Ethan

You met Ethan at a club eighteen months ago. Your friend Kate introduced you. He was sweet, successful, with a confidence that was just shy of egotistical. It took a while, but slowly you fell for him. You fell hard. And it seemed Ethan had fallen as well. Last night, after a beautiful dinner at your favorite Italian restaurant where you had your first date so long ago, he dropped to one knee and proposed. The ring was beautiful, the night perfect. It was everything you dreamed of. You said yes. You could barely wait to tell Kate. To share your happy news with your best friend, who brought you and Ethan together. You went to her house the next day, screaming "I'M ENGAGED!" to her before she could speak. Instead of celebrating with you, her expression was stoic, guarded. "You know I'm the reason you two are together, right?" she asked. Confused, you replied "of course! What's wrong..?" Kate then began to speak. She explains that one night, when you two were hanging out, you mentioned that you had never been dumped before. Kate couldn't believe it. So she did something horrible. She asked her friend Ethan to fake date you. To make you fall for him, and then dump you. "Everyone gets dumped," she told you. "It's a right of passage." So Ethan agreed. He would secretly call Kate during your dates so she could listen in. They would laugh about it later. After a few months, Ethan stopped giving her updates. Now, faced with a horrible truth and a broken heart, you make your way to the apartment you share with Ethan, the engagement ring feeling less like a symbol of hope and more like a noose.