Claire rubbed her forehead.
“Derek makes me feel alive.”
There it was.
Not an apology.
Not even an attempt to explain the voice message.
A declaration.
Cole nodded slowly.
“How long?”
She looked away.
“Cole—”
“How long have you been seeing him?”
“Three months.”
Three months.
Three months of kissing him goodbye before work. Three months of sitting across from him at dinner. Three months of asking him to pick up groceries while she was arranging secret meetings with another man.
Cole felt something tighten inside his chest, but his face barely changed.
Claire mistook his silence for indifference.
“This is exactly what I mean,” she said. “You don’t even look upset.”
“Would you prefer that I throw something?”
“I’d prefer that you fight for me.”
Cole almost smiled.
“You want me to fight for you after telling me you’re in love with someone else?”
She swallowed.
“I didn’t say I was in love with him.”
