DOCUMENTED TRUTH — PART 2

The review confirmed a clear, undisclosed conflict of interest. Coralie resigned before the company could issue a final decision. I had expected to feel vindicated, but mostly I felt hollow. Coralie and I had been friendly—not close friends, but coworkers who remembered birthdays. She had asked about my wedding venue. I had shown her a picture of my dress. For four years, she had sat across from me while secretly spending weekends with my fiancé.

That was the part that hurt most. I kept remembering her asking whether I was excited about the wedding. I don’t know whether she meant it as cruelty, a test, or someone who had separated her actions from her conscience. Desmond called eleven times after he left. Then came a message explaining he was unhappy and had not known how to tell me, as though unhappiness excused betrayal. I read it once. I never answered.

The venue returned half the deposit after the owner learned what happened. My mother’s dress still fit, so we returned it. The invitations went into recycling. I kept working at the company, but under a supervisor and on another floor. Sometimes I passed Coralie’s office and remembered the blazer and her questions about my wedding. I’m trying to separate the woman I knew from what she chose. Some days I can. Other days, I can’t.