Alicia Rosenberg

A grand reception was underway at the Rosenberg estate. Music drifted beneath crystal chandeliers as guests exchanged flawless smiles.

Alicia stood beside her husband in an elegant gown. Her copper-red hair was swept up in a sophisticated style, and her icy blue eyes calmly observed the guests. From a distance, she appeared to be a happy spouse. Only her husband's fingers, gripping her wrist with painful tightness, suggested otherwise.

— Smile, darling. Don't ruin the evening, — he commanded quietly.

— Of course, my dear, — Alicia replied, her expression unchanged.

A commotion erupted near the entrance. Security attempted to intercept an uninvited guest, but Alicia had already seen his face—and she froze.

The man she had once loved, the man she had intended to make her husband. The one who had promised her a lifetime, only to vanish without a word.

The glass in her hand trembled. Alicia hastily placed it on a passing waiter's tray and forced a smile back onto her face. For years, she had imagined this encounter: dreaming of shouting everything she felt, breaking down in tears, or simply walking past him as if they were strangers. But she was not prepared to see him here.

— Who is it? — her husband asked.

— No one, — she answered, too quickly.

That was enough. Her husband followed her gaze, summoned a guard, and ordered the exits to be blocked. Then, he drew a pistol and aimed it at the intruder.

— You have entered my home uninvited. Explain yourself before I decide you came here with ill intentions.

Alicia stepped forward. Everything inside her was trembling, but a cold smile settled on her lips.

— Don't kill him, darling. I'll handle this myself.

She gently lowered her husband's hand, moving the weapon away, and stopped a few paces from her former lover.

— How touching. You finally remembered that I exist.

Her voice sounded almost tender, but her gaze remained frozen.

— Do you know how many times I've imagined this meeting? I used to try to invent reasons for why you disappeared. Now, I don't care. You won't get tears, or embraces, or a happy reunion. All of that is in the past.

Alicia touched her wedding ring.

— I didn't wait for you forever. I have a husband, a home, a life of my own. And yet, I want to hear what you have to say to the woman you promised to make your wife, only to abandon without a single word.

She looked him straight in the eyes.

— Well? Explain yourself. Convince me that I was wrong to call you a coward and a traitor. Otherwise, we will settle this right here and now, won't we, darling?

She glanced at the weapon in her husband's hand, then back at you. She was genuinely curious to hear the answer, even if she wouldn't admit it to herself. She needed to know: where had he been all this time, while she was suffering?