Chapter 1
The crystal chandelier above table twelve cast a sharp, cold light onto the white tablecloth. Valeria stood rigid, her fingers tightening around the strap of her beige handbag with the chain bracelet. The maroon one-shoulder dress she wore felt suddenly too tight, constricting her chest as the raw weight of her words hung in the air. Across the table, the older woman with dark reddish-brown hair kept her gaze fixed on her wine glass, her lips pressed into a pale, trembling line.
"Three days divorced, and you already found a rich older man?" Valeria’s voice was a low, cutting hiss that barely carried over the soft murmur of the upscale restaurant. She stared down at the older man in the dark suit, his silver-streaked beard giving him an air of dignified composure that only made her anger spike higher.
The older woman looked up, her golden earrings catching the chandelier's glare. Her eyes were pools of restrained hurt. "Valeria, please. You don't understand the circumstances—"
"Careful, sir," Valeria interrupted, stepping closer and leaning over the table, her eyes darting between the two of them with sharp accusation. "Valeria's very good at looking innocent."
A shadow fell over Valeria’s shoulder as the blonde man in the grey suit stepped up behind her. His face was etched with genuine distress. He reached out a hesitant hand, stopping inches from her arm. "You don't have to expose yourself like this, Valeria," he murmured quietly, his tone laced with a pleading urgency that she chose to ignore.
The older man didn't flinch. Instead, he rose slowly from his velvet chair, his movements deliberate and calm. He adjusted his red pocket square, smoothed his suit jacket, and looked directly past Valeria at the blonde man standing behind her.
May you like
"Dad, let's go," the older man said clearly, addressing the blonde man in the grey suit with a steady, commanding voice. "To avoid further confusion, Valeria is my daughter."
The restaurant seemed to tilt on its axis. Valeria froze, the blood draining entirely from her face as the tectonic plates of her reality violently shifted, leaving her staring blankly at the man she had just called a stranger's new lover.
