Neither of us spoke for a moment.
It wasn’t just cheating.
It was planning.
I opened a blank document and started typing dates before I could convince myself to stop.
“What are you doing?” Avery asked.
It wasn’t just cheating.
“Making a timeline.”
Avery exhaled. “I’ll send you everything with a timestamp.”
“Good. Trips. Calls. Wedding plans. Anything.”
By midnight, my screen was full.
His “work retreat” was our cabin trip. His “family weekend” was Avery’s video call. My birthday trip was his countdown text.
“I’ll send you everything.”
I used to think Tyler was spontaneous.
That night, I realized he was scheduled.
He hadn’t made time for me; he’d assigned me the empty spaces Avery left behind.
***
The next evening, I asked him to come over.
He arrived with noodles, my favorite soda, and mochi.
It looked so normal. So practiced.
I asked him to come over.
“Emergency dinner,” he said. “You sounded weird over text.”
“Put it on the table.”
His smile faded. “Kim?”
“Sit down, Tyler. We need to talk.”
I turned my phone toward him.
His engagement photo with Avery glowed onscreen.
“We need to talk.”
Tyler went pale. He didn’t look confused; he just looked caught.
“Kim,” he said carefully, “listen to me.”
“No.” My voice came out calm. “You listen first. I have four years of practice.”
He rubbed his jaw. “This isn’t what it looks like.”
“Are you engaged to this woman?”
He looked away.
“It’s complicated.”
“You listen first.”
“Tyler, there’s a wedding invitation.”
His mouth opened, then closed.
“She’s been gone a long time,” he said. “Things changed.”
“Did they change before or after you told her you couldn’t wait to be her husband while I was getting ready for my birthday dinner?”
He stared at me.
“There’s a wedding invitation.”
I turned my laptop around.
The timeline filled the screen.
His eyes moved over the dates.
“You made a spreadsheet?” he asked.
“I made a map of your deceit, Tyler.”
“Kim, I was going to tell you.”
“I made a map of your deceit.”
“When? Before or after your bachelor party?”
“I didn’t want to hurt you.”
“You didn’t avoid hurting me,” I said. “You avoided getting caught.”
