Adrian’s champagne glass froze halfway to his mouth. He knew my face, my real name, the name that was not on the tag I had just pressed to my dress. Across the room, Priya followed his stare, still glowing, still certain, not yet understanding that the calm new coworker she had confided in all week was the wife she did not know existed. I walked toward them slowly, the thin folder in my clutch, my heels steady on the marble floor of the Drake Hotel, while the soft jazz kept playing as if nothing in the world were about to end.
I stopped in front of the both of them, under the glowing P&A Capital Partners logo built with the savings from my marriage, and I smiled the same smile I had worn for two days straight. “Congratulations on the launch,” I said. Then I turned to Priya. “And on the engagement.” She thanked me automatically, confused, glancing between me and Adrian, sensing something wrong in the way he had gone gray. That was when I opened the folder and set the first page on the cocktail table between us, and the whole beautiful evening began, very quietly, to come apart.
STORY CONTINUES HERE… ⬇️ ⬇️ ⬇️
