And one hand rested on a clear pregnancy bump.
Mercy nearly stumbled.
She locked herself in the restroom and broke down silently. Her lipstick was still perfect. Her red dress still looked beautiful. But the woman in the mirror looked like someone dressed for a celebration who had accidentally walked into the end of her life.
By the time the plane landed, something inside her had gone cold and calm.
She followed the pregnant woman through the terminal. The woman did not go to baggage claim. She went toward the crew corridor.
Moments later, Daniel appeared.
His face lit up when he saw her.
He walked straight to her, placed a hand on her waist, and kissed her.
That was the moment Mercy stopped bargaining with reality.
She stepped forward and tapped his shoulder.
When Daniel turned, all the color drained from his face.
“Happy anniversary,” Mercy said.
“Mercy? What are you doing here?”
“I came to surprise you,” she answered. “Looks like I’m the one who got surprised.”
The other woman stared between them, then said casually, “So this is the wife you’re about to divorce? Did you give her the papers yet?”
Mercy felt the final piece of her marriage collapse.
Daniel had not only cheated.
He had already planned the ending.
The woman’s name was Emily, and she knew everything. She knew Mercy existed. She knew Daniel was waiting until after the anniversary to make himself look less cruel.
Daniel tried to explain, but Mercy raised her hand.
“No. You don’t get to explain only because I caught you.”
Then she removed her wedding ring, placed it in his palm, and closed his fingers around it.
“Don’t come home,” she said. “Send the divorce papers. Text me where you want your things shipped.”
Then she looked at Emily.
“Congratulations,” Mercy said quietly. “You can have him without hiding anymore.”
And she walked away.
PART 3
Mercy flew home alone that night.
At first, she felt nothing but emptiness. But when she entered the house after midnight and smelled Daniel’s cologne still lingering in the air, she finally broke.
She stood in the kitchen, still wearing the red dress, and cried until she could barely breathe.
The next morning, she woke with swollen eyes and a decision to make.
She could let Daniel’s betrayal turn her life into a shrine of pain.