While all of this was happening, Miku was fuming inside, her frustration simmering just beneath the surface like a storm waiting to break.
Every laugh shared around the gathering, every casual glance exchanged in the group, felt like a cruel reminder of what she couldn't have—not right now, not with her husband sitting mere feet away, oblivious but ever-present.
She desperately wanted to talk to Ross, to steal even a few stolen moments alone with him, to feel that electric connection that had drawn her into this dangerous affair in the first place.
But exposing their secret relationship here, in front of everyone, was unthinkable.
One wrong word, one lingering look too long, and everything could come crashing down.
She forced a smile through the evening's conversations, her mind racing with unspoken words and pent-up longing.
