Since dating Jake, Courtney always felt like she was never alone. She was always with her parents, Jake's parents, or Jake. She didn't have time for herself anymore. She didn't have time to think.

However, this week was different. She was left alone in the apartment. Jake started spending more time working at his parents' law firm to the point where she would barely see him. She supposed she could spend more time working at her parents' law firm, but she didn't want to spend any more time with them than necessary.

Being left alone meant she could process her relationship with Jake. Did she really want to marry him? Sure, she had said yes because of her parents, but it didn't mean that she had to go through with the marriage.

She bit the bottom of her lip. But what happens if I don't go through with it?

She would have to pay off her loans by herself. But she knows many people her age who have bigger debts than her and are still going to graduate school. The government was pretty forgiving. She could pay it off over time.

She thought about how heartbroken Jake would be. He didn't deserve that.

Jake always displayed his vulnerability to Courtney. He would always show her how much she meant to him. That he couldn't live without her.

No, she didn't think that not feeling sparks counted as a valid reason to break someone's heart.

If she was honest with herself, the real reason that she was going through with this engagement is that she didn't want to be single and alone. She didn't want to go out there and bring down her walls for a new guy only to have him smash her heart. For all she knew, she could get cheated on or not be trustworthy enough.

No, she was better off staying in this safe, stable relationship.

Courtney sat patiently in her living room waiting for Ashley to pick her up. It was finally time to go wedding dress shopping.

In Courtney's opinion, it was a bit too early to do this, especially since she didn't plan on having the wedding until after law school. Still, it was a nice gesture from Jake and who was she to complain.

The bell rang. She stood up to go answer it. There stood Ashley, who was fidgeting.

"Hey," Ashley said with a nervous smile on her face. "Where's Jake?"

Courtney shrugged. He left before she woke up, and when she came downstairs, she saw that her mother was there cooking her breakfast. She asked her mother if she wanted to come wedding dress shopping, but she just laughed.

Ashley let out a sigh of relief. Then, she turned around and said, "Okay, you can come out. It's safe."

Courtney gave Ashley a strange look but gasped once she saw Bridgette peeping out from behind the pillar. She rang up to Bridgette and squeezed her tight. She couldn't remember the last time she saw Bridgette. Her life had been a whirlwind once she started spending more time with Jake after graduation.

Courtney finally pulled back. "What are you doing here?"

"Did you really think I'd let you plan your wedding without me," Bridgette replied with a smirk.

Courtney let out a wide grin. "Of course not." She looked down at her wristwatch. "We better go. Our appointment is soon." She started walking away.

Bridgette picked up the purse that Courtney left on the floor. "Wait, Court! You forgot your-" Somehow, Bridgette had managed to trip on flat ground, which made Courtney's items sprawl everywhere.

Once Bridgette recovered, she quickly started putting the items back into the purse. "I'm so sorry. I know that I'm such a-"

Courtney gasped and grabbed her purse and the item in Bridgette's hand. "We should go," she said softly. She then walked away into Ashley's car.

Bridgette stayed on the ground for a moment in shock. Pills. The item in Bridgette's hand was pills.

She finally dusted herself and stood up. She looked over at Ashley. "Did you see-"

Ashley shushed her before looking into her car. Good, Courtney's distracted on her phone. She turned towards Bridgette. "It's for depression and anxiety," she whispered. "She started taking it after Duncan... Well, you know..."

Bridgette's eyes widened. Ashley patted her on her shoulder. "Come on," said Ashley. "You know how Courtney hates to wait."

While Ashley walked away, Bridgette quickly whipped out her phone and sent a text to Geoff. Then, she ran towards the car wondering what other surprises were in store for her.

Meanwhile, Duncan was hanging out with Geoff in Geoff's living room area. Duncan looked around. Something feels different...

"Did you paint the walls," asked Duncan.

Geoff let out a smile. "Yes," he said excitedly. "Well, I mean, not me, but Bridge did. I tried to help, but she got mad when I accidentally painted the ceiling..."

Duncan looked up and saw three big blue circles on the ceiling. Smart girl.

"You know," continued Geoff. "You don't have to only visit when Bridge's not home."

Duncan choked on the water he was drinking. I'm that obvious, huh? "I don't do that," he replied in between coughs.

"Dude," said Geoff in disbelief. "I haven't seen the two of you in the same room since you and Courtney broke up."

"Yeah, with good reason," Duncan said while rubbing his cheek. The last time he tried to visit Geoff when he was with Bridgette, Bridgette slapped him across his face. Hard. He got the message.

"Oh, come on," Geoff said with a pout. "It's been years. She's not mad at you anymore."

Duncan raised his eyebrow. "Really?"

"Positive." Geoff felt his phone vibrate. He looked down to see a message from Bridgette that said, "I'm going to kill Duncan." Geoff's smile disappeared.

"What," asked Duncan noticing Geoff's sudden change.

"N-n-nothing," Geoff stuttered out while shoving his phone back into his pocket. He'd deal with that problem later. "So Courtney's engaged!"

Duncan kept a stoic face. "Yeah, I know. You texted that to me. Good for her."

"Really? That's all you have to say?"

