d gone

onger questioned. Vanessa didn't ask if Tessa was joining him - she already knew. His cologne wa

didn't waste her energy

ed his absence

t proof. She w

different about her that Mark would risk i

ust con

nderstanding. That would make her no

. She watched

of coffee untouched beside her. Her screen showed a local real estate listing - one-bedroom

odern build. S

ed in on

eath h

he coordinates. If her guess was right, this unit woul

inquiry. Fifteen minutes later, she had

mpulsive. Sh

l had alrea

ruction

nted now wa

nd the only way

see her en

ean layout, sun-drenched balcony, and a dir

the empty living room as the le

d cheerfully, oblivious to Vanessa's steady gaze across the na

over a shared courtyard where kids played and young

laughing on the patio, taking selfies

tly. Not out of jo

e desk, and a wardrobe she hadn't worn in years - simple, e

ying at a friend's while

, distracted and distant. She doubt

d her ev

e. She even started journaling, but not with

tea, opened the windo

ed with a cat, and smoked clove cigarettes on the balc

ternoon, blowing smoke sideways

. "Just for a

something or

ed faintly.

ackled. "Ar

e quiet company of a stranger with no judgme

usic, rotating guests, deliveries of

w. Only caught shadows, reflections in glas

t a parcel from the lobby just as Tessa em

essa said, lau

No worries. Just mov

he same one from the photos, perfectl

nd collected. "Thanks. Let me know

wine. I might tak

strangers on the sur

ents were exaggerated - hips swaying, heels clicking. The

t envy her. S

s - low music, hushed laughter, sometim

a

rom your husband and the woman he was betra

wai

e wall. Not to listen - but to remind h

wouldn't

or noise. She was

week, she

or work by 1

cted to arrive soon

ntact with Mark thr

ever cook

ed a confrontatio

ti

t done in years. The smell of cinnamon wafte

asked one afternoon, as Vanessa han

d vaguely. "Before I

an eyebrow.

smiled

t, Vanessa stood in

ed. The tired eyes. The new sharpne

sn't b

was

g the betrayal, she felt like she was w