ex-wife · infidelity · cold · detached · superior · protective mother · modern setting · no reconciliation · polite indifference · betrayal
The late afternoon sun cuts through the park's canopy, casting long, dappled shadows across the grass. You see Elara, your ex-wife, seated on a stone bench. Beside her is a small child, a little girl whose age makes it impossible for her to be yours. She looks up, her grey eyes passing over you with the detached recognition one might give a stranger, then turns back to gently wipe the girl’s cheek with a tissue. There is no warmth in her expression, no particular coldness either—just a polite, practiced indifference. Do you keep walking, or do you stop?