"Yeah. Why?"

Geoff shrugged. "No reason."

Courtney checked in at the front desk while Ashley and Bridgette relaxed with their glass of champagne. She drummed her fingers against the counter nervously. The worker gave Courtney an apologetic smile.

"I apologize," the worker said. "These things are slow and ancient."

Courtney nodded in understanding. She wasn't in a rush anyway.

"By the way, I like your engagement ring. It's so big! Lucky that you have a guy, who cares so much about you."

Courtney gave the worker a tight smile. "Yup. Lucky me."

Once Courtney was finally checked in, it didn't take long for a sales representative to greet the girls. She held a garment bag in her hand.

"Ladies," the representative said. "I have the dress that the bride specifically asked for. We just need to do a fitting, and we're all set!"

Courtney's eyes widened in shock. She heard a crash. She looked down to see that she dropped her champagne glass. "I'm sorry about that," Courtney said softly.

The representative waved their hand. "Don't worry about it. It happens more often than you think! Come in the back when you're ready."

Ashley and Bridgette looked over at a frozen Courtney.

"Didn't Jake make the reservation," asked Ashley.

Courtney nodded her head.

"Did you tell him what kind of dress you wanted," asked Bridgette.

Courtney shook her head.

Bridgette stood up. "I'm telling that sales rep that this is a mistake."

"No," Courtney suddenly screamed out. Her friends looked at her in shock. She cleared her throat before speaking again. "I mean, let's not do anything rash. Maybe there's a reason why he picked this dress." She then walked to the back.

"Yeah," Bridgette said with a scoff. "To control her."

Ashley nodded before drinking straight from the champagne bottle.

A few minutes later, Courtney came out in a poofy dress that covered her whole body. Besides her face and her hands, none of her skin showed.

Courtney observed herself in the mirror. It was nothing like she imagined her wedding dress would like. Why did he like this one?

"It's...," Ashley started.

"It's all lace," said an angry Bridgette. "Courtney, you hate lace."

Courtney shrugged. "Maybe he likes lace."

Bridgette rolled her eyes. "You do know it's your wedding too."

Courtney blinked at Bridgette. "Of course, I know that!"

"Then, why are you letting him make the decision on your dress?"

Courtney shook her head. "You don't understand our relationship." She went back to change.

Bridgette's eyebrows furrowed in worry. What the hell just happened?

By the time Bridgette stormed into her apartment, DJ had joined Duncan and Geoff, and they were playing video games. Geoff heard the door slam shut and quickly stood up to warn Bridgette before she went into the living room.

"Hey, babe," he said nervously. "How was the wedding dress-"

Bridgette let out a scream, which made Geoff wince. Once she was quiet again, he asked, "Was that a good scream or a bad scream?"

She glared at him.

"Do you want to talk about it," he asked while guiding her to the kitchen. "Like here, in the kitchen and not in the living room."

She stood still. "Geoff, what's in the living room?"

"What," he asked while sweating nervously. "Why would you think there's something in the living room?"

Bridgette rolled her eyes before walking towards the living room.

"Wait, babe," he yelled. "There's something-"

It was too late. She already noticed him.

"Wait, don't kill him," Geoff yelled as he ran into the room.

DJ and Duncan looked at both of them in shock.

"Dude," Duncan said. "I thought you said she didn't hate me anymore!"

Geoff let out a nervous laugh. "Remember that text I got? She may have said she wanted to kill you."

"What?!"

"I'm not going to kill him," Bridgette said to Geoff. "Turns out, this guy is worse than Duncan." She looked over at Duncan. "Congrats."

Duncan rolled his eyes but stayed silent.

"He picked out her wedding dress, babe," shouted Bridgette. "And it was lace."

Geoff blinked at her confused. "What's wrong with lace?"

"Princess hates it," Duncan replied casually.

Bridgette looked at him in shock. She didn't think that Duncan cared enough about Courtney to remember anything about her. "The point is he picked out a wedding dress for her, and when I told her she didn't have to choose what he picked, she looked at me like I was crazy."

"So what should we do," asked Geoff.

Bridgette let out a deep breath. "I don't know," she admitted. "If I tell it to her straight, she'll just deny it. Maybe I can convince her to dump him?"

DJ shook his head. "We've been trying that since they first dated."

"Which was," Duncan asked curiously.

"Five months, I think...," DJ answered.

"She got engaged to someone she only dated for five months," Duncan asked in disbelief.

Bridgette ignored Duncan. "I guess I'll do the only thing I can do. Be there for her." She walked out of the living room feeling dejected.

Duncan looked at his friends. "Okay, seriously, this guy sounds like a tool."

Geoff raised his eyebrow. "What happened to 'good for her'?"

"It is good that she's engaged. It just should be with someone who deserves her."

"Like you," asked DJ.

Duncan shook his head. "Definitely not."

Ashley sat in her apartment by herself. She never liked Courtney together with Jake, but she never said anything because Courtney looked so happy. Now that she knew the effect that he had on her, she knew she couldn't just stand by and watch the wedding happen.

She sent a quick text to Courtney before falling asleep. It read, "I can't be at your wedding. Sorry."