My Rival, My Temptation - Chapter 1: Chapter 1

Katherine’s POV
“Happy birthday, dear Katherine…”
I smiled as my best friend Leah sang, along with everyone else in the restaurant. Laughter filled the room, grounding me in the moment, and I was grateful for it because it reminded me that no matter what life threw at me—breakups, disappointments, or unexpected curveballs—I was alive, and I had my best friend.
“Blow out the candles, Kat! Make a wish!” Leah nudged my arm, pulling me from my thoughts.
I hesitated for a second before closing my eyes. There were plenty of things I could wish for, but one stood out. Something I hadn’t felt in a long time.
Happiness.
I blew out the candles, and cheers erupted around me.
“Nice one!” Leah grinned.
“Thanks.” I reached for my wine glass, determined to have a great time tonight. Tonight was about moving forward, leaving all the heartache behind. New year, new me, right?
But as I lifted the glass to my lips, my phone buzzed on the table. A single ring—like someone had started to call and then thought better of it.
I glanced down. Mom.
That was strange. She knew I was out. No message followed, just silence.
“Everything okay?” Leah asked.
“Yeah,” I said automatically, pushing away the unease curling in my stomach.
Then, just as I turned back to the conversation, I saw him.
Noah.
I froze, wine glass halfway to my mouth. My heart should’ve skipped, should’ve clenched the way it used to. But all I felt was irritation.
He stood near the entrance, shifting his weight from one foot to the other like he wasn’t sure if he should approach. And that’s when I saw it. A small ivory envelope peeking out of his jacket pocket.
The kind of envelope people sent for weddings.
My stomach dropped.
Leah followed my gaze, her expression darkening. “Are you serious?”
As if hearing her, Noah finally moved. His hands were shoved into his pockets, and the usual easy confidence he carried was nowhere to be seen.
“Kitty,” he said, stopping beside our table.
I exhaled sharply, already tired of whatever this was. “It’s Katherine to you now, Noah. What are you doing here?”
“I just—” He hesitated. “I needed to say something.”
Leah leaned back in her chair, arms crossed. “It’s her birthday. Maybe this could’ve waited?”
“I know.” He sighed. “I swear I’m not here to ruin anything. I just…I wanted to say I’m sorry.”
I blinked. That was not what I expected.
“For everything,” he continued. “For the way things ended. For hurting you.”
I should’ve felt something—relief, closure, after all, I’d been expecting to crash out when I’d caught him cheating on me but had surprisingly accepted my fate and dumped him. Instead, all I could think about was that stupid envelope in his pocket.
“I don’t need your apology,” I said flatly.
His jaw tightened. “I just thought you should hear it from me.”
“Hear what from you?”
Noah hesitated again, then pulled the envelope from his pocket and set it on the table.
“I’m getting married.”
Shock was an understatement.
I stared at the envelope, refusing to touch it.
“You showed up at my birthday dinner,” I said slowly, “to tell me you’re getting married?”
“I thought you deserved to know.”
A hollow laugh escaped me. “Noah, I haven’t thought about you in months. You didn’t need to come here.”
Something flickered across his face—guilt, maybe. “I just… I wanted to do the right thing.”
Well, if there was a hidden camera somewhere filming this, I'm sure they'd be having a laugh at how my day had turned out.
I pushed the envelope back toward him,resisting the urge to cuss him out and cause a scene. “Well, you didn’t.”
He looked like he wanted to argue, but instead, he just nodded. “Right. I’ll go.”
The moment the restaurant door swung shut behind him, the tension in my body snapped, leaving nothing but simmering anger.
Leah exhaled dramatically. “Wow. That was a choice.”
I scoffed, grabbing my wine. “Unbelievable.”
“At least now you know what he’s doing with his life.” She lifted her glass. “To dodging bullets.”
I let out a breath and clinked mine against hers. “To dodging bullets.”
Just as I was about to joke about needing another drink, my phone rang again.
Mom.
The unease from earlier returned full force.
I excused myself and answered. “Mom? Is everything okay?”
A long pause. Then, her voice, strained. “Katherine, you need to come home. Now.”
My stomach twisted. “What’s going on?”
“We’ll explain when you get here. Just come.”
She hung up.
I grabbed my purse, my heart pounding as I hurried out. Leah and the others called after me, confused, but I couldn’t stop to explain.
By the time I pulled into my parents’ driveway, dread curled deep in my chest. The house was dark except for the living room light. No TV playing, no familiar hum of my mother moving around the kitchen. Just silence.
I stepped inside. “Mom? Dad?”
Then I heard them. Low voices from the living room.
I rounded the corner and stopped short.
My parents sat across from each other, a mess of papers spread between them. My dad’s head was in his hands. My mom looked pale, devastated.
She lifted her head as I walked in. “You’re home.”
“What’s going on?” I asked, my voice wary.
My dad sighed heavily. “Kat…there’s no easy way to say this.” He gestured to the papers. “We’re in trouble. Financial trouble.”
My stomach dropped.
“We’ve been trying to fix it for months,” he continued. “But there’s no way out this time.” He swallowed hard. “The business is collapsing.”
I shook my head. “What do you mean, collapsing?”
His exhale was sharp, like it hurt to say the words out loud.
“We’re bankrupt.”
The word hit like a physical blow.