Maybe it meant nothing. Maybe Vivian was just relaxing. But Nina already knew this wasn’t a coincidence. Frank had said he had a meeting today. And if he was really with her…
A burning mix of rage and disgust flared in her chest.
She grabbed her car keys. On her way to the hotel, she stopped at a store and bought dark sunglasses and a hat. She braided her hair into a tight low bun. The last thing she needed right now was to be recognized.
She had to see it with her own eyes. Her mind still refused to accept it was real.
It took about an hour to get to the hotel.
She took a seat in the lobby, ordered tea, and pretended she was simply waiting for someone.
Nina thought she’d be sitting there forever, but less than five minutes passed before they appeared.
Frank, in dark slacks and a shirt with the collar unbuttoned, walked slowly and easily, like a man with nothing to hide. There was a calm, satisfied smile on his face.
He looked happy. And that was the worst part. Worse than the pain. Worse than the betrayal. He was happy — without her.
At first, Nina didn’t even notice the boy. Frank was holding the child by the hand, and Nina understood at once. This was his son. There could be no doubt.
She watched Frank bend down to the boy, adjust his hoodie, say something softly, and the child laughed with delight.
That shattered her completely.
Frank placed a hand at Vivian’s waist and looked at her with the tenderness Nina hadn’t seen from him in a long time. Vivian, the traitor, was glowing from within. She wasn’t just a mistress.
She was his woman.
She hadn’t stolen him. She had claimed him long ago.
Nina began to shake.
Vivian. That lying, calculating creature who had wormed her way into Nina’s trust, befriended her, smiled at her, sat at the same table with her.
Why? To make sure Nina suspected nothing? To check how far their plan with Frank had progressed? To size up her rival? God, how sick and twisted it all was.
Nina turned away and clenched the cup of cold tea in her hands, trying to keep her composure.
She wanted to walk up to them and say everything. Expose them. Scream. But she couldn’t allow it. She couldn’t give him that satisfaction. She couldn’t let Vivian enjoy her humiliation.
She watched them leave the lobby. Then she set the cup down on the table and stood up abruptly. Everything inside her was filled with anger, and at the same time she was so fragile she felt ready to burst into tears right there.
No matter what anyone said about there never having been some great love between her and Frank, they had still spent so many years together. They had an adult daughter. Plans. A familiar life. And now? So none of it had ever been real.
Nina walked out of the hotel and got into her car. Nina gripped the steering wheel. Images from the past flashed before her eyes like flashbulbs.
Time stretched unbearably. She stared straight ahead, paralyzed, unable to make herself start the engine.
Suddenly, there was a knock on the window. Nina flinched and turned sharply. A uniformed security guard was standing outside.
She rolled the window down.
“Good evening. Your car isn’t registered in the hotel system. According to the rules, you can only park here for thirty minutes if you’re not a guest.”
Nina blinked. It took a moment for the words to register.
“Yes, of course. I’m leaving now.”
Her voice came out hoarse. She cleared her throat, trying to appear fine, but the guard kept studying her closely.
