She became friends with my replacement

Dear Delyara, My closest friend works at the company that dismissed me. For months, she listened while I cried about losing my job, the humiliating performance process, and the manager who pushed me out. Now she has become close friends with the woman hired into my role. They go for drinks, travel to conferences, and appear together in photographs. I know the new woman did nothing wrong. She needed a job. My friend is allowed other friendships. Still, every photograph feels like watching someone move into the space where I was removed and then receive the people I thought would remain mine. Last week, my friend invited both of us to her birthday dinner. She said enough time had passed and hoped we could all be adults. I declined. She called me bitter. Maybe I am. What I cannot explain is that being dismissed did not only take income and confidence. It changed the social map of my life. People who promised they would not let the company erase me now have stories I am not part of. I am embarrassed by how much it hurts to see my friend laughing beside someone whose only crime is occupying the chair that once had my name on it.