The sunlight hit me like a slap the next morning, cutting through the blinds and right into my eyes. I groaned and rolled over, reaching for Marcus's side of the bed out of habit. Cool sheets. Empty. The faint smell of his cologne lingered, but he was gone. Again.
I sat up, rubbing my eyes, and spotted the note on the nightstand. His handwriting, neat as always:
Clients dragged me to the bar after we got home last night. Stayed too late. Heading to the office now to prepare for Monday's pitch. Should be back by dinner. Maybe. Call if Sophia needs anything. -M
I crumpled it in my fist. So that's what happened. We'd barely walked through the door after dinner when his phone rang. He'd muttered something about "just one more drink to seal the deal" and kissed my forehead before heading back out. I'd put Sophia to bed alone, stared at the ceiling for hours, replaying that text from Alexander in my head.
Now it was morning, and he was already off playing the big finance hero.
Sophia's voice pulled me out of it. "Mom? Pancakes? You promised if I aced the quiz!"
I forced a smile and swung my legs over the side of the bed. "Coming, kiddo."
She was in the kitchen when I got there, dragging the step stool over to grab the mixing bowl from the cabinet. Her pajamas didn't match pink top with unicorns, green bottoms with dinosaurs and her curls were a total mess. God, I loved that about her. No pretending.
"Can I crack the eggs?" she asked, eyes big.
"Sure. But shells mean you eat 'em."
She giggled, and we got to work. Flour, milk, whisking. The radio hummed some old jazz tune in the background. For a few minutes, it felt okay. Just us, no drama.
Then I heard the front door click open. Keys jingling. Footsteps.
Marcus.
He walked into the kitchen looking like hell same suit from last night, tie loose, eyes bloodshot. He hadn't shaved. He hadn't slept much, from the look of it.
"Dad!" Sophia lit up. "You're home early! Pancakes?"
He managed a weak smile for her. "Sounds good, kiddo." Then his eyes met mine. "Morning."
"Morning," I said, keeping my voice even. "Thought you were at the office all day."
"I was. Am. Just came back to change and grab a file I forgot." He rubbed the back of his neck, glancing at Sophia stirring the batter. "Can we talk quickly? In the study?"
My stomach twisted. That tone. The one that meant bad news or excuses.
"Yeah. Sure."
I told Sophia we'd be right back and followed him down the hall. The study was his space books he never touched, that fancy leather chair, desk piled with papers. He shut the door softly behind us.
"Look, about last night," he started, not meeting my eyes at first. "The clients kept pushing shots at the bar. I should've cut it off earlier. Didn't mean to leave you hanging like that."
"You always say that." The words came out sharper than I planned.
He sighed, leaning against the desk. "I know. And I hate it. But this deal… it's make-or-break for my bonus. For us."
I crossed my arms. "Us? Or just your career?"
"Elena…" He finally looked at me, and there was real tiredness there. "You were great with them at dinner. They loved you. But I see how you look at me lately. Like I'm letting you down."
"Because you are." My voice cracked a little. "You're never here. And when you are, you're half in your phone. I feel like I'm raising Sophia alone in this big empty apartment."
He stepped closer, reached for my hand. I let him take it, but it felt wrong. Forced.
"I'll do better," he said quietly. "Next weekend. No work. Just us three. Maybe drive up to the Hamptons early. Walk on the beach. Whatever you want."
I searched his face. Wanted to believe him. "You promise?"
"I promise." He squeezed my hand. "I don't want to lose this. Lose you."
The words hung there. Heavy. I nodded, because what else could I do? "Okay."
He kissed my forehead quick, like always and headed to the closet to change.
I stood there a minute after he left the room, heart pounding. Promises. We'd had a lot of those over the years.
When I got back to the kitchen, Sophia had blueberries scattered everywhere, making smiley faces in the batter.
"Dad staying for pancakes?" she asked.
"No, sweetie. Work stuff."
She nodded like she got it. Too young to understand, but old enough to notice.
We ate at the counter, syrup dripping, her telling me about school drama. I laughed at the right spots, but my mind kept drifting.
Marcus left twenty minutes later, fresh suit, quick hug for Sophia, peck on my cheek. "See you tonight. Love you."
"Love you too," I said. Habit.
The door clicked shut.
I cleaned up the kitchen slowly, loading the dishwasher, wiping the counters. Sophia ran off to her room to build Legos.
Alone now, I pulled out my phone. Stared at Alexander's last message.
*Saw you at the gala invite list. It's been too long, El. -A*
My thumb hovered on the screen.
I typed: Okay.
Hit send.
The screen lit up almost right away.
Hamptons gala. Saturday. I'll find you.
My breath caught.
What was I doing?
But I didn't delete it.
And that scared me more than anything