Daniel raised his glass too.
I just stared at him.
He knew.
He was sitting there, letting our entire family celebrate something that apparently had never happened.
His eyes met mine.
For the briefest moment, his smile faltered.
Then someone slapped him on the shoulder, and it returned.
I said nothing.
Not there.
I wanted to see how far he would take it.
By the end of the evening, Daniel had thanked his mother twice for the party.
In the car, he loosened his collar and smiled.
“Mom really went overboard.”
“She was proud.”
“Yeah.”
I looked through the windshield.
“Are you?”
“Am I what?”
“Proud?”
He laughed softly.
“Of getting promoted? Sure.”
I turned toward the window.
That answered one question.
He was willing to lie to me.
The second we got home, I put my purse on the counter.
“Did you actually get promoted?”
Daniel frowned.
“What kind of question is that?”
“Just answer me.”
“Yes. Of course I did.”
“So you’re still working at the same company?”
For the first time, he hesitated.
Then he asked, “Who have you been talking to?”
“Why does that matter?”
“Because whoever told you something clearly doesn’t know the whole story.”
“Then tell me the whole story.”
“Not tonight.”
I stared at him.
“Do you still work there, Daniel?”
“It’s complicated.”
“It’s a yes-or-no question.”
He looked away.
“I said it’s complicated.”
“No. What’s complicated is why my husband just sat through an entire party celebrating a promotion at a company where someone says he doesn’t work.”
His jaw tightened.
“Mark told you.”
That was all I needed.
“You knew exactly what I was talking about.”
“Celina, there’s an explanation.”
“Then give it to me.”
“I will.”
“When?”
“When I can explain it properly.”
“You had all evening.”
“Not tonight.”
He walked upstairs.
I stood in the kitchen, listening to his footsteps.
Daniel and I had been married for seven years.
Until that night, I had never questioned where he went when he kissed me goodbye in the morning.
Now, I questioned everything.
The next morning, Daniel got up at the same time as always.
He showered, got dressed, grabbed his laptop and coffee, and headed for the door.
Then he kissed me goodbye.
“See you after work.”
I didn’t answer.
At 8:10 a.m., I watched his car disappear down the street.
He was still pretending.
An hour later, I was standing in my mother-in-law’s kitchen.
She took one look at me.
“Is everything okay?”
“I wanted to ask you something about Daniel.”
“What about him?”
“His promotion.”
She paused.
“What about it?”
“You organized the party. You told everyone he was the new senior manager.”
“Because he is.”
“Did Daniel tell you that himself?”
“Of course.”
I studied her face.
“And you believe him?”
Her expression changed.
“What did you find out?”
I froze.
“Why would you ask me that?”
“Just tell me what’s going on.”
“Daniel hasn’t worked at that company for three months.”
Her face went blank.
“He doesn’t work there?”
