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“Hi,” she said. “I’m Tara.”
“Declan.” He reached a hand out to shake hers. “Sorry again for knocking into you. I guess they don’t call me ‘clumsy two shoes’ for nothing.” He laughed, his smile so affectionate that it made her smile.
Tara shook her head. “No, it’s my fault. I should’ve paid attention to where I was going.” She placed her phone back into her purse and tucked it close to her.
“So, where you headed? What do you say I make it up to you by buying you dinner?”
He was definitely as charming as he was handsome, and if Tara wasn’t married, she would’ve definitely jumped at the chance.
“Sorry, I can’t. I’m actually meeting my husband for dinner. And I should really get going. I’m running late as it is.”
His face fell; a look of disappointment washed over. “Aw, shucks, I should’ve known a pretty girl like you was taken. Well, shit out of luck, I guess. At least, let me give you my number. If you ever change your mind, you’ll know who to call.”
He smoothly pulled a pen out from his pocket and wrote his number on her coffee cup. “Such a shame, such a shame.”
“Sorry,” she said with a meek smile. “It was nice meeting you. I gotta run.”
“Nice meeting you too, Tara Bardot. I’ll see you around.”
Tara scrunched her face when she walked away. She couldn’t remember telling him her last name, and it was odd that he knew. But maybe she had. Maybe she introduced herself as such and had just forgotten. That could’ve very well been possible. Either way, she didn’t have time to focus on it now. She needed to get there before Rowan murdered her.
Nearly thirty minutes later, she finally arrived. It didn’t take long for her to spot her husband after walking in. He was sitting in their usual spot, with at least six empty glasses in front of him.
“Hey, babe, I’m sorry I’m—”
“Save it, Tara,” he interrupted her, holding up a hand. “It’s always the same excuse with you. You were supposed to be here two hours ago. Where the hell were you?”
“It’s not my fault. I swear! The subway was running late, and it was so packed that I had to wait for the next train. I tried to get here as fast as I could. I promise!”
Rowan raised a brow as he took a sip of his drink. “Oh, is that so?”
“Yes!”
“Because it’s way past rush hour. You shouldn’t have been fighting with anyone.”
“Well… I guess it’s just a busy day today. It is Thursday night, after all. Everyone’s probably getting a head start on their weekend.”
“Uh huh, sure. Anything else you wanna lie to me about?”
“Babe, Rowan, what do you mean? I’m not lying to you! Let’s just move past this and enjoy our anniversary.” She reached her hands across the dinner table and grabbed onto his, holding them tight and running her finger across his wedding band. “So, what’s my surprise this year? A diamond ring? A new purse? Ooo, did you get me that bracelet that all the celebrities are wearing? Imagine how popular I’d be if I wore that on stream.”
But instead of gripping her hands back, he pulled his away. “No, Tara, you’re not getting any of that. And frankly, I’m sick and tired of you spending all your time on social media. It feels like your relationship is more with your followers than with me. I don’t even feel like your husband half the time, always being pushed aside when you need to stream or record. Can’t you just put down the camera for once and live? Not everything in your life needs to be recorded, especially not our home.”
“You know I can’t do that. It’s my lifestyle. It’s how I make money. Of all people, you should understand that.”
“Yeah, but can’t you take a day off once in a while? Do you really need to be on every day?” He was now cutting into his steak, scarfing it down like he’d been waiting all day to eat. “Even now, you keep glancing over at your phone. Just put it away for the rest of the night. We’re having dinner.”
“I… I can’t. Please don’t hate me, but I’m actually supposed to live stream our anniversary dinner. Everyone’s expecting it.”
Rowan’s eyes when she said that turned into flames. The calm expression on his face turned almost demonic, and he gritted his teeth so vigorously that she was afraid his teeth would pop out from their sockets. He pulled the cloth napkin off from his lap, wiped his mouth, and tossed it against his plate.
“I’m done, Tara. We’re done. It’s over.”
She quickly turned off her camera and shot a look up at him. “What? What are you talking about? Are we leaving already?”
“No, I am. I’ve been having doubts about us for a while now, and this dinner was supposed to remedy that. But all you seem to care about are people you don’t even know. I’m divorcing you, Tara. And truth is, I’ve actually started seeing someone else.”
“What?!” Her scream was so loud and disruptive that half the restaurant turned to look at them. “You’re cheating on me? What the fuck, Rowan?! Six years, and you’re just going to throw it all down the drain?!”
