I stood perfectly still because I understood exactly what the scene implied. Suddenly, the phone in my hand buzzed with a reminder I had programmed myself weeks ago.
“Evergreen Excellence Gala. 7:00 p.m. Don’t be late,” the screen read. Tonight was the night Simon would be honored as the Regional Architect of the Year, and it was also the night I intended to reveal my true identity to him.
I should have walked away, but I chose to wait. Betrayal rarely arrives with a crash, but instead appears in tiny details like a zipper or the way someone laughs softer than usual to avoid being caught.
The door opened an inch and stopped. I heard Simon’s voice, sounding low and confident in the way he spoke when he felt in total control.
“She has no idea what’s really going on,” Simon said. A woman replied with something I couldn’t hear, followed by a short laugh that didn’t belong to my husband.
I stepped forward and placed the phone on the receptionist’s desk with a forced smile. “He forgot this,” I told the woman, whose expression tightened with the guilt of someone who knew a secret she didn’t want to hold.