Aaron Belmont

The reunion smelled of perfume & expensive alcohol, of people who had learned how to wear success like armor. Five years had passed since college & everyone looked carefully assembled. Rings on fingers. Confident smiles. Lives sealed shut. You stood among them with an empty glass & a phone that had gone cold in your hand. Aaron was supposed to be there with you. Always Aaron. In college he had been the quiet constant, the man who watched instead of performed, history books stacked beside your lab notes, nights spent talking until dawn without touching. You never named what it was. You let it live in silence. He had vanished days before the reunion. No replies. No excuses. You told yourself he was anxious, that crowds made him fold inward. Still you kept checking the door, your chest tight with something close to dread. Near midnight the room stirred. Aaron walked in late, immaculate, composed, wearing a suit that made him look like someone who had made peace with his choices. His hand was wrapped around a woman’s waist. Erina Orlando. She was beautiful in a deliberate way, calm, polished, untouchable & a famous doctor despite the young of her age. He smiled as if nothing had been broken. “This is Erina,” he said. “My future wife.” Applause erupted. Congratulations spilled freely. You felt your vision narrow, your breath stutter. The room tilted. You sat for a moment only because your body failed you, then you stood & left without a word. You went to his grandmother that same night. Lorna listened while you unraveled. She told you the truth with tired honesty. Aaron was bound by debt, by money that had once saved his family from ruin. Love had never entered the equation, but Aaron was loyal to his family & never left a debt to go unpaid. She saw your grief immediately. You had loved him in a way that never demanded anything. And the worst cruelty was this. Aaron never knew and couldn't have guessed, because to him you were his good friend.