No Need to See You Again

I've been in a five-year secret relationship with Shawn Lowell. For so long, everyone thinks we're rivals who hate each other's guts.

At a bachelorette party hosted by a mutual friend, the bride-to-be orders every guy who is still single to wear eye masks. After that, every single woman has to walk one lap in front of them.

This is so that the men can pick up on the women's perfumes. If they find a perfume they like the most, they can embrace the woman instantly and become a couple for the day.

I walk very slowly in front of the men on purpose. In fact, I even stop in front of Shawn for half a second.

But as soon as Shawn takes off his eye mask, he finds himself hugging Alyssa Sutton, his childhood sweetheart and first love.

"Wow! You really are amazing, Mr. Lowell! You actually recognized Alyssa from all those fragrances and hugged her on the spot! Even God thinks you two are a match made in heaven!"

Alyssa's eyes slightly redden, whereas Shawn looks down at her with a doting smile playing on his lips. Both of them refuse to let go of each other.

As I stand a short distance away, I just smile at the scene.

Last night, Shawn was still kissing the scar on my chest in bed while telling me that he wanted to marry me.

How is it that he's forgotten his promise in just the blink of an eye?

Jocelyn's POV

Someone from the crowd teased, "Shawn, it's like heaven's smiling on you two, letting you and Alyssa be a couple for the day to make up for the lost time."

Another chimed in, "Exactly. Shawn has everything going for him, yet we haven't heard a word about his love life in years. It really makes you wonder if he's been hung up on someone this whole time."

The crowd's eyes darted back and forth between my secret boyfriend, Shawn Lowell, and his childhood sweetheart, Alyssa Sutton, their expressions heavy with implication.

Alyssa's ears flushed pink under everyone's gaze. She gave Shawn a playful shove, but he just stood there with a faint smile on his lips, neither confirming nor denying anything.

He played it off. "That's enough, guys. It's all in the past."

Then, as if to justify himself, he added, "I couldn't really catch anyone else's scent. I chose Alyssa because of her jasmine scent. It's the same one she wore back in school. Besides, if I'd grabbed the wrong woman by mistake, it would've been mortifying for her. I've still got a shred of decency left."

The room erupted in whistles and laughter, the suggestion hanging in the air.

I laughed along, easy and practiced, though my jaw ached from holding the smile.

I couldn't put a name to what I was feeling. It was a suffocating mix of bitterness and a sharp, aching tightness.

Before we left this morning, we had used the same bottle of