"Was the kissing funny?"
"Cheek kissing."
"I saw the pictures."
"I know."
Her voice cracked. "I'm not going to defend it."
I asked whether anything had ever happened between them.
She said no.
She sent me their message history voluntarily.
I didn't ask for it.
There was flirting.
Not explicit.
Enough.
Jokes about "work wife."
Compliments.
One message from Daniel: "You'll make a more convincing corporate spouse than the real one."
I read that line five times.
There are insults that hurt because they're vicious.
This one hurt because it sounded casual.
Easy.
Like he hadn't even realized what it said about how he saw me.
I asked Melissa, "Did you think I was stupid?"
"No."
"Did you think about me at all?"
She was quiet.
Then she said, "Not enough."
That was probably the most honest answer anyone gave me that week.
Daniel and I started marriage counseling.
