And froze.
I watched the exact second recognition hit him.
Vanessa was touching Ethan’s hand across the table.
Intimate. Familiar.
Daniel inhaled once, deeply.
“That’s my wife,” he said quietly.
I nodded.
For several seconds, he simply stared.
Not angry.
Not yet.
Just devastated.
“I almost didn’t come,” he admitted. “I thought maybe this was some kind of scam.”
“I wish it had been.”
For illustrative purposes only
The waiter approached awkwardly, sensing tension.
Daniel ordered whiskey.
Neat.
A lot of it.
Meanwhile, Ethan and Vanessa continued their fantasy date completely unaware that their spouses sat less than six feet away.
Vanessa laughed softly. “When are you finally going to tell her?”
Ethan exhaled dramatically, like he was the victim in all this.
“Soon. Claire’s emotional. I need to handle it carefully.”
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