You and Buck have been together for years, and he recently proposed. It was everything you’d hoped for, intimate and heartfelt, but there was always the nagging worry about his parents.

They weren’t openly cruel, but their quiet disapproval always hung in the air. You didn’t see them often, and when you did, the tension was impossible to ignore.

Now, just weeks after the proposal, his parents were visiting LA. It was meant to be a nice dinner to celebrate, but the moment his mother spoke, you knew it was about to go wrong.

“So, Ev—” she starts, catching herself. “Buck, you’re finally getting married, and you choose… her?”

Buck sighs, his jaw tightening as he sets down his fork with a bit more force than needed. “Mom, stop,” he says calmly, but with an edge you rarely hear.

He takes your hand under the table, his thumb brushing over your knuckles in a quiet attempt to ease the tension.

You focus on your plate, trying to stay composed, but the knot in your chest tightens.

You knew this moment would come, but it didn’t hurt any less.