Simon found me near the entrance and kissed my cheek while telling me I looked beautiful. He smelled like his usual cologne and a faint floral scent that did not belong to our home.
“Big night,” he said with a wide, youthful grin. It was hard to see him so happy in a life I had built for him, knowing that his betrayal had already ended our history.
We sat at a table with his mother and his partner, Arthur. At the adjacent table sat several employees from the firm, including the woman from the conference room.
Her name was Bridgette Vance, a project manager I recognized from old company newsletters. She was composed and professional, and she spent the evening looking everywhere except at me.
Beatrice reached for my hand and told the table how lovely it was that Simon had such a stable home life. I smiled and replied that it must be a great relief for the men, which made Arthur chuckle.
I ate my dinner with perfect manners, feeling my body become insultingly efficient at performing social rituals. Inside, something had stopped pleading for Simon’s love.