Mark Walked Into His Own Kitchen and Found His Wif…

John and Alex avoided looking at me. Stephanie wore a smug expression, as if she believed the room already belonged to her. Barkley grinned like he was in control of the situation.

Then there was Susan. She had a smile on her face I had not seen in a long time, and for a second, that made the air feel even heavier. The room was suffocating, thick with tension hanging between us like a ticking clock.

I refused to speak first. I was not going to make it easy for any of them. I let the silence stretch until even the kitchen seemed to shrink around us, knowing Hannah was squirming under the weight of it.

Her eyes kept moving everywhere except to me. She knew what was coming. She knew I would not let her glide through this like it was some harmless family favor.

I did not blink. I just watched her twist in her seat, as if there was a way to escape the reality of what she had helped build. There was not.