I hired a stranger to pretend to be my boyfriend for one afternoon because my ex-husband was bringing the woman he had left me for.I expected people to whisper. I expected awkward looks, fake smiles, and maybe pity from the relatives gathered around the pool.What I did not expect was for that stranger to notice the smallest thing about me\u2014and expose exactly who had taught me to shrink myself.When Daniel arrived at my house, my first thought was that he looked too good for this plan.He was tall, confident, dark-haired, and dressed in a crisp white shirt with the sleeves rolled up. He looked like someone who belonged anywhere he walked.I stood on the porch in my old blue sundress, gripping the doorframe like it could hold me together.\u201cI\u2019m sorry,\u201d I blurted before he even said hello. \u201cI don\u2019t look like my photos anymore.\u201dDaniel paused.Then he said quietly, \u201cYou apologized before you introduced yourself.Embarrassed, I laughed. \u201cSorry. I\u2019m Maggie.\u201dHis expression changed slightly at the second apology, but he only held out his hand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cDaniel.\u201dInside the house, my children were yelling about goggles, towels, and who got to sit where in the car. I apologized for that too.Daniel only glanced inside and said, \u201cSounds like kids excited for a pool party.\u201dI had not hired him because I wanted revenge.I hired him because Ryan would be there.And so would Lucille.Three months earlier, Ryan had stood in our kitchen and told me he wanted a divorce. Then he added that he was with Lucille, his secretary.She was younger, polished, and perfect in the way I had not felt perfect since before motherhood, laundry, sleepless nights, and years of being told I was no longer enough.Ryan looked at me and said, \u201cYou\u2019re not the woman I married. You used to be slim. You\u2019re just not attractive to me anymore.\u201dAfter that, he took Lucille everywhere. Restaurants. Work events. Family gatherings. Even his mother Elaine\u2019s house.So when Elaine invited me and the kids to her Fourth of July pool party, I almost refused.\u201cYou\u2019re still family,\u201d she told me\u201cRyan will be there,\u201d I said.\u201cI know.\u201d\u201cWith her.\u201dElaine was quiet for a moment. Then she said, \u201cDon\u2019t let him push you out of places where you belong.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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