I’ve never been the girl who had a timeline on her dating life. I’d been with Ian for two years and I knew that we were heading in the marriage direction, but still, time wasn’t an issue for me.

But then, for the past six months, Ian had been dropping hints about an “unforgettable surprise” he had planned for our summer trip to Santorini.

Every time I pressed for details, my boyfriend would just flash a mysterious smile and say, “You’ll see, Ella. Just you wait.”

And Ian wasn’t one to plan surprises properly. He seemed to have let the cat out of the bag easily. There were moments when he would casually browse engagement rings online, leaving the tabs open for me to find.

On one occasion, when we were having a quiet night in, he even asked me what my dream wedding looked like.

“I just want to try and picture what you see when you think about it,” he said.

Naturally, excitement got the better of me. Was this really it? Was Ian finally going to propose to me?

The weeks passed and before I knew it, we were packing for our trip.

“I can’t believe that we’re finally doing this!” Ian exclaimed, as he went into his closet and pulled out more clothes to pack.

“I just can’t wait for the beach and the cocktails,” I replied.

As our plane touched down, I felt a surge of anticipation.

I knew that Ian was planning something and just looking at the sun setting over the Aegean Sea, casting a glow on the whitewashed buildings, this felt like the perfect place.

It would be a perfect proposal.

Little did I know, this trip would turn into a whirlwind of emotions and unexpected revelations about my relationship.

“This place is everything I thought it would be and more,” Ian said, as we strolled hand in hand along the cobbled streets.

And it was. Everything was magical…until the next morning.

Ian and I were just getting ready to go down to the hotel’s breakfast when his phone buzzed with a message. I was starving and just wanted to feed myself, but I watched as my boyfriend’s face lit up as he read the message.

“What’s going on?” I asked, picking up my sunscreen to take along with us.

“Guess what!” he exclaimed excitedly. “Mark’s in Santorini too! He had some last-minute changes to his work trip and decided to come here because he knew that we were on vacation! Isn’t this just great?”

“Your best friend wants to crash our vacation?” I asked, genuinely surprised. “That’s great!”

And at first, I thought that it was. When Ian and I first started dating, Mark was the first person that he introduced me to. So, I knew him well. And I knew how close they were, too.

“Yeah! Isn’t it awesome that he’ll get to share this place with us? We’ll be able to hang out, too,” he said, already texting Mark back, probably giving him the hotel’s details.

I smiled as I put my shoes on. I was happy that Mark was here. It was easy to get along with him and I knew how much he meant to Ian.

I figured that it wouldn’t be such a bad idea to have him here. Ian could do all the water activities with him because that was one thing my phobia wouldn’t allow.

“We’ll still get to have our alone time,” Ian promised. “Don’t you worry about that, Ella.”

When Mark arrived at our hotel, we were both thrilled to see him. Ian ordered room service and bottles of champagne to celebrate him.

“We’ll explore the island together,” Ian said.

It was heartwarming to see the two friends reunited, laughing and sharing stories.

Until it wasn’t.

As the hours passed, I began to feel like a third wheel in my relationship. Ian and Mark were wrapped up in their own world, reminiscing about old times and planning new adventures.

I tried to join in, but their inside jokes and shared experiences over the years often left me out of the loop.

“This is exhausting,” I mumbled to myself as I stood on the balcony of our hotel room, hearing Ian and Mark giggle like teenagers.

The next few days were a blur of Ian and Mark’s bromance adventures.

“What do you mean it’s become a buddy trip?” my friend, Rae, asked on the phone.

“Ian and Mark have been at it nonstop. It’s all about them. They went scuba diving, explored hidden caves, and went on tours. All without me!”

“What are you doing now?” she asked.

“Waiting for a massage,” I replied. “I figured that I may as well entertain myself. This isn’t how I thought my romantic getaway would turn out.”

“Talk to Ian, babe,” Rae said. “Tell him how you feel. He’s probably just overly excited to see Mark, that he has completely lost control of what’s important.”

I nodded to myself.

“Yeah,” I said, agreeing. “I’ll have my massage and calm my nerves and then go find Ian.”

But I couldn’t find Ian or Mark anywhere, although, I knew that Ian would show up eventually because we had dinner reservations for just the two of us that evening.

“I promised you, Ella,” Ian said once he resurfaced. “We’re going to have time for just the two of us, too.”

I dressed up, hoping for this time alone with my boyfriend. If this trip was supposed to be about us, and us forging a new path forward together, then we needed to spend time alone.

But as we were about to leave, Mark showed up at our door.

“Oh, boy,” I muttered under my breath.

“Hey, guys!” he exclaimed excitedly, pushing his way into our room. “I just heard that there’s an amazing beach party happening tonight. I really want to check it out. You have to come!”

My boyfriend’s eyes sparkled.

“That sounds awesome! Come on, Ella, let’s go!”

I took a deep breath, trying to stay calm.

“Ian, we have dinner reservations. But maybe you should go if you really want to. It’s fine. I’ll catch up with you later.”

But Ian wouldn’t hear of it.

“Come on, Ella, it will be fun, babe!”

“I’ll meet you later,” I said firmly.

As I watched them high-fiving each other and planning their night out, something inside me snapped. This was supposed to be our special trip, a milestone in our relationship.

Instead, I felt invisible.

I ordered room service and sat on the large bed.

“This is going to be my life, isn’t it?” I said to the empty room.

And I could see it. Being married to Ian meant that Mark would be around at every corner. He would be there at our wedding, right next to Ian. He would probably come on the honeymoon.

And what if we had kids? Would Mark also be in the delivery room?

No. I needed to put a stop to the nonsense.

The next morning, while they were out on another adventure, I approached the hotel manager with a plan. I explained my situation and, with a little persuasion, convinced him to help me with my unconventional revenge.

“I can’t say that I’ve ever been a part of something like this before, ma’am,” he said.

Later, when Ian and Mark returned to the hotel, they were met by a staff member.

“You’ve been upgraded,” they were told. “We’ve moved your belongings to a different room. Please, follow me.”

I’m sure that they thought that we were moving into a bigger suite, one where the three of us could be together.

But, no. That wasn’t what I had planned.

When they entered the room, it was transformed into a honeymoon suite. Rose petals were scattered everywhere, candles flickered, and a bottle of champagne chilled on the table. In the middle of the bed, was the small velvet box I had found in Ian’s suitcase.

“What’s all this?” Mark asked.

A honeymoon suite | Source: Pexels

A woman at an airport | Source: Unsplash

A smiling young woman | Source: Midjourney

A close-up of a smiling couple | Source: Midjourney