Part 8/11:
Months later, as life regained its simplicity and joy, a shock arrived. Melissa and Ethan sent him an invitation to their engagement—a gesture that epitomized her audacity. The note, stamped with insincerity, claimed “no hard feelings,” but the narrator saw through her façade. Burning the invitation in his backyard fire, he reflected on her failure to apologize, her inability to feel remorse, and her relentless pursuit of superficial appearances.