“Divorced, several years ago.”

“Then do me a favor. Pretend I came here as your date.”

Jonathan stared across the terrace again.

Then he offered me his arm.

“All right, but stay beside me.”

“Why?”

His expression hardened.

“Because I want to hear what Ethan says when he realizes you’re here, and because you may not be the only person he has deceived tonight.”

I slipped my arm through his.

We had not crossed half the terrace before Ethan noticed.

PART 4: THE HUSBAND WHO PANICKED

Ethan approached quickly.

His voice dropped the moment he reached us.

“Caroline, what are you doing here?”

I smiled.

“Dancing, drinking champagne, and meeting your very charming boss.”

His face tightened.

“You need to leave.”

“No, Ethan. I don’t.”

His hand started toward my wrist but stopped before making contact.

He looked around nervously.

“Not here. Please don’t create a scene in front of Jonathan.”

I almost laughed.

“I knew about the party before I put this dress on.”

His mouth opened.

Nothing came out.

“You told me the party was canceled, and then you told me you would be working until midnight.”

Fear finally appeared in his eyes.

“Caroline, let me explain.”

“Then answer one question. What are you so terrified I’ll see tonight?”

His gaze shifted beyond my shoulder toward the opposite side of the pool.

I turned.

Whoever had been standing there had moved.

But Ethan’s reaction told me enough.

There was another woman.

I pulled my arm away from him.

“I have listened to you long enough.”

Jonathan was waiting several feet away with two fresh champagne glasses.

“Everything okay?”

I looked at him.

“Not yet.”

I could have left then.

I already knew my husband had lied about the party, lied about working late, and brought another woman while listing her as his wife.

But I refused to leave without seeing her.

“I think it’s time I introduced myself to my husband’s girlfriend.”

Jonathan stopped me.

“Wait. I have a better idea.”

He walked toward the small stage beside the pool and picked up a microphone.

The music softened.

Dozens of conversations gradually stopped.

Jonathan cleared his throat.

“Sorry to interrupt everyone. Madison, could you come up here for a moment?”

Then he smiled, although there was little humor in it.

“My daughter surprised me tonight. I wasn’t expecting her to attend, especially with a new boyfriend she apparently forgot to introduce to her father.”

His daughter?

A young brunette woman in a red cocktail dress emerged beside the bar.

Ethan was standing next to her.

My breath caught.

Then I saw his face.

He had gone completely pale.

The woman Ethan had brought to the party as his supposed wife was Jonathan Whitaker’s daughter, Madison.

Judging from Ethan’s expression, he had not known that fact either.

He had not merely walked into a trap.

He had spent months constructing it himself.

The source establishes the crucial reveal: the husband attends the real company party with another woman listed as his wife, only for his boss to reveal publicly that the woman is his daughter, leaving the husband exposed before the company. Văn bản đã dán (1)

PART 5: EVERYONE ON THE SAME STAGE

Madison walked onto the stage.

“Dad, what’s going on?”

Jonathan looked toward Ethan.

“I’d also like your boyfriend to join us.”

The remaining laughter vanished.

Every employee turned toward Ethan.

“Ethan?” Madison called.

He had nowhere else to go.

Slowly, he approached the stage.

Jonathan then looked directly at me.

“Caroline, would you join us as well?”

Ethan’s head snapped toward me.

“Caroline…”

The terror in his voice revealed more than any confession could have.

I stepped onto the stage.

Jonathan spoke calmly.

“Madison, I believe Ethan has several introductions to make.”

She frowned.

“What does that mean?”

Ethan remained silent.

I looked at Madison.

For days, I had imagined the woman with my husband as confident, calculating, perhaps even pleased with herself.

Instead, she looked confused and increasingly frightened.

Ethan had lied to both of us.

I spoke first.

“My name is Caroline. I am Ethan’s wife.”

Someone near the pool whispered loudly enough for everyone to hear:

“Oh my God.”

Madison stared at me.

“His what?”

“His wife. We live together, and we have a daughter in second grade.”

Madison turned toward Ethan.

“You told me your marriage was over. You said she moved out months ago.”

“Madison, I can explain.”

I interrupted.

“No. You’ve explained enough for months.”

Everything suddenly became horribly simple.

Ethan had created separate realities for each of us.

At home, he behaved like an exhausted husband buried beneath corporate work.

With Madison, he portrayed himself as a separated man trapped in paperwork before beginning a new life.

At work, he apparently felt comfortable enough to register his girlfriend as his wife.

Now all of those invented lives were standing on the same stage.

There was nowhere left for him to hide.

Ethan finally broke.

“Caroline is my wife, and I love her. This whole thing with Madison was a mistake.”

Madison recoiled.

“A mistake?”

He reached toward her.

She pulled her arm away.

“We’re done.”

Jonathan stepped forward.

His voice remained controlled, but the anger underneath it was unmistakable.

“Ethan, we will discuss your position with the company on Monday morning.”

Several coworkers exchanged uncomfortable looks.