“Come to my wedding with Claire and bring the girls. Your invitation includes a +1, but we both know you don’t have anyone.”
That was very Max. After thirteen years of marriage and two daughters, he left me for Claire, his personal trainer, because he said I no longer looked the way he wanted. “Men are visual,” he told me. “Claire is perfect.” His words stayed with me long after he left.
When Max announced his wedding, I decided to attend for our daughters. But seeing the +1 gave me an idea. I asked my coworker and close friend Edward to pretend to be my boyfriend. He was handsome, athletic, and exactly the kind of man Max would notice. Edward agreed, though his reaction suggested he had another reason.
At the wedding, Max stared when he saw us together. But instead of being impressed, he laughed. “Your boyfriend? No one would date you. Especially someone like him.” Then he asked whether I had paid Edward to come. My face burned, but Edward calmly told Max he had brought him a wedding gift.
