Give Me Back My Oxygen

When the boarding announcement echoed through the airport lounge, I habitually opened my social app to scroll through. A pinned hot post immediately caught my eye, the title glaring—"The simp ditched his fiancee for me, who the hell gets it?" I recognized the profile picture right away; it belonged to my best friend of ten years, Sarah Cruise. My heart sank, and my fingers trembled as I clicked open the post. The post was full of bragging, every line describing how the "simp" obeyed her every whim, even cancelling a pre-wedding trip with his fiancee just to go abroad with her. She'd even attached a photo of them holding hands. The limited-edition watch on the guy's wrist was the birthday gift I'd given my fiance, Eli Wayne, just last month. It turned out that the "simp" she was talking about was my fiance, Eli Wayne. My mind went completely blank, and the noise around me suddenly faded away. I've been engaged to Eli for three years, and the wedding is just a month away. I thought our love was unbreakable. But I never imagined that what I treasured most was just a trophy to my best friend. Dragging my suitcase as I boarded, my steps felt unsteady, like I was about to float away. As soon as I found my seat, I saw Sarah leaning against Eli, their heads close together whispering secrets, so intimate it stabbed at my heart. When Eli saw me, a flicker of panic flashed in his eyes before he forced a calm greeting: "Holly, you're here." Sarah lifted her head and shot me a smug, challenging smile. I said nothing, quietly sitting in the seat diagonally behind them. After the plane took off, Sarah deliberately pulled out her phone and zoomed in on a photo to show Eli. I happened to catch a glimpse—it was a picture of them kissing atop a snowy mountain, with the snow and sky in the background exactly matching the place Eli said he was on a "solo business trip" last year. I stood up and walked over to Eli, my voice icy cold: "What's this?" Eli frowned and pulled me toward the airplane's connecting cabin: "Holly, don't get the wrong idea. Sarah's too outgoing—she's just used to being close to others." His explanation was full of holes, but he said it so confidently like it was totally justified. I stared at his hypocritical face, feeling my heart sink bit by bit. So the three years of feelings between us were, to him, just something he could brush off casually. Back at my seat, I pulled out my phone and messaged my old friend Seward Perez back home: "I'm on the flight to Country D, landing at 10 a.m. Please arrange for a car to pick me up." Seward was my childhood playmate who later went abroad to study; now he's the CEO of the Seward Group. He replied quickly: "Alright, I'll come pick you up in person."