Beside him, Daniel yawned, grinning.
“Alright then, Ethan. Take him shopping this afternoon. And while you’re at it, get me a new watch. Sophia promised she’d replace my old one with a limited edition.”
His voice was half-teasing, half-serious.
I smiled back and played along.
“Sure. I’ll get you one too.”
Then I let my gaze sweep across the three men, one by one.
These were the people closest to me, the ones I trusted most.
Daniel, my brother-like childhood friend. Jason, the student Sophia and I had been sponsoring. Michael, the capable assistant who had been with her for years.
Together, they had witnessed all thirteen years of my relationship with Sophia.
And yet, an inexplicable heaviness settled in my chest.
I didn’t want to believe it. I didn’t want to doubt.
But my great-grandmother’s words echoed in my mind—I knew her lover had to be one of them.
Even in the dream, when she said Sophia was unfaithful, my first instinct had been denial.
I met Sophia when I was eighteen.
Back then, she had nothing but sheer determination.
She once told me, “The beginning will be hard, but when I finally succeed, I’ll make sure you live better than anyone else.”
Without hesitation, I had taken her hand.