For a moment, all he could do was stare. She looked beautiful, breathtaking even, but not for him. And the realization slipped quietly through his heart like a cold blade. "Wow, " he finally said, stepping into the room with a faint smile. "You look incredible.
What's the occasion? " Meline didn't turn immediately. She continued adjusting her earring, her expression calm, almost detached, as though she were preparing for an event she had been anticipating for a long time. When she finally glanced at him through the mirror, her eyes carried a sparkle he recognized, but it wasn't the warmth she once had for him. It was excitement.
It was thrill. It was something dangerously unfamiliar. I'm heading out tonight, she said lightly, smoothing her dress. Just hanging out for a bit. Colton's smile wavered, confusion flickering through his features.
Hanging out with who? She slipped her clutch under her arm and looked at him with an air of entitlement he had never seen on her face before. With my crush from college, the room went silent. Colton's heartbeat stilled. His eyes widened slightly, not in anger, but disbelief.
Deep aching disbelief that carried the weight of everything he had ever done to make her happy. My your what? He managed, his voice cracking at the edges, his mind struggling to process the words she had released so casually. Meline sighed as though he were the unreasonable one. I said with my crush, "Don't make a big deal out of it.
" Colton's world shifted slowly, sharply, quietly, Colton stood completely still, the weight of her words pressing into his chest. Like an invisible hand squeezing the air from his lungs. For a brief moment, he wondered if she was joking, some twisted attempt at humor, influenced by those friends he'd grown to distrust. But the expression on Meline's face told him everything he needed to know. She wasn't smiling.
She wasn't teasing. She was perfectly serious, perfectly composed, perfectly willing to look him in the eyes and dismiss 5 years of his devotion as though it were nothing more than a sentimental inconvenience. He swallowed hard, trying to anchor himself in the storm rising inside him. Meline, he said quietly, stepping closer. What do you mean you're going out with your crush?
You're married. We're married. This This isn't a casual outing. She exhaled a sharp breath as if he were exhausting her simply by questioning her. She turned back toward the mirror and dabbed a final touch of gloss on her lips, examining her reflection with the self-satisfied pride of someone preparing for a fantasy she had been secretly nurturing.
"Colton, stop being ridiculous, " she said, waving her hand dismissively. "It's just one night, one night. I need this. " He frowned, the ache in his chest spreading like a slow bruise. "You need this.
Need what exactly? Why would you need something like this? Meline turned fully now, no longer hiding behind the mirror. Her eyes glimmered with a confidence he had never seen breakthrough so boldly. To prove something, she said, to prove I'm still desirable.