Chapter 3What He Didn't Hear

I managed a small, tight smile.

Just like I had a thousand times before.

“I know,” I said softly to the anxious faces watching me. “I’ll just… I’ll go home and wait for him.”

A collective sigh of relief seemed to pass through the room. Evan’s friends smiled, their warmth returning as they walked me to the elevator. As the doors were closing, I heard one of them on the phone.

“She’s not mad, don’t worry about it.” A pause. “Dude, you’ve known her for years. You could burn down the city and she’d just smile and say you did a great job.”

The doors slid shut, cutting off the voice.

I looked up and saw my reflection in the polished steel. My face was pale, and the dress I was wearing suddenly looked drab and gray. The only spot of color on me was the wedding ring on my finger.

There was a time when I used to shine, seated at a grand piano on a stage.

After I married Evan, I became his assistant, his housekeeper, his secretary.

My piano sat in the attic, gathering dust.

My fingers, I realized, didn’t feel so nimble anymore.