Ethan stepped forward immediately.
No hesitation.
No guilt.
And the worst part?
No one looked shocked.
Not a single person.
Everyone already knew.
Everyone except me.
I started walking slowly down the aisle between the rows of chairs.
My heels echoed against the stone floor.
Click.
Click.
Click.
A woman dropped her champagne glass.
Someone whispered my name.
Aunt Linda rushed toward me anxiously.
“Claire, please… don’t do this here.”
I didn’t even turn my head toward her.
I kept walking until I reached the altar.
Vanessa tightened her grip around the baby instinctively.
Ethan’s face lost all color.
Suddenly the peach shirt didn’t look polished anymore.
It looked pathetic.
The priest blinked in confusion.
“Ma’am… we were just about to begin—”
I reached for the microphone before Ethan could stop me.
I smiled.
Not because I felt calm.
But because sometimes pride is the only thing holding your body together after your heart has shattered.
“Forgive me, Father,” I said softly, looking first at the priest and then directly at my husband. “I think someone forgot part of the announcement.”
The entire room went silent.
Even the baby stopped crying for a second.
Ethan stepped closer immediately.
“Claire, let’s leave. I can explain everything.”
A bitter laugh escaped me.
“Explain what exactly?” I asked. “That you were attending a client’s son’s baptism? Or that the client is you?”
Vanessa burst into tears instantly.
Not ashamed tears.
Terrified tears.
And that was when I noticed it.
