Pretending To Forgive

00:04:58.  

The red numbers burned into my eyes.

The cathedral had turned into hell in 10 seconds. Screams. Chair falling .A baby crying somewhere in the back. The priest dropped the bible,clutching his chest like he was having a heart attack.  

And through it all, cameras. Dozens of them. Live-streaming the moment “the broken wife” chose between her husband and her lover.  

In all these, David didn't move an inch. His hand was still locked around mine. The whole building was surrounded by the FBI.  

And he was smiling at me.  

Like this was exactly what he wanted.  

“Get your hands off her,” an FBI agent yelled, shoving between us with a gun pointing at David.

David raised his cuffed hands in surrender, but he didn’t let go of my fingers right away. He squeezed it twice. “5 minutes, Sarah. That's all you have to save him." 

A code. Our old code. " I’m here. I’m not leaving you.”

The same squeeze he gave me on our first wedding day.  

I wanted to vomit. David leaned in with his lips almost brushing my ear.

“You want to know where he is? Then you have to play my wife. Just for 5 minutes.” 

“Ma’am, step back,” Ms. Reyes said, her hand held firm on my elbow. Her voice was calm, but her nails dug into my arm. We have a tracker on Ethan's phone.

“We have a team heading to the penthouse. We don’t need to negotiate with a terrorist.”  

Negotiate.  

That’s what she called it.  

I looked at the screen again. Ethan’s penthouse. Empty. 

00:04:40  

Eight floors up.  

One bomb.  

And the only man who knew how to stop it was standing 3 feet from me in handcuffs.  

My legs felt like water. The white dress suddenly weighed 100 pounds.  

I could walk away. Let SWAT handle it. Be the “victim” who did everything right.  

Or I could do what David wanted.  

I thought of Ethan asleep. Bare chest. The photo David sent. “I was in your house.” 

I thought of him making coffee this morning and saying “If anything goes wrong today, you run. Don’t look back.”  

I couldn’t run.  

So I did the only thing I could.  

I broke.  

It started in my chest. A sob that tore out of me before I could stop it. I ripped my arm from Ms. Reyes and stumbled forward.  

“Wait!”  

The word echoed. The cameras swung to me. “I…I need to talk to him. Please. For the babies.

Everyone froze.  

I pressed a hand to my mouth. Let my shoulders shake. Let the tears come because God I was terrified.  

“Please,” I whispered. Then louder. “Please don’t take him yet!”. 

The lead agent, a man with gray hair and tired eyes, frowned. “Mrs. Miller, we need to—”  

“I know what he did!” I cut him off. My voice cracked perfectly. “I know he’s dangerous. I know he’s lying. But if there’s even a one percent chance he’ll tell me where Ethan is, then I have to try.”  

I turned to the cameras. To the country watching.  

“I’m his wife,” I said. The word tasted like poison. “And if I don’t at least ask him, I’ll never forgive myself.”  

Behind me, Ms. Reyes went very still.  

“Sarah,” she said quietly in a warning tone. 

I ignored her. I took a shaky step toward David. Then another.  

The FBI parted for me.  

David didn’t move. He just watched me with those dark eyes. Calculating.  

When I was close enough, I could smell him. Tears flowed, the one he believed. 

“You’re good,” he murmured. Only loud enough for me. “Really good.”  

I slapped him.  

The sound cracked through the cathedral.  

Gasps from everyone looking. Camera flashes.  

My hand stung a bit. His cheek didn’t even turn red.  

But his eyes lit up. Like I’d just told him I loved him.  

“Few minutes,” I said, voice breaking. I looked at the gray-haired agent. “Please. Few minutes alone. In a room. That’s all I’m asking.”  

The agent looked at Ms. Reyes. She gave the smallest nod.  

“Interview Room 3,” he said. “We’re listening to everything. One wrong move and we’re coming in.”  

They cuffed David’s hands in front instead of behind. A small mercy.  

And they let me walk beside him.  

The hallway to Interview Room 3 was too bright. Everywhere had white. My dress train dragged behind me, picking up dirt from the floor.  

I kept my eyes down. Breathing in and out.  

“Pretend”. I muttered to myself.

The door shut behind us.

Just us.  

A metal table bolted to the floor.  

Two chairs.  

One camera in the corner with a red light blinking.  

And my phone in my hand, buzzing with a text from Ms. Reyes: “We have 4 minutes. Make him talk.”

00:03:44  

David sat down first. He looked around the room like he was evaluating real estate.  

“Nice,” he said. “Cozy.”  

I stayed standing.  

“Where is he?”  

David patted the chair across from him. “Sit, Sarah. You’re shaking.”  

I sat. Because if I didn’t, he’d know I was too angry to play this game.  

For a long moment we just stared at each other.  

