Chapter 2 - THE HUSBAND WHO CALLED IT DISLOYALTY
Daniel didn't speak to me during the elevator ride to our penthouse.
He stood with his arms crossed, staring at his phone.
I watched our reflections in the mirrored walls.
His tuxedo was immaculate again. Someone had straightened his collar before we left.
I wondered whether Elise had done it.
When the elevator opened into our apartment, Daniel finally turned.
“Have you lost your mind?”
I set my clutch on the entry table.
“Good evening to you, too.”
“Don't be sarcastic.”
“Then don't speak to me like an employee.”
His eyes narrowed.
“Do you know what Hart is trying to do to my company?”
“No.”
“Exactly. You know nothing about the situation.”
I slipped off my heels.
“Then perhaps you should have explained it before leaving me alone at your gala.”
He laughed without humor.
“I had a confidential meeting.”
“With Elise?”
“Yes.”
“Outside the ballroom?”
“Yes.”
“For forty minutes?”
He hesitated.
“Business takes time.”
I looked at him.
“So does a marriage.”
For a moment, something like surprise crossed his face.
Then he shook his head.
“You're being dramatic.”
There it was again.
The phrase he used whenever my feelings interfered with his convenience.
I walked toward the bedroom.
Daniel followed.
“Claire, I am in the middle of a major negotiation. Hart has been circling Mercer Logistics for months. Tonight you gave him exactly what he wanted.”
“What did he want?”
“To embarrass me.”
I turned.
“Did he ask you to leave your wife standing alone?”
Daniel stared.
“That's not the point.”
“Then what is?”
“The point is loyalty.”
I looked at the man I had married.
Eight years ago, he had carried gift baskets across a church basement because he wanted to spend another hour talking to me.
Now he stood in a million-dollar apartment explaining that accepting a dance invitation was a betrayal.
“Loyalty isn't obedience, Daniel.”
His jaw tightened.
“You wouldn't understand the pressure I'm under.”
“Because you never tell me.”
He looked away.
I waited.
Finally, he said, “Elise understands the industry.”
The sentence was small.
Almost casual.
But it landed harder than anything else he'd said.
I nodded.
“Then perhaps Elise should have worn the emerald dress.”
Daniel's expression changed.
“Don't start.”
“I'm not starting anything.”
I opened the closet.
“I'm going to sleep in the guest room.”
He watched me take a blanket.
“Over a dance?”
I stopped at the doorway.
“No, Daniel.”
I looked back.
“Over the fact that you noticed another man holding my hand before you noticed I'd been lonely for years.”
I closed the guest-room door.
For the first time in our marriage, I locked it.
The next morning, there was a message on my phone.
Not from Daniel.
From an unfamiliar number.
Mrs. Mercer, this is Julian Hart. I apologize if our dance caused you difficulty. If you ever wish to discuss the Harbor Children's Initiative, my foundation would welcome the conversation. No obligation.
I read the message twice.
May you like
Then set the phone down.
I didn't know it yet, but the invitation would lead me toward a truth Daniel had spent eighteen months hiding.
