He was forty-one now.
There were faint lines around his eyes and a little gray at his temples, but otherwise he looked like the same handsome man I had once believed I would grow old beside.
Beside him stood a beautiful blonde woman in an elegant emerald-green dress.
Her hand rested naturally on his arm.
A diamond sparkled on her finger.
Conrad’s fiancée.
His eyes left mine and settled on Parker.
Then Miles.
Then Audrey.
Finally Willa.
His expression changed.
I saw recognition before understanding.
The resemblance was impossible to ignore.
Parker had Conrad’s gray-blue eyes.
Miles had his jawline.
Audrey’s expressions sometimes reminded even me of Conrad’s younger photographs.
And Willa had his crooked half-smile.
The woman beside him whispered,
“Conrad, who are these children?”
He did not answer.
I walked closer.
“Merry Christmas.”
Conrad looked at me.
Then back at the children.
“Cecily…”
His voice barely carried.
I remained calm.
“You invited me to show everyone how well your life turned out.”
His expression tightened.
“I didn’t mean it like that.”
I glanced toward my children.
