Chapter 6

Before I could react, her expression suddenly softened.

Then, almost as if she were talking to herself, she murmured,

"Of course you still look the best. You can pull off anything."

That was when I noticed the earbud in her ear.

Her phone was lit up beside her.

The screen showed her chat with Julian.

She had come to our anniversary dinner.

But the man on her mind was still someone else.

Maybe it had always been like this.

During our eight years of marriage, I'd caught her secretly crying over old photos of Julian more than once.

Back then, I'd assumed she was still angry about the way he'd abandoned her.

Now, though, I realized those tears had probably been because she was heartbroken that they'd ever separated at all.

I let out a quiet, bitter laugh and pushed the menu toward her.

"Order whatever you want."

Evelyn sat up straighter.

Almost out of habit, she checked off two of my favorite dishes.

I froze for a moment.

Then I heard her speaking to the person on the other end of the call.

After listing the dishes, she laughed softly.

"Those are your favorites. How could I forget?"

So even the little things I'd once believed were proof that she loved me had Julian woven through them too.

As soon as the words left her mouth, Evelyn seemed to realize something.

Her eyes darted toward me nervously.

Maybe I'd already been hurt too many times.

Something this small couldn't even stir much emotion anymore.

I pretended I hadn't heard.

I casually picked a few dishes of my own, then handed the menu to the server.

The moment I would be erased was getting closer.

Even though I was starving, I had no appetite left.

And Evelyn spent most of the meal laughing and talking with Julian.

By the time dinner was over, I'd barely touched the food on my plate.

When I finally set down my fork, Evelyn checked the time.

"I should go."

She looked at me.

"I came like I promised. You're going to keep your end of the deal too, right?"

I nodded.

"Of course."

Then I added,

"But before you go, I have an anniversary gift for you."

Evelyn frowned.

"What gift?"

"The truth about Julian."

She froze.

Then suddenly shot to her feet.

For one second, I thought she'd figured something out.

Instead, she cried,

"Julian? What's wrong? What happened?"

She looked down at the call that had suddenly disconnected.

Then she grabbed her things and rushed to leave.

I stepped in front of her.

"Don't you want to know what he..."

"I don't."

Evelyn grabbed me by the collar.

"Marcus, I came here like I promised."

"If you dare do anything to Julian right now, I swear you'll regret it!"

Then she shoved me hard.

I wasn't prepared for it.

I stumbled backward several feet and crashed to the floor.

My body had already become frighteningly light as the system prepared to erase me.

Even Evelyn hadn't expected such a small shove to send me that far.

She froze.

For a second, she stared at her own hand in disbelief.

Then she remembered Julian's frightened cry from the phone.

She didn't look at me again.

She turned and hurried toward the exit.

The restaurant erupted into chaos.

Someone rushed over to help me.

Then, through all the noise, a voice suddenly shouted,

"He's not breathing!"

Evelyn stopped dead in her tracks.