Chapter 101. Velvet Box (1)

Vanessa's POV

I don’t know what was worse—the whispers or the silence.

Everywhere I turned that morning, there were hushed voices, curious glances, and subtle smiles, as though they all knew something I didn’t. As if the whole building was in on a secret.

By noon, I heard it. The rumor.

"Did you hear? Mr. Garcia is going to propose."

"To who?"

"No one knows. But he’s been planning it. The ring is ready."

"How did you know that?"

"I helped Stanley carry a bunch of stuff this morning, and I saw a velvet ring box. Oh my god, it was so dreamy. It had a diamond ring."

My heart didn’t just skip a beat. It stumbled and crashed.

Suddenly, I couldn’t focus. My hands trembled slightly as I tried to hold my coffee, the heat of the mug grounding me—barely. The thought of Andre proposing wasn’t what hurt the most. It was the terrifying idea that I might not be the one he was proposing to.

I didn’t want to be that