At dinner, my brother sneered, ‘still single, huh? must be lonely being a failure.’ my parents chuckled – so i smiled and said, ‘funny coming from a guy whose rent i’ve paid for 3 years. not anymore, by the way.’

Then I put everything on one USB drive.

At the wedding, Connor looked polished, confident, almost untouchable.

My mother placed me at a table near the back, practically behind a pillar.

I smiled and took my seat.

Then Connor gave his speech.

He thanked Richard Barlo. He thanked my parents. He thanked his bride.

And then he thanked me.

The applause rose while he looked at me with that tiny victorious smile.

Behind him, the projector began showing photos from his life.

One slide appeared.

A software project.

My software project.

Labeled as his.

I reached into my jacket and closed my hand around the USB drive.

Then I stood.

I walked toward the AV table while Connor was still smiling.

The technician looked up as I placed the drive beside his laptop.

“Switch to this,” I said quietly. “Updated presentation.”

He hesitated.

Then his hand moved toward the computer.