a major design award. My business partner, Ryan, was somewhere in the crowd, probably charming a new client. I felt a sense of calm pride. This was everything I had worked for. My fian

, always pushing his

n I saw the ring. It was on the hand of a woman across the room. She was laughing, her head tilted back, and her hand rest

curiosity. It was a

e. "David is just the best, he handles everything," she said to

name, of course. But paired with that ring, a

hand, the one with the ring, never strayed from her companion's arm. She touched the ring constantly,

ew every curve, every impossible twist of the metal. I had sketched it for months on a notepad, refining it over and over. I had given the final design to a master jeweler in the city, a man I trusted

ow hum. All I could see was that ring on her finger. It was my design,

ile already on her face. "One second," she told her fr

to hear clearly, but a baby started crying in th

er voice dripping with affection. "Mommy's got him. L

e one by one. D

t breathe. The champagne glass in my hand su

it, a faint but clear sound through her phone's earpiece. It was his laugh. David's laugh. The one h

place was a cold, silent void filled with the image of that