“Well, okay then,” he says, taking my bag from me and hooking it over his shoulder. “Zac is already at the dinner table. We didn’t want to start without you.”
“I’m sorry.”
“It’s alright. You’re home now.” He brushes his lips against mine, then takes my hand in his as we walk inside together.
As the night wears on, I sit through dinner and a movie with my family, smiling and laughing in all the right places. But beneath it all, something tightens and coils in my stomach—something that, if I let myself dwell on it for too long, could consume me entirely.
All the while, I find myself watching Adrian a little more closely, studying him in the small, quiet moments when he’s not looking, hoping that whatever I learn on Saturday won’t shatter the beautiful life we’ve built together.
Chapter 11
Kaden
The food court pulses with restless energy, alive with voices and motion from people going about their daily lives. Young families gather around tables, their children laughing or bickering as parents struggle to keep them in line. Couples share meals, smiling and talking softly among themselves, while solo diners sit contentedly in their own company.
Then there’s me. The outsider. The one who doesn’t belong. I sit among them, on the verge of doing something that will tear one of their lives apart, about to deliver what may become the most devastating news they will ever receive.
The long drive here was excruciating to say the least. The whole time I was wound tight with nervous tension, unsure if what I was about to do was the right thing or not. More than once, I considered turning the car around and forgetting this ever existed. But the seed of doubt has already been planted in Hope’s mind, and backing out now would only be cruel and damaging.
So I decided to push through—for Hope. Because she deserves the truth. She deserves the chance at a better life, an honest future… whether that’s with Adrian or without him.
I check my watch for the third time. It’s now a quarter past twelve. She still hasn’t arrived, and part of me expected as much. She’s probably just as nervous, just as anxious, and just like me, has likely tried to talk herself out of coming here more than once.
She never did text to say she was on her way, like she promised. In fact, I haven’t heard from her at all since the night she messaged me out of the blue. I wasn’t even sure if today was still happening. I drove the full two hours not knowing whether she’d show up at all.
But I was prepared to take that risk.
Would I be disappointed if she didn’t show? Yes, of course. But at the same time, I understand. I’m a complete stranger, someone she’s never met in her life, who appeared out of nowhere claiming to have important information about her husband, something she’d been entirely unaware of.
Even thinking about it sounds crazy. Suspicious, at the very least. And truthfully, if I received a random message like that from myself, I wouldn’t trust it either.
I lean back on my chair and continue to survey the place while I wait. I’m definitely a long way from the city. The town itself is quite small, and not at all what I had expected.
The infrastructure feels completely outdated, as though I’ve stepped back into the late eighties or early nineties. I can’t help but wonder when it last saw a proper upgrade. Eventhe drive in made it clear the place was in need of a facelift. The buildings are old and worn, and there’s litter and graffiti clinging to every corner of the street. If I’m being honest, I would’ve never pictured Adrian and his family to settle in a place like this.
It’s half past twelve now, and I’m certain she isn’t coming. I consider calling or texting her when a figure suddenly appears before me. My gaze is lowered, so the first thing I notice are her black leather ankle boots.
Slowly, my eyes travel upward, taking in the long beige coat wrapped snugly around her curvy frame, and then her hair. Long. Silky. Red. The colour even more vibrant in person.
Her pale blue eyes lock onto my chartreuse green ones, and I’m nearly undone by their striking beauty, like shards of glacial ice, sharp and otherworldly—so angel-like. I’ve never seen such a stunning shade of blue like that up close, and it’s impossible not to feel hypnotised by them.
For a brief moment, we both stand rigid, staring and blinking nervously at one another. Her gaze dips for a split second, catching on the tattoos on my neck, before snapping back to meet mine. Then she clears her throat.
“I’m gonna go out on a limb here and assume you’re Kaden.”
“That’s me—Kaden Grant,” I confirm, lifting my hand in offering.
She glances at my outstretched hand as though it’s lathered in poison, then pointedly ignores it, turning instead to unbutton her coat.
“Look, I don’t have much time to waste. I’m supposed to be at my son’s soccer game, but I asked Adrian to take him instead and told him I had an important errand to run. I lied to my family to be here, so I hope you don’t make me regret it,” she says, her tone clipped as she slides into the chair opposite me.
I take the seat across from her, unable to look away, afraid that the moment I do, she’ll try and take off.
“I won’t take up too much of your time. I just wanted to tell you what I know about your husband, what I believe you deserve to know, and to show you this.” I lift the manila folder resting on the table, thick with evidence of her husband’s affair.
She fixes her gaze on the folder, her eyes narrowing slightly, as though she’s trying to see through the cardboard and into what’s hidden inside.
“Okay. So, tell me, Mr. Grant, what do you know that I don’t?”
