When Life Has Been Kind

Adeline and I had been secretly married for three years. She was eight months pregnant when she told me she wanted to give me a proper ceremony—one where we wouldn't have to hide anymore.

I believed her.

I stood on the stage that day, dressed in a tailored tuxedo, heart thudding, full of anticipation. Soft piano music played in the background. Everything had been carefully arranged. I smiled like a man who thought he had it all.

But the one walking down the aisle wasn't her. It was Daniel, her assistant.