Chapter 3

3.

The post had blown up, with hundreds of comments.

Some were skeptical:

Come on, people. A hug is cheating now?

Seriously? What century are we in? Who still thinks a hug equals cheating?

Everyone calm down. I hugged my advisor last year when I won an award for my thesis. It’s normal.

Others were furious:

The thought of his wife at home while he’s downstairs hugging another woman makes me sick.

Hugs between professors and students are polite and professional. Who hugs that tightly?

I agree with the comment above. They’re pressed that close together. No one’s gonna believe there’s nothing going on.

PSA: You don’t have to catch them in bed to call it cheating.

And then there were the trolls:

Gotta say, the vibe of this photo is amazing. OP, do you do couples photoshoots?

Siri, I need all the info on this woman in three minutes.

Okay, y’all, tag me if there are any updates! I love the drama.

…

The comments section was a warzone.

Julian hadn’t messaged me at all. Instead, an unexpected person showed up at my studio.

It was Leo. “Hey, sorry about the other night,” he said. “I was drunk. I wasn’t thinking when I posted that picture.”

I rarely saw Leo. He was Julian’s friend and Mia’s older brother. I remember the first time we met; he was cold to me from the start. He never said anything outright insulting, but he’d make passive-aggressive comments during get-togethers. Everyone knew who he was talking about, but since he never said my name, I couldn’t call him out on it. The atmosphere was so uncomfortable it felt like I’d swallowed a bug.

Eventually, Julian couldn’t stand it anymore and took him outside. I don’t know what they talked about, but when they came back, they were acting like best friends again. After that, Leo just treated me like I was invisible, and Julian never made him apologize. The whole thing was just swept under the rug.

We had barely spoken since, so I had no idea why he was here today.

“You came all this way just to apologize?”

Leo nodded. “To show you how sorry I am, let me buy you dinner.”

I thought about the text Julian had just sent me, saying he had a dinner with colleagues tonight and that I should eat without him. Just one sentence. It was like he had no idea about the forum post. I had my doubts.

Leo took me to a trendy, high-rated restaurant. After we ordered, we sat in awkward silence.

I picked up my phone. “You don’t mind if I check in with my husband, do you?”

Leo waved his hand dismissively. “Go ahead.”

I placed a video call. Leo’s expression changed instantly.

“Is that a video call?”

I nodded. He immediately shot up from his seat and lunged across the table to grab my phone. But before he could, Julian declined the call.

Leo let out a breath of relief and met my gaze, explaining awkwardly, “I just wanted to say hi to Julian. I guess I was a little too eager.” He chugged some water and added, “I… I didn’t scare you, did I?”

I ignored him. Two new messages had popped up on my phone.

Julian: At a colleague dinner, can’t video. Is everything okay, Zoe?

Julian’s Colleague: Our department dinner is scheduled for the end of the month. Did Julian get the date wrong?

A wave of exhaustion washed over me.

I looked at Leo. “Is Julian on a date with your sister right now?”

“No! It’s not like that!” he shot back.

Watching him nervously fidget with his silverware, the answer was obvious.

“He sent you to keep me busy, so I wouldn’t find out?”

I raised my glass and tapped it against his. “You’ve worked so hard, going to all this trouble to help your sister go on a date with a married man. You’re such a good brother.”

I downed the cranberry juice in my glass, left Leo sitting there, and walked out.

He rushed after me. “It’s not what you think.”

“They’re just catching up. He was afraid you’d misunderstand.”

I found that laughable. “If he was afraid I’d misunderstand, they shouldn’t be ‘catching up’ alone.” I emphasized the word “alone.”

Leo kept following me. “Yes, you’re married, but they had four years together.”

“They’re just talking! Do you have to blow this out of proportion?”

“If they were just talking, they could have been open about it. Instead, they sneak around and send you to distract me.”

“Are they really just talking?” I sneered. “You’re probably the only one who believes that.”

He knew he was in the wrong. He looked ashamed. It seemed he was regretting agreeing to Mia’s request. If they had kept it a secret, everything would have been fine. Now that the secret was out, he was desperately trying to do damage control.

“Look, Mia has been begging me. She asked me to help her. I know this doesn't look good.”

“But nothing is happening between them. Can you please stop thinking the worst?”

“I’m apologizing to you. Can you just pretend you don’t know anything?”

I shot him a dirty look. “Do you know what you sound like right now?”

“Like a pimp, desperately trying to convince me that the girl he’s selling is just having a purely platonic chat with her client.”

“It’s fucking disgusting.”