My life was going great. I was so joyful, it almost didn’t feel real—it was too good to be true. I had a loving boyfriend, a supportive friend, and a bright future ahead of me.
But one evening, it all came crashing down.
I lost everything because of a few photos of me that I had never seen.
I was lounging on the couch at my best friend Mary’s place, sipping wine and laughing about the latest office gossip. Mary, a wedding photographer, sat across from me, scrolling through some of her recent shoots.
Her apartment was cozy, filled with framed photos from weddings she had captured.
She worked with love stories every day, which made me admire her even more, given that she didn’t have a relationship of her own.
“Look at this couple,” she said, turning her laptop screen toward me. “They look so in love, don’t they?”
I leaned in, studying the photo.
It was a beautiful shot—sunset in the background, the bride’s veil flowing in the breeze, and the groom smiling warmly at his new wife.
But something didn’t sit right. I squinted at the picture, noticing a faint line between the bride and groom, as if they weren’t really standing together.
“What’s up with this line?” I asked, pointing to the subtle seam between the two figures.
Mary shrugged casually.
“Oh, that? Sometimes I merge two different photos together.
It’s a trick I use. People pay extra for it. Sometimes the bride and groom don’t have a good shot together, or maybe the bride likes her smile in one photo, but the groom looks better in another.
So I just merge them. It’s harmless, and it looks real.”
I blinked, taken aback. “It looks too real.
I can’t even tell it’s edited. I never would’ve guessed they weren’t standing together.”
Mary’s expression darkened for just a second, her eyes almost guarded, but then she gave a little laugh.
“Yeah, I’ve gotten pretty good at it. It’s just a skill you develop over time.”
I felt a twinge of sympathy for Mary.
Here she was, spending all her time making other people’s love stories look perfect, yet she didn’t have anyone in her own life.
She put on a strong front, but I could sense her loneliness underneath. I wanted to cheer her up, so I quickly changed the subject.
“Speaking of love, I think Max is going to propose soon,” I said, my voice softening with excitement.
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