Running Toward Home

Chapter Three ~ The Collision

The restaurant smelled of roasted garlic and rosemary, warm and comforting. Lyn smoothed her blouse for what felt like the hundredth time, her hands trembling slightly despite her efforts to stay composed.

Tonight was supposed to be just dinner with Ethan.

Just them.

A small oasis of connection after weeks of late nights and empty promises.

Ethan was already at the table, standing as she approached. His smile was polite, warm on the surface, and for a heartbeat, Lyn let herself hope.

“You look… lovely,” he said softly, pulling out her chair.

She sat, letting out a small sigh, the familiar rhythm of plates and murmurs around her settling her nerves. Maybe tonight could be normal, even for a little while.

And then a voice cut across the quiet hum of the restaurant, sharp and brimming with anger.

“So . . . this is why you couldn’t see me?!”

Lyn froze. She hadn’t heard that voice before. She glanced up. A tall woman, impeccably dressed, with sharp green eyes blazing, strode toward their table, heels clicking against the polished floor.

Ethan rose instantly, hands lifting defensively. “Vivian-”

Lyn’s mouth went dry. “I . . . I’m so sorry,” she said cautiously, trying to rise as the woman came closer. “Do we . . . know each other?”

The stranger’s eyes narrowed. Without warning, she flung the glass of red wine in Lyn’s direction. The liquid splashed across her chest and stomach. Lyn gasped, stepping back instinctively, stunned and sticky.

“I’m the one f*****g your husband!” Vivian screamed, voice carrying across the restaurant.

Lyn froze, the words striking her like a hammer. Her knees nearly gave way, and she had to push herself upright, trembling and drenched, heart hammering in her chest.

The murmurs of nearby diners made the humiliation pulse through her like fire.

Vivian whirled on Ethan, shrieking at him. “You liar! I thought you hated her! I thought she disgusted you! But apparently . . . not enough to stop you from getting that gross whale pregnant!”

Before Lyn could even react, Vivian’s hands seized a vase from the table behind her and hurled it toward her stomach. Instinctively, the restaurant’s waiter had moved Lynn just in time., and the vase shattered harmlessly against the floor,

“Vivian, she’s not pregnant.” Ethan soothed the distraught woman. Rubbing the sides of her arms while Lyn stood stunned. The waiter still holding her to ensure her safety.

“She’s obviously pregnant, look how fat she is!” Vivian shrieked and for the first time in a year, Ethan finally looked at Lyn. His eyes sliding up and down.

“How could you do this to me! You said you loved me!” Vivian cried with no tears.

“Vivian, I’m sorry.” Ethan consoled her.

All around them, diners gasped and whispered. Despite the waiter trying to protectively block people’s view of her, Lyn could feel their attention pin her in place, suffocating her. She wanted to disappear, to shrink under the humiliation.

Vivian stormed off, dragging Ethan after her. The sound of heels and then the click of the front door echoed behind them.

He had abandoned her, right there, in front of everyone.

Lyn began to feel her knees become Jell-O, her shoulders trembling. Her chest ached, her stomach tightened with the baby she carried, and she couldn’t even bring herself to cry yet. She had come for a quiet dinner, a fleeting connection, a little reassurance.

Instead, she had been publicly humiliated, left alone, and heartbroken.

The restaurant buzzed with whispers, curious eyes on her. The waiter was talking to her but she couldn’t hear him.

She just wanted to scream, to call after him, to demand answers but the words caught in her throat.

All she could do was press her hands to her stomach, let the trembling wash over her, and realize that her life had just fractured in ways she would never be able to repair.