Chapter 4
The next morning, Tristan was already in the kitchen.
He was making eggs.
For a moment, he looked exactly like the husband I had known for seven years.
He even remembered how I liked my coffee.
“I owe you for yesterday,” he said, placing a small velvet box beside my plate.
I opened it.
A diamond necklace.
“It's from Paris,” he said. “I saw it and thought of you.”
I touched the necklace.
Last week, he had been in London with Sloane.
And apparently, he had still remembered to buy me a gift.
I smiled.
“Thank you.”
Relief softened his face.
He thought I still believed him.
“Let me make it up to you tonight,” he said. “Six o'clock. Our restaurant.”
“Okay.”
He kissed my forehead before leaving.
For the first time since the airport, I wondered if he might actually come home tonight.
Maybe this time he would keep his promise.
Maybe our marriage still meant enough for him to show up.
Belika had emailed me a draft divorce petition that afternoon. I read the first page twice and left it unsigned.
At five thirty, my phone lit up.
Tristan: I'm finishing up. I'll come get you soon.
I stared at the message.
At 5:47, Tristan called.
“I may be a little late,” he said.
“Why?”
There was a pause.
“It’s Sloane.”
I said nothing.
“Her boyfriend left her a few weeks ago, and then she lost the baby,” he continued. “She’s not doing well.”
My fingers tightened around the phone.
“So you’re staying with her?”
“Just until she settles down.”
I looked at the clock.
“You promised.”
“I know.”
His voice softened.
“I'll make it up to you.”
I didn't answer.
Then I heard another sound through the phone.
A woman's voice.
“Tristan?”
He immediately lowered his voice.
“Give me a minute.”
Silence.
He had forgotten to hang up.
I heard him walk away.
Then Sloane spoke again.
“Are you really going to leave me here alone?”
Tristan didn't answer immediately.
That silence told me everything.
“You said you'd stay with me,” she whispered.
“I know.”
“What about tonight?”
Another pause.
Then he said quietly:
“I'll stay.”
My fingers went cold.
The anniversary he had missed the night before.
The dinner he had promised to make up to me that morning.
And when Sloane asked him to stay, he had chosen her anyway.
I ended the call without saying another word.
At six o'clock, my phone vibrated again.
Tristan: I'm sorry. Something urgent came up. We have to postpone dinner.
I looked at the necklace around my neck, then took it off.
Upstairs, I set it beside Belika's unsigned draft petition.
I didn't sign it.
Not yet.