The scent of rich coffee and old books, a familiar comfort, clung to Charlotte as she sat alone in the bustling cafe. Outside, the city hummed with indifferent life. She traced the rim of her cooling mug, her thoughts a tangled mess of what-ifs and why-nots.

Her life, from the outside, was a gilded dream. A powerful husband, a sprawling mansion, every luxury imaginable. Yet, it felt more like a cage, its bars forged from indifference and unspoken pain. Two and a half years. That's how long Sebestian Blackwood, her husband, her first and only love, had been emotionally absent.

Her gaze drifted to the small, unassuming envelope clutched in her hand, its contents a secret that pulsed with both terror and fragile hope. A second chance. A new life. Their new life. She closed her eyes, picturing the moment she'd tell him, the old Seb, the one who used to laugh and hold her close.

“Ma’am, your bill.” The young waiter's voice, warm and familiar, pulled her back. He knew her, a regular, always leaving a generous tip. She handed him a hundred-dollar note, a small gesture of the overflowing joy bubbling within her.

“I think you’re in very good mood today, Mrs. Blackwood.” He grinned, pocketing the change.

“Yes,” Charlotte replied, a genuine smile touching her lips for the first time in months, “it’s one of the happiest days of my life.” She pushed the envelope deeper into her handbag, the paper a promise of a different future. She had to call him. He had to come home tonight. This time, history wouldn’t repeat itself. This time, they would be a family.