had barely left my mouth when Bella's trembling voice echoed through the space. "Mark!" Her voice quivered with raw emotion, and her eyes glinted with unshed tears as she gazed at him. "Stay," she whispered. "My friends are all waiting for you. If you leave, they'll mock me endlessly."

I couldn't help but roll my eyes at her dramatics.

It was her fault if her friends mocked her. Ever since she returned from her elopement, she had made me look like the villain before her friends and anyone who cared to listen. She kept telling them that she and Mark were the real deal and that I, who...