Chapter 9: Dark Truth

Moments later, the velvet curtain of the fitting section shifted and parted. Pete stepped out first, moving with the kind of ease that came naturally to a man who was used to having things go his way.

He rolled his shoulders back slightly and began buttoning the front of his suit coat. After that, he turned to his tie, adjusting it with a smile.

A few seconds passed before Zoe emerged behind him, stepping through the curtain confidently, drawing other’s attention.

The sales representative who had been assisting them throughout their visit stepped forward, both hands extended, cradling a neatly wrapped package that contained the new dress.

"Your total is thirty-five thousand dollars," she said respectfully, her voice even and pleasant as she stretched the package toward them.

Pete moved before Zoe even had a chance to reach forward. His hand came out smoothly and collected the package from the woman's grasp, pulling it under his arm casually.

Without pausing, he dipped his fingers into the inner breast pocket of his coat and produced his credit card in one practiced motion. He held it out toward the sales representative, his chin lifting slightly as he spoke.

"Use my card," he said, his voice carrying a quiet pride that filled the space around him.

He let the words settle for just a moment before adding, "I'm covering her lingerie for the year."

The effect was immediate.

Zoe's eyes flew open wide, and a brilliant smile broke across her face with the kind of warmth that lit up her entire expression. A soft blush rose to her cheeks, and she turned toward Pete with barely contained excitement glowing in her eyes.

"For real?" she asked, her voice rising with delight.

She lifted one hand and tapped his shoulder playfully, while her other arm folded across her chest. It was a small gesture, easy and familiar, the kind shared between two people who had long since stopped pretending there was any distance between them.

Pete gave a single, satisfied nod, the corner of his mouth curling with quiet amusement at her reaction.

The sales representative smiled politely, accepting the card and preparing to process the transaction.

She had taken only two steps away when she paused and turned back toward them, as though something had just crossed her mind.

"For our grand opening celebration," she said warmly, "we're giving customers the chance to take any single item in the store completely free, all you have to do is answer a few questions. Would you be interested?"

Almost on cue, a second staff member appeared at the sales representative's side. She was a young woman with a bright, practiced smile, carrying a beautifully decorated box held carefully between both hands.

Inside the box, dozens of small folded slips of paper were visible, each one creased neatly in half.

She stepped forward and held the box out toward them in open invitation.

Zoe tilted her head with a spark of interest, her arms folding loosely across her chest.

"Answer a few questions?" she repeated, her tone curious and playful at once.

She glanced sideways at Pete, watching his face for a reaction. "It's basically Truth or Dare," she explained. "It's meant to be fun."

Pete glanced down at the box for a brief moment, then shifted his gaze to Zoe beside him. His expression was relaxed, unhurried, as though nothing in the world could unsettle him.

"If you want," he said evenly, "we can do it."

Zoe's face lit up with a delighted laugh, the kind that came quickly and without hesitation.

"Alright," she agreed.

The young lady stepped closer and raised the box toward Pete. He reached in without ceremony, his fingers moving slowly through the folded slips before settling on one and drawing it out. He passed it directly to the sales representative standing at his side.

She accepted it, carefully unfolded the small paper, and read the words silently once before lifting her head to read aloud.

"The first question," she announced clearly, "What are the two most touching things someone has ever done for you?"

Zoe's smile bloomed immediately. She turned her face briefly toward Pete, catching his eye with an expression that suggested she already knew exactly what she was going to say.

She raised one hand and pressed her fingertips lightly beneath her chin, tilting her head as if in deep, theatrical thought.

"The first thing was…" she began, her voice soft and fond.

She turned fully toward Pete, her eyes settling on his face with unmistakable warmth.

"That night his wife was having a difficult labor."

The words came out light, almost casual, as though she were recounting something sweet rather than something she perhaps should have kept buried.

"I told him I felt lonely," she continued, her smile growing softer, "and he rushed over in ten minutes."

A small, private giggle escaped her lips.

She shifted her body closer to his and wrapped both of her hands gently around his arm, pressing her cheek against his shoulder with the ease of someone completely at home in that space.

"He stayed with me the entire night," she finished contentedly.

Pete exhaled slowly beside her and gave a small, confirming nod, as though the memory was one he had no desire to deny.

A few feet away, Martins and Eric exchanged a quick, sharp glance. Something in the air had shifted, subtle but impossible to ignore.

The lightness that had filled the boutique moments before had quietly drained away.

*****************

But the truth behind that night was far darker than the version Zoe offered up so cheerfully.

On that same night, Petra had been lying on a hospital bed, her body seized by the brutal, unrelenting grip of labor.

Her face had been drenched in sweat and streaked with tears, her fingers twisting the white hospital sheets beneath her with every wave of pain that tore through her. She had called out for her husband with a voice cracked open by fear and exhaustion.

"Where is my husband?"

Nobody had answered her.

Pete had not been there. While the woman who bore his name and carried his child fought through one of the most terrifying nights of her life, he had been somewhere else entirely.

He had been with Zoe, wrapped in warmth and laughter, sheltered from anything resembling consequence.

**************

Back in the boutique, Zoe's voice remained bright and unbothered, her smile fixed in place like she was narrating the most charming story in the world.

"The second thing," she continued cheerfully, her hands still looped around Pete's arm as they stood shoulder to shoulder like two people on a pleasant afternoon outing.

"The one that touched me the most…" She paused briefly for effect, eyes shining with something close to pride. "...was that Pete swapped his and Petra's baby for our own."

The words left her mouth without flinching. Plainly. Almost proudly.

Pete released a short, low laugh beside her, as if the confession carried some private entertainment.

Across the store, Petra had gone completely still.

Her eyes were wide open, her lips parted, her entire body suspended in a single moment of pure, breathless shock. It felt as though the floor had dissolved beneath her. Nothing felt solid anymore.

Beside her, Malcolm's jaw tightened. His breathing had grown heavy and deliberate, and the look on his face was the look of a man working very hard to remain standing.

Zoe, however, was still smiling.

"He said a child should be raised right in front of you," she added lightly. "It's what brings peace of mind."

Pete stood beside her without so much as a flicker of discomfort crossing his face.

Eric stepped forward sharply, his expression stripped of every trace of composure.

"Pete." His voice came out hard and disbelieving. "You seriously did that?"

Pete looked at him with complete calm.

Not a shadow of guilt. Not even the ghost of hesitation.

"Yes," Pete answered instantly, his voice steady and sure. "So what?"