I CHOOSE HIM, BUT HE'S MY ENEMY

I shift the cake box to my left hand, stepping out and closing the silver car door with a gentle thud. The cool air kisses my skin, raising goosebumps along my arms. My lips curve into a shy smile, a blush creeping up my cheeks when I imagine how Mark would react once he sees my new dress. I smooth a hand down the fabric, suddenly self-conscious, suddenly excited.

I shouldn't be here.

Mark had warned me, more than once, how busy his office would be this month with investors flying in, meetings stacked back to back, barely time to breathe. But I simply couldn't stay away today. For the past two weeks, he'd been going on and on about how much he craved cranberry cake, mentioning it in passing, in jokes, even in late-night calls when his voice sounded too tired to pretend anymore. And as his wife, I took it as my quiet duty, no, my privilege, to satisfy his craving.

“Violetta.”

Nolan, Mark's secretary, rises a little too fast when I push open the glass doors, his chair scraping loudly against the tiled floor. The sound makes me flinch. He rarely startles like that.

“Mark is in a meeting,” he says, glancing toward the elevator, then back at me. His voice is polite, but there’s something tight beneath it.

“I know,” I chirp lightly, tapping my pocket where the spare key rests. “He gave me access to his office, remember?”

“But, Violetta…” He moves quickly, stepping into my path before I can reach the elevator. His smile stretches too wide, unnatural, like it’s been practiced. “Why go through all that trouble? Sit on my desk while I get him for you.”

I tilt my head, studying him for a brief second. Nolan has always been composed, almost annoyingly so. Today, there’s a flicker of both nervousness and urgency on his face.

“I got it, Nolan,” I say gently, offering him a reassuring smile.

For a moment, he doesn’t move. Then he steps aside, though not fully, as if reluctant to let me pass.

“Alright,” he mutters, forcing a grin.

I shake my head faintly as I step into the elevator, pressing the button for the tenth floor. The doors slide shut, cutting off whatever expression he was wearing.

It isn’t just cake that brought me here.

My fingers brush against the small key in my pocket, and my smile softens. The apartment key. Our apartment. I’d imagined this moment all morning. His surprise, the way his tired eyes would light up, the way he’d pull me into a hug and laugh that low, warm laugh I loved so much.

The elevator hums softly as it climbs.

With every passing floor, my excitement builds… but so does something else. A faint unease. Nolan’s face flashes in my mind again. That forced smile. That hesitation.

I shake it off.

I’m overthinking.

The doors slide open with a soft ding.

Silence greets me.

That’s the first thing that feels wrong.

On any normal Tuesday, the hallway outside Mark’s office would be alive. Voices rising, phones ringing, the distant murmur of arguments and negotiations. Mark thrived in chaos. He once told me silence in business meant something was wrong.

But now… nothing.

My heels click against the polished floor, the sound echoing louder than it should.

Silence means he’s alone, I tell myself.

And that thought sends a small thrill through me. Maybe this will turn into something more than a quick visit. Maybe we’ll steal a moment for ourselves.

I reach his door, my heart beating just a little faster.

“Mark, darling!” I call, pushing it open.

The room is dim. I flick on the lights, squinting against the sudden brightness.

“I brought your favourite ca—”

The word dies in my throat.

For a second, my mind refuses to process what I’m seeing.

Mark is there.

But he isn’t alone.

He stands near the floor-to-ceiling bookshelf, his posture relaxed in a way I’ve never seen during work hours. And in front of him—

My breath catches.

My mother.

She has her back to me, but I would recognize her anywhere. The slope of her shoulders, the way she tilts her head slightly when she listens. She’s wearing the silk dress I gave her for her birthday. The one she claimed was too thin, too inappropriate to ever wear outside.

Mark’s hands are on her waist, firm and familiar.

The cake box slips from my fingers, hitting the ground with a dull thud that echoes through the room.

Neither of them moves immediately.

Time stretches. Mark finally turns his head slowly toward me, his face blank. I wait for him to step back. To shove her away. To say something, anything, that will undo what I’m seeing.

He doesn’t.

My chest tightens, something sharp and unbearable clawing its way up my throat.

“What… is going on here?” I ask, though the words feel hollow even as they leave my lips.

I already know.

I just don’t want to.

My mother turns then, smoothing down her dress as if she’s the one who’s been inconvenienced. Her expression is calm and composed. Almost bored.

Our eyes meet.

There is no shame in hers.

She steps closer to Mark, as if drawn by something inevitable, and before I can even react, before I can breathe, she presses a kiss to his lips.

My vision blurs as the room starts to tilt.

She pulls back, leaning in to whisper something into his ear. Something that makes him blush. A reaction I thought belonged to me.

Then, as if nothing has happened, she picks up her purse from the table.

And walks past me.

The faint scent of her perfume lingers in the air as she exits, brushing against me like a ghost.

I don’t turn to watch her leave.

I can’t.

All I can see… is him.