UPDATE: I faked a car breakdown because I was too humiliated to admit I couldn’t afford her bachelorette trip

Yesterday the bride and I finally met up for coffee. The second we sat down, she looked at me with genuine sympathy and asked how much the mechanics charged me to fix my transmission. Hearing her sound so worried about a fake repair job broke whatever was left of my ego. So I just confessed. I told her my car was completely fine, that I had $340 to my name, and that I panicked out of pure poverty shame. She stared at me for a second, and then she burst out laughing. Turns out the Scottsdale trip was a total financial headache anyway. Behind the polished Instagram stories, everyone was stressed about money, bickering over splitting bills, and the bride felt guilty the whole weekend. She said she wished she had stayed home too. We sat there for two hours just talking like normal people. It’s crazy how much energy we waste trying to look successful. It feels so good to finally stop hiding my eyes around her.