He looked older. Thinner. There were shadows under his eyes that prison had put there.  

But his smile was the same. That slow, knowing smile that used to make me feel safe.  

“You look beautiful,” he said finally. “The dress. You always loved white.”  

“Don’t,” I whispered.  

“Don’t what? Compliment my wife?”  

“I’m not your wife.”  

“You are until a judge says otherwise.” He leaned forward. The cuffs clinked. “And the court already did say otherwise. Remember? ‘In the best interest of the unborn children.’”  

I flinched. He saw it.  

“Where Is Ethan.”  

David sighed. Like I was being difficult.  

“Sarah. Sarah. You’re doing this all wrong.”  

He reached across the table. I jerked back before he could touch me.  

He laughed. “Right. Sorry, force of habit.”  

He dropped his hands on his lap.  

“You want to know where Ethan is. I want to know if you still love me.”  

“That’s not a fair trade.”  

“Life isn’t fair.” He tilted his head. “Come on. Five minutes. We used to talk for hours.”  

I swallowed. My throat was sandpaper.  

“Do you remember the lake house?” I asked. Voice soft.  

“The first summer? You taught me how to swim.”  

His expression changed. Just a fraction.  

“Yeah,” he said. “You were terrified of the deep end.”  

“I wasn’t terrified. I was terrified of you letting go.”  

“I never let go.”  

“Liar.”  

We both smiled. 

00:02:30  

I leaned forward. Elbows on the table. The way I used to when I wanted him to tell me a secret.  

“I’m scared, David,” I said. And this time it wasn’t all acting. “I’m scared he’s going to die and it’ll be my fault. I’m scared I made the wrong choice.”  

David’s eyes searched mine.  

“You didn’t,” he said quietly. “You chose wrong, but you can un-choose it. Right now. Come home with me after this. We’ll figure out the baby thing. We’ll—”  

“There are no babies,” I snapped. Then softer: “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to yell.”  

He nodded. Accepting.  

“The bomb,” I whispered. “Please. Just tell me how to stop it.”  

He was quiet for a long time. The camera blinked. 

Finally, he reached out again. This time I didn’t pull away.  

His fingers were cold.  

“The penthouse security system,” he said. “It’s new. Ethan had it installed last month. Motion sensors on every entry point.”  

He squeezed my hand.  

“If anyone crosses the threshold in the last 60 seconds, it blows. No matter what.”  

My blood went cold.  

“So how do I get in?”  

“You don’t,” he said simply. “Not unless you have the code.”  

“Tell me the code, David”. I whispered. Leaning closer. Pretending to forgive and care.

He looked at me. Carefully looked like he was memorizing me.  

“The code is your name,” he said. “S-A-R-A-H. Entered on the keypad by the front door.”  

Relief hit me so hard my eyes watered.  

I squeezed his hand back.  

“Thank you,” I whispered. “Thank you, David.”  

He smiled. But it didn’t reach his eyes.  

“Do you mean it?”  

“I—”  

The door slammed open.  

“Time’s up, Mrs. Miller.”  

Two agents stepped in and hauled David to his feet.  

He didn’t fight. As they pulled him toward the door, he looked back at me.  

“You have the code,” he said.  

“But Sarah... I changed it.”  

The room spinned.  

“What?”  

“Thirty seconds ago,” he said, smiling. “Right after I told you.  

The new code is your name + who you choose.

But here’s the fun part.”  

He leaned in as they dragged him past me.  

“You’ll have to choose which door to open, wife.  

The front door to save Ethan.  

Or the back door to save yourself.”  

Then he was gone.  

00:01:18  

I was running before I realized I was moving.  

Ms. Reyes shoved keys into my hand. “SWAT is 6 minutes out. You cannot—”  

“I have to,” I said. “The code. He gave me the code.”  

“What is it?”  

“I don’t know!” The words came out as a sob. “He changed it!”  

Her face went hard. She grabbed my shoulders.  

“Then we do this my way. You stay in the car. We breach.”  

“No.” I yanked away. “If anyone goes in before the timer hits 60 seconds, it blows. He said so.”  

“Then we wait.”  

“I can’t wait!”  

Outside, the car was already idling. We peeled out of the cathedral parking lot, sirens screaming.  

My phone buzzed.  

Unknown number.  

“Front door: Our wedding date.  

Back door: The day you left me.  

Tick tock, Sarah.  

Choose.”  

00:00:52  

Ethan’s building came into view. SWAT vans already there.  

Ms. Reyes grabbed my arm. “Sarah. Do not get out of this car.”  

I looked at the penthouse windows. Dark.  

I thought of Ethan. Asleep.  

I thought of David. Smiling.  

I opened the door.  

“Where are you going?” Ms. Reyes yelled.  

“To set the trap,” I said.  

And I ran.