By the time the last guests trickled out, the warm buzz of Brian's birthday dinner had turned into an uneasy stillness. Half-full wine glasses stood abandoned, napkins crumpled like the night itself had given up trying to hold together. The private room, once glowing with laughter and soft music, now held its breath.
Peter was slouched in his chair, head tilted back, snoring softly. His wine-stained shirt stuck to his chest, and his hand still gripped the stem of an empty glass. He hadn't moved since collapsing into sleep, heavy with drink and embarrassment. Not angry anymore, just gone.
Selena sat across from him, spine rigid, jaw clenched tight. Her dress still shimmered in the low light, but there was nothing glowing about her now. She looked like someone who'd been cracked down the center and was doing everything she could not to fall apart in front of the people who still mattered.
Jack hadn't moved far from the corner. He stayed near the exit, standing like a man prepared to leave but waiting for something unknown from Brian.
Brian was the only one still upright, pacing slow circles like he didn't know what to do with his hands. His face, usually calm and expressive, was stiff. Tight with restraint. He turned to Jack without warning.
One punch. Clean, hard, right across Jack's cheek.
Jack staggered back half a step but didn't lift his hands, didn't respond. His jaw tightened. He blinked slowly, absorbing the sting.
Selena flinched in her seat but said nothing.
Brian didn't move again. He just stood there in front of Jack, breathing hard. "You were supposed to be my best friend," he said, his voice low, broken around the edges. "You were family, Jack."
"I know," Jack said quietly.
Brian's hands were shaking now. "And then you had to sleep with my sister."
The silence in the room stretched, full of sharp things. Selena's throat locked. She kept her eyes on the floor.
Brian shook his head, like he was trying to wake himself up from a bad dream. "She's married, for God's sake, Jack! She was married the whole damn time. And you didn't just cheat with anyone. You picked her. You picked my sister!"
Jack looked like he'd been expecting those words, but that didn't make them hurt any less.
"I never meant to hurt you," Jack said. "Or her."
"You did hurt me," Brian shot back. "You blew up her marriage. You made me question everything I ever thought I knew about you."
Jack's voice was steady, but you could hear the strain. "Brian, she was hurting. She was—hell, she was disappearing in that house. I didn't plan any of this to happen."
"But you didn't," Brian snapped.
Jack hesitated. "No. I didn't."
Brian stared at him, the rage draining slowly into something worse, a disappointment. "You left me with no choice, Jack. You put me in the middle of this mess, and I didn't ask for any of it."
Selena stood slowly, finally finding her voice. "Brian, please."
He turned to her. "Don't. Don't ask me to understand this."
"I'm not asking for that," she said. "But you don't know everything."
"I know enough," Brian said. "I know you're married, and you let this happen. With my best friend, Sel!"
Selena's lip trembled, but she pulled herself upright. "Peter was the one who suggested the open marriage."
Brian blinked, stunned. "What?"
"He's been distant for months. He is the one who proposed an open marriage. And he wanted a way to keep doing that without... consequences." She swallowed hard. "I didn't