My Period Exposed Everything

"It's getting late. Is it even safe for you to ride home alone? Whatever. Guess I'm the unlucky one. I'll just get the car detailed tomorrow."

There it was again.

A little kindness wrapped around a knife.

I gripped the seatbelt across my chest, my throat tight.

Instead of answering, I pulled out my phone and messaged the studio we'd booked for our wedding photos.

[Hi, I'd like to cancel the wedding shoot scheduled for next week. What do I need to do?]

The studio owner's chat kept flashing [typing...]

Then nothing.

[typing...]

Nothing again.

After more than a dozen starts and stops, a message finally came through.

[Ms. Zane, the wedding package was changed to a couple's birthday shoot three days ago. Your fiancé also asked us to move the session up. The edited photos will be ready tonight. Didn't he tell you?]

My finger hovered over the screen.

A few seconds later, I realized it was shaking.

Badly.

I had to grab my wrist with my other hand to keep from dropping my phone.

I turned and looked at Kelvin.

His eyes stayed on the road.

Everything looked exactly the same as always.

Maybe he felt me staring.

He tilted his head slightly, irritation creeping into his voice.

"What are you looking at? Are you seriously upset because I called you out?"

I didn't answer.

Once my hands stopped shaking, I slowly typed:

[Can I see the photos?]

The studio owner paused again before sending several photos and a ten-second video.

[Mr. Bowyer assured us multiple times there wouldn't be any issues, so we agreed to change the package and move the shoot up. Ms. Zane, please don't make this difficult for us...]

I barely saw the rest of her messages.

I opened the photos.

A familiar face filled the screen.

My eyes burned.

The woman in the pictures was Paige Jensen.

The new intern teacher.

The same woman Kelvin had given my pads and painkillers to.

There were dozens of photos.

I swiped through them one by one.

Kelvin was in every photo.

They wore matching outfits and looked exactly like a couple in love.

Then I opened the video.

Paige looked tired from the shoot and stuck out her lower lip. "My shoulders hurt, Kelvin. Give me a massage."

In those ten seconds, I saw a version of Kelvin I'd never seen before.

Gentle.

Patient.

Almost impossibly soft.

"Okay, princess. Just one more set. Hang in there. When we're done, I'll take you out for a big dinner."

Paige instantly lit up and threw her arms in the air. "Yay!"

My eyes stung.

I touched them, expecting tears.

Nothing.

I wouldn't cry over Kelvin anymore.

It just dragged up old memories.

After we got engaged, I suggested taking our wedding photos early so we wouldn't be rushed later.

Kelvin refused.

"I hate taking pictures. You know that. Wedding photos are useless except to stare at. Why are you forcing me to do something so pointless?"

I bit my lip and tried again. "They matter. When we're old and can barely remember each other's faces, we can look at them. Our future kids can see how happy we were. I promise, just two locations—one indoor, one outdoor. It won't be exhausting."

He looked at me and said one word. "Ridiculous."

Still, I didn't give up.

I spent forever trying to convince him.

He said plenty of hurtful things before he finally agreed, and I cried more than once.

To make sure we could finish everything in one session, I researched nonstop.

Outfits.

Locations.

Photographer.

I stayed up until two or three most nights making plans, then dragged myself up the next day to teach.

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