But just as I reached the restaurant entrance—
"How much longer do we have to sneak around like this?"
The woman's voice, petulant and sharp.
"My grandfather's birthday banquet is next month. My mom keeps asking me to bring you home."
Her words landed like hammer blows against my heart.
"I can't exactly tell them—" she said, each syllable a nail driven deeper, "—that I'm actually some married man's dirty little secret. That I'm the mistress nobody's supposed to know about."
"And turn my whole family into a joke."
My footsteps halted.
I had assumed—foolishly, perhaps—that she was innocent. That even if I had to confront this, I shouldn't drag some naive girl into the wreckage. That whatever needed to happen between Roger and me, we should handle it cleanly, between ourselves.
I'd planned to tell her the truth. That she'd been deceived.
But this?
This made everything so much simpler.
A cold smile curved my lips as Roger's voice floated over.
"Don't worry."
"Everything I owe you—"
"I'll make it up to you. All of it."
I drew a deep breath and gently freed my arm from my colleague's grip.
"Wait here for me."
I met her confused gaze.
"There's something I need to handle."
Before she could respond, I was already moving.
I walked straight to Roger's table, picked up the glass of orange juice in front of him, and threw it directly in his face.
His expression—pure, slack-jawed shock—was almost worth the five years.
I smiled.
"What a coincidence."
"Roger Simmons."
"Of all the restaurants in the city, you picked my team dinner spot to parade your affair. Should I compliment your taste in venues, or should I compliment—"
My gaze dropped to the mountain of shrimp shells on the table. The mockery rose like bile.
"—your miraculous recovery from that shrimp allergy?"
"Roger!"
I grabbed the second glass of orange juice, ready to drench him again—but his hand shot out and clamped around my wrist.
"Lori!"
"Let me explain!"
I stared at the hand Roger had clamped around my wrist—his ring finger still bearing the wedding band that matched mine. Watching the panic flicker across his face, the fury I'd barely managed to suppress came roaring back.
Before he could get another word out, I wrenched my arm free and swung.
The slap cracked across his face.
"How dare you hit him!"
The woman scrambled up from her seat and shoved me hard, positioning herself in front of Roger like a shield. Her voice was shrill, indignant.