My Boyfriend Dumped Me After Showing Me a Photo of Myself That I Had Never Seen Before — Story of the Day

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.

Mary’s eyes widened slightly, and she seemed startled.

“What makes you think that?”

“Well,” I said with a grin, leaning in closer like I was sharing a big secret.

“I accidentally found a ring in his bag while I was cleaning the other day. It was this little velvet box, and when it fell out, I peeked inside. But I put it right back—I didn’t want to ruin the surprise.”

Mary smiled, but there was something off about it, like the smile didn’t quite reach her eyes.

“That’s great, Sarah. Really great,” she said, though her tone lacked enthusiasm.

For a moment, I wondered if I had said something wrong. Maybe Mary felt a little sad hearing about my excitement when she didn’t have someone in her life.

Still, I couldn’t shake the odd look she gave me, as if she was hiding something behind her smile.

I decided not to press her, figuring she was just feeling down about being single. We continued chatting, but a strange sense of unease lingered in the air.