CASSANDRA'S POV~
I felt like I was watching a train wreck in slow motion. The whispers, the pity, the disappointment, it was all directed at me. My colleagues, their bags in hand, began to shuffle out the door, and it was like a punch to the gut. Before I knew it, I was running towards my uncle, snatching the microphone from him.
My voice trembled as I begged the remaining guests to stay. "Please, don't leave. There must be some kind of mistake."
It was all falling apart, piece by piece. The embarrassment, the shame, the sense of failure was overwhelming.
My face flushed with heat, my hands trembling as I held onto the microphone like a lifeline. The murmurs grew louder, speculation swirling around the room like a vulture circling its prey. I could feel their judgmental eyes on me, a
