Three weeks earlier, I was sitting at my kitchen table when Adrian’s invitation appeared in my inbox.
The Vale Family Christmas Dinner. The message was painfully polite. “Claire, my parents are hosting Christmas this year.
Since we’ve both moved on, I thought it might be good to leave the past behind us.
Vanessa will be there with the family. You’re welcome to join us. Adrian.”
I stared at the screen. Then laughed. Not because anything was funny. Because I understood exactly what he wanted.
Adrian had recently become engaged. His parents were hosting a formal dinner to welcome Vanessa Cole into the family.
And he wanted me there as the contrast. Vanessa was beautiful. Polished.
Successful. Apparently everything the Vale family had always wanted for him.
And then there was me. Claire Bennett. The woman Adrian once described during our d.
i. v. o. r. c. e as someone who simply couldn’t accept that our marriage was over.
For years, he allowed his family to believe I was lonely. Bitter. Still trapped in the past.
But the biggest lie was never about me. It was about the pregnancy Adrian refused to believe existed.
