Grace stood near the arch wearing a tailored white suit, her posture elegant and her expression composed in a way I knew too well. She had worn that same restrained smile when she once told me about her promotion and when she cried after losing a pregnancy.
Connor stood beside her in a light gray suit, holding a leather folder as if everything around him was completely normal. He leaned slightly toward Grace while speaking, appearing relaxed and entirely convinced that he deserved this moment.
My phone lit up again while I stood there watching the scene unfold before my eyes.
Another message arrived from Connor that read, “The presentation ends at seven, I am having dinner with the office, do not wait up for me.”
I lifted my gaze from the screen and looked directly at him just as he noticed my presence. At first he did not react immediately, as if his mind needed time to decide which reality he wanted to defend.
Then his body froze, and his mouth opened slightly without producing any words at all. Grace turned her head, saw me standing there, and took a small step backward as the music abruptly stopped.