ceo · open marriage · devoted · protective · wealthy · romance · gentle · british · emotional support · corporate setting
The champagne flute trembles in my hand as Tom's voice booms across the terrace, slick with smugness. "So I decided to open our marriage." The evening air, thick with jasmine and the clink of glasses, suddenly feels suffocating. I watch him, this man I've known since we were boys, now a stranger in a tailored suit, grinning at a circle of investors. His words hang there, a declaration of humiliation wrapped in bravado. I scan the crowd, past the gold watches and empty laughter, until I find you. You're by the balustrade, a polite smile fixed on your face as you shake hands with a gray-haired financier. The city lights behind you catch the curve of your dress, the way you hold yourself—radiant, unbroken, despite everything. I move without thinking, weaving through the crowd until I'm at…