I was laughing. Actually laughing.
Edward had just said something sarcastic about the way I held my fork something about me "stabbing my salad like it owed me money" and I almost choked from how hard I snorted.
"Don't judge me," I swatted his arm.
"I'm not judging you." He leaned closer, eyes locked on my lips. "I'm admiring you."
And just like that, my stomach flipped.
This wasn't supposed to feel like a date.
This was supposed to be lunch. A break. A reset from all the burning nights and aching mornings I tried pretending didn't mean anything.
But Edward…
He never acted like a man who was only sleeping with me.
"So," he said, sliding his thumb across the back of my hand like he had every right to touch me. "Are you finally going to tell me why your ex was stupid enough to lose you?"
"I" I looked away. "No. Absolutely not."
"That bad?"
"Worse."
He chuckled softly. "Then I'm glad he messed up. His mistake… my gain."
My heart kicked hard.
Why did this feel dangerous? Why did he feel dangerous?
I opened my mouth to change the topic, but before I could
I heard it.
"Vivian, I swear if you keep ordering things you can't pronounce"
My blood turned to ice.
I knew that voice.
I knew it better than my own.
Frank.
Edward felt my hand jerk under his, and he looked up immediately. "Leah? What's wrong?"
I didn't respond.
I couldn't.
Not when my ex-husband and the woman he cheated on me with walked right into the restaurant.
I sucked in a shaky breath.
Of all the restaurants in the entire city…
Of all the hours he could have chosen…
Of all the days he could ruin…
It had to be today.
Vivian giggled like the spineless homewrecker she was. Frank adjusted his tie, pretending to be some gentleman, probably thinking no one recognized him for the lying bastard he was.
Edward followed my gaze. "You know them?"
Know them?
I married one and fantasized about throwing a drink in the other's face daily.
"Leah," he said softly. "Talk to me."
But I couldn't.
Because at that exact moment, Frank's eyes swept the room…
And landed on me.
His entire body froze.
Vivian followed his stare and frowned. "Is that?"
Then it happened.
Frank's eyes shifted… lowered… then widened.
His focus wasn't on me anymore.
He was staring at Edward.
Like he'd seen a ghost.
Like something impossible had just clicked inside his skull.
I barely managed to whisper, "No… no, no, no"
Frank's lips parted.
One word one single word fell out of him.
"Son?"
Every bone in my body turned numb.
Edward blinked once. "What?"
Vivian gasped, covering her mouth.
I felt my throat close, my vision blur, my chest hollow out.
Frank stepped forward. "Edward… what are you doing"
I didn't let him finish.
I pushed my chair back so fast it screeched across the floor. People turned. I didn't care.
"Leah" Edward stood immediately.
But I was already moving.
Already stumbling toward the door in a blind panic.
Already shattering inside.
Because the man I spent night after night with…
The man who touched me like I was the only woman in his world…
The man who made me feel alive again…
Was the son
of the man
who destroyed me.
I shoved the door open, heart racing violently, and whispered only one thing:
"Oh my God…"
And then I ran.