After My Husband Sent Me His Mistress’s Lingerie

The Javits Center hummed like a beehive.

I stepped through the doors in silver armor and a red cape, and the air changed. Heads turned. A guy dressed as a robot actually stopped walking.

Five years ago, I would have crossed my arms over my chest. Today I lifted my chin.

The leather straps hugged my waist. The cape brushed the backs of my knees. Every step felt like a small, quiet *watch me.*

“Daphne!”

Kyree was waving over the crowd with both arms, like he was landing a plane. He wore a blue space-captain jacket with gold buttons. His hair was messy. His grin was huge.

Then he saw me up close, and the grin slid off his face.

He just stood there. His mouth opened. Closed.

“Say something,” I teased. “You’re scaring me.”

“Sorry. I’m trying to.” He laughed and rubbed the back of his neck. “You look like a goddess who accidentally wandered out of a video game.”

No angle. No smirk. He said it the way you say the sky is blue.

Something warm moved through my chest. I hadn't felt it in a long time.

“Careful,” I said. “I might start believing you.”

“Good. You should.”

He took my tote bag before I could stop him. “I’ve got it.”

“It’s not heavy.”

“Doesn’t matter. I’m carrying it.”

Roman never carried anything. Not my bags. Not my grief. Not his own guilt.

We wandered the floor. Kyree talked fast, pointing at everything. Banners. Swords. A giant dragon made of foam. At one booth, he stopped dead and pulled out his wallet.

“Kyree, no.”

“Too late.”

He handed me a small box. Inside was a limited-edition figurine of a warrior woman, cape flying, sword raised. She looked a lot like me.

“She’s sold out everywhere,” he said. “I’ve been hunting her for months. She’s yours now.”

My throat tightened. Roman’s gifts always came with a price tag, and a hook. This one just sat in my palm, light and honest.

“Thank you,” I said quietly.

“Don’t thank me. Just let me watch you smile.”

I did.

A group of cosplayers rushed over, phones up. “Can we get a photo? You two are amazing together!”

I opened my mouth to correct them.

Kyree beat me to it. He slid his arm around my waist, firm but careful, like he was ready to let go the second I asked.

“She’s the star,” he told them proudly. “I’m just the sidekick.”

The flashes went off. I leaned into his side, only a little.

No one had looked at me like that in years. Not like I was a trophy. Like I was a gift.

---

By afternoon, my feet ached and my cheeks hurt from smiling.

We passed a small screening booth. A movie clip played on a wide screen. A couple in the rain. A kiss. Soft piano music swelling.

My steps slowed.

Five years ago, I had believed in that kind of ending. White dress. Roman’s hand in mine. Every promise he made.

My fingers curled around the strap of my cape.

I felt Kyree look at me. He didn’t ask. He didn’t say a word.

He just gently touched my elbow. “Come on. I want to show you something.”

He led me across the hall to a louder section. Drums boomed. Fans screamed over a stage. Everything glittered and shook.

He stopped at a trivia table with a bright pink banner. *Anime Lore Showdown.*

“Okay,” he said, rolling his shoulders. “I’m challenging you.”

I raised an eyebrow. “You’re challenging me?”

“I’m very good at this. You should be scared.”

“Am I?”

“Terrified.”

The host read the first question. A name from a show nobody remembered. I answered before Kyree could blink.

Second question. Obscure spell. Season three, episode nine. Answered.

Third. Fourth. Fifth.

I had spent a lot of lonely nights in that apartment with a laptop and a dog. I knew more than I wanted to admit.

Kyree stared at me. “Wait. *Wait.* How do you know that?”

“Insomnia,” I said sweetly.

He burst out laughing. It was so loud that people turned around. He bent over, hands on his knees, and wheezed.

“You’re unreal,” he said, shaking his head. His eyes were bright with pure delight. “You destroyed me. In public.”

“I’m very good at that.”

I laughed with him.

It came up from somewhere deep. Loud. Unplanned. My shoulders shook. My eyes stung.

I could not remember the last time that had happened.

---

At the exit, the sun was low and gold. Kyree stood with my tote in one hand and his jacket over his arm, suddenly shy.

“I had fun,” he said.

“Me too.”

“Can I see you again?”

I looked at him. At his open face. At the nothing he was hiding.

“Maybe,” I said. “Ask me when you’re not holding my bag.”

He grinned and handed it over. In the shuffle, he juggled his jacket, my tote, and the figurine box. Everything swapped hands in a clumsy blur.

He waved until I reached the curb.

I sat in the back of the car and let out a long breath. My cheeks were still warm.

I had no idea a sleek navy tie was tucked inside my tote, folded between my phone and my keys.