Now that I thought about it, he probably saw me as a fool.
"I don't have time tomorrow. Let's make it the day after."
He didn't even turn around. "Works for me. We can finalize the divorce, then go have dinner and break the news."
I barely slept that night. I lay there staring at the ceiling, lost in thought.
The next day, I left work an hour early.
At five o'clock sharp, I stood outside the convenience store across from his office building.
Coffee in hand. Eyes locked on the lobby exit.
At five forty, he appeared.
Not alone.
A young woman walked beside him. Early twenties, by the look of her. Long hair, dressed trendy but fresh-faced.
They were close together, laughing as they walked.
She said something, and he reached over and ruffled her hair.
I followed them all the way to a restaurant.
The girl was feeding him cake with a fork, her eyes crinkling into little crescents when she smiled.
I walked straight to their table.
Clement looked up. The smile on his face froze solid.
The girl followed his gaze and turned around.
When she saw me, her expression shifted from confusion to surprise.
Then to a flicker of smugness she barely bothered to hide.
"This is why you want the divorce. Isn't it?"
My face was blank when I asked him.
Since last night, my heart had already gone cold toward him.
Even now, learning he'd been cheating, I wasn't all that surprised.
Clement panicked for a few seconds, then quickly composed himself.
And did the one thing I genuinely hadn't expected.
He reached out and took the young woman's hand.
"Since you've seen it, there's no point hiding it anymore."
"This is Hayley Porter. She's the new assistant in our department."
Hayley didn't speak. She just gazed at Clement with adoring eyes.
I listened, but something inside me had already died.
"So she's the one you've been cheating with."
"Don't make it sound so ugly." Clement frowned. "We're simply a better match."
Hayley picked her moment to chime in, her voice syrupy sweet.
"Meg, you can't force these things."
"Clement and I are happy together. I hope you can let him go gracefully."
She called me Meg, like we were familiar. I was barely a few years older than her.
"Gracefully?"
I repeated the word. It tasted like a joke.
Hayley blinked. "You're not getting any younger. Dragging this out isn't good for anyone."
"Why don't we end this on good terms? At least we'd all walk away with some dignity."