When the door opened, Howard entered with Paige on his arm. He was scanning the room with that same practiced, arrogant half-smile he’d used for years. Then, our eyes locked. He stopped so abruptly that Paige bumped into him, nearly stumbling. The sight of me—vibrant, confident, and completely indifferent to his presence—seemed to physically strike him. His face didn’t just betray surprise; it completely crumbled. His eyes welled up with tears in front of our children and our friends.
He abandoned Paige mid-stride and crossed the room, his voice trembling as he pleaded for a conversation. “Jane, I made the worst mistake of my life,” he whispered, desperation leaking from every pore. I watched Paige’s face darken as she realized, in a single moment, that she had never been a partner—she was just a tool he used to chase a ghost of his own youth. She was the mirror, and he was finally seeing the cracks in himself.
