Divorce at the Gala

Synopsis

I scrolled mindlessly through Instagram, the blue light from my phone casting shadows across our pristine white leather sofa. The penthouse was quiet except for Madison's occasional laughter drifting from her study. At least someone was happy tonight. William had missed dinner again. The salmon I'd prepared—his favorite—sat wrapped in the refrigerator, untouched. Another business emergency, he'd texted. Too important to reschedule. I paused my scrolling when Victoria Hayes's story appeared. My finger hovered over the screen, a familiar knot forming in my stomach. I shouldn't look. I knew better. Yet I tapped anyway, a moth drawn to the flame that had been burning me for years. The first image showed Central Park bathed in golden afternoon light. The second made my breath catch—William pushing a laughing boy on a swing, his face lit with genuine joy. I'd seen that expression