I helped my best friend get a job, and she took the man I planned to marry

People always tell me to be careful who you help.

I wish someone had told me that three years ago.

I'm Mai, but everyone at work calls me Mia.

I was dating my boyfriend for almost four years.

He owned a busy nail salon in Westminster, and I worked there full-time. We talked about getting married all the time. We were even looking at engagement rings online.

When one of our technicians suddenly quit, the salon became chaos.

We desperately needed another experienced nail tech.

That's when I thought of my close friend, Jenny.

We'd known each other for years.

She was having a hard time finding a stable salon, so I told my boyfriend she was talented and trustworthy.

I convinced him to hire her.

He didn't even interview anyone else.

At first, everything felt perfect.

Jenny thanked me almost every day.

She told everyone I had changed her life.

We worked side by side.

We had lunch together.

Sometimes all three of us even stayed late cleaning the salon.

Then little things started changing.

Jenny started texting my boyfriend after work.

She said it was about customers.

Then inventory.

Then scheduling.

Soon they were laughing about jokes I didn't understand.

If I asked what was so funny, they'd simply say, Nothing.

One evening I walked back into the salon because I'd forgotten my wallet.

The lights were already off.

I heard voices in the break room.

When I opened the door, they jumped apart so quickly it didn't even look natural.

Jenny smiled.

My boyfriend looked nervous.

They both insisted they were only discussing next week's schedule.

I wanted to believe them.

So I did.

A month later, my boyfriend told me he needed some space.

He said work was becoming stressful.

He said we argued too much.

None of it made sense.

Three weeks after we broke up, Jenny resigned.

She told everyone she'd found a better opportunity.

About two months later, one of my former coworkers sent me a photo.

Jenny and my ex-boyfriend were having dinner together.

Not as friends.

They were holding hands.

I just stared at my phone.

The man I thought I'd marry...

And the friend I personally brought into our salon...

Had started a relationship.

Neither of them ever admitted when it really began.

Maybe it started after we broke up.

Maybe it didn't.

I'll probably never know.

The hardest part wasn't losing my boyfriend.

It was realizing the only reason they ever met... was because of me.

If I had never recommended Jenny for that job, our lives might have turned out completely differently.