“Everything.”
He pulled out one final document.
And this time, Max didn’t even touch it.
Daniel placed it on the table.
“That’s a copy of the investigation report.”
Max swallowed.
“So?”
Daniel pointed to one line.
“Look at the name of the person who helped Claire cover it up.”
Max looked down.
His eyes widened.
Then he looked at Claire.
“Tell me that’s not my name.”
Claire said nothing.
Max’s breathing became heavier.
Because the person who had helped Claire hide the fraud wasn’t some stranger.
It was Max himself.
Apparently, Max had known Claire years before he ever claimed they met.
They had worked together at the same gym.
When Claire was investigated, Max had used his access to company records to help remove evidence connecting her to the missing money.
He had thought the matter was buried.
But Daniel’s sister had kept copies.
And now those records were sitting in front of everyone.
Max looked at me.
His arrogance was gone.
“I can explain.”
I shook my head.
“You don’t have to.”
He stared at me.
“But—”
“You spent years telling me I wasn’t good enough.”
I looked at Claire.
“Maybe you both deserved each other.”
Then I took Daniel’s hand.
We turned to leave.
But before we reached the door, Emma tugged on my dress.
“Mom?”
I bent down.
“What is it, sweetheart?”
She looked at Daniel.
“Is he really your boyfriend?”
I glanced at him.
Daniel smiled.
“Well…”
Before he could finish, Lily shouted from behind us:
“Mommy likes Daniel!”
Everyone laughed.
Even I did.
But Daniel didn’t.
He looked at me.
And quietly said,
“I think we should talk about that after we leave.”
My heart started racing.
Outside, we reached the parking lot.
I turned toward him.
“So…”
“So,” he said.
“You know this was supposed to be fake.”
“I remember.”
“And now?”
He smiled.
“Now I’m hoping we can forget that rule.”
I laughed.
Then he reached into his pocket.
There was one more envelope.
I stared at it.
“What is that?”
Daniel handed it to me.
“For you.”
I opened it.
Inside was a photograph.
It showed me and Daniel at work.
But that wasn’t what shocked me.
On the back was a handwritten message:
“You don’t know this yet, but I didn’t agree to be your fake boyfriend because of Max.”
I looked up.
Daniel was staring at me.
“Then why?”
He smiled.
“Because I’ve been in love with you for almost two years.”
I couldn’t speak.
Then he added quietly:
“And I was waiting for you to realize that you deserved someone who never made you question your worth.”
For the first time since my divorce, I understood something.
Max had spent years convincing me I had lost my value.
But I hadn’t lost anything.
I had simply stopped looking at myself through his eyes.
And the man standing beside me had been seeing me clearly all along.
The fake boyfriend was never the real surprise.
The real surprise was discovering that the life I thought had ended with my divorce…
was actually the life that was finally beginning.
