I stared at him, struggling to understand what he meant. “What are you talking about?” Elliot didn’t answer immediately. Instead, he glanced toward Marcus’s booth. The blonde woman was stroking my husband’s tie while he laughed, looking happier than I had seen him in months. “Don’t make a scene yet,” Elliot said quietly. “Look toward the entrance in forty seconds.” I wanted to tell him to mind his own business, but something in his expression stopped me. I began counting without realizing it. Thirty. Thirty-one. Thirty-two. My hands were shaking so badly that I had to put down my glass. Then Marcus reached inside his jacket and pulled out a small black box. The blonde woman covered her mouth, her eyes filling with excitement. My heart dropped as he stood up, moved beside her chair, and lowered himself onto one knee. On our fifth wedding anniversary, my husband was proposing to his pregnant mistress while I sat only two tables away.

Some people began clapping, completely unaware of what was happening. I felt humiliated, furious, and strangely numb. Elliot leaned closer. “Now.” The restaurant door opened, and two uniformed police officers walked inside. Behind them came a woman wearing a black suit and carrying a thick folder. She moved directly toward Marcus’s booth. The clapping slowly stopped as people noticed the officers. Marcus looked up, and the smile disappeared from his face. His expression turned pale, but it wasn’t the embarrassment of a man caught cheating. It was the terror of someone who knew something much worse was coming. The woman placed the folder on his table. Across its front, written in large red letters, was my full name: NATALIE HAYES. The entire restaurant went silent. She looked around the booth before turning toward me. “Mrs. Hayes?” she asked. I could barely speak, so I simply nodded. She picked up the folder and walked toward my table. “My name is Vivian Hart,” she said. “We need to discuss something involving your husband.”