Then shrugged.
“Whatever you want.”
He had no idea what I’d been preparing.
I wasn’t inviting everyone because I wanted to humiliate him.
I needed the truth to exist somewhere outside my own thoughts.
I’d been carrying it alone for six days.
And I couldn’t keep pretending that our marriage was perfectly normal.
On Sunday afternoon, I cooked dinner.
Chicken.
Mashed potatoes.
Vegetables.
I placed the white tablecloth from our wedding across the dining table.
Then I put the folder containing our prenuptial agreement in a drawer nearby.
My parents, Sam and Jessica, arrived first.
Mom
immediately took Sophie into her arms.
Dad wandered toward the stove and tried stealing a taste of the mashed potatoes.
“Sam!” Mom scolded.
“Quality control,” he replied.
Then Eve and Alex arrived with a cherry pie and a little board book for Sophie.
The house filled with familiar conversation.
Everyone seemed happy.
Elon opened wine.
Dad and Alex discussed football.
My mother and Eve compared family photographs.
For a brief moment, standing in the kitchen doorway, I almost lost my courage.
We looked like a perfectly happy family.
A beautiful baby.
A comfortable home.
Four loving grandparents.
And a husband smiling as though nothing had changed.
Before dinner, I approached Elon while he was opening another bottle.
“Can I ask you something?”
“Sure.”
“Is there anything going on that I should know about?”
He looked confused.
“What do you mean?”
“Anything involving work? Or us? Something you haven’t told me?”
He stared directly into my eyes.
“No.”
“Are you sure?”
“Of course.”
Then he kissed my forehead.
“Everything’s fine, Maddie.”
That was the moment my uncertainty disappeared.
I’d given him one final opportunity to tell the truth privately.
And he chose to lie again.
We sat down for dinner.
Everyone talked.
Laughed.
Ate.
Sophie rested in my mother’s arms.
Then Eve turned toward me.
“Elon mentioned you might extend your maternity leave,” she said warmly. “I think that’s wonderful.”
I slowly looked at my husband.
“You told your parents that?”
He shrugged.
“I said we’d been discussing it.”
I placed my fork down.
“Actually, I’m returning to work on the fifteenth.”
Eve blinked.
“Oh! Well, that’s wonderful too, honey.”
“I’ve already made childcare arrangements.”
Elon looked visibly irritated.
Nobody else spoke.
I calmly continued eating.
A little later, Elon followed me into the kitchen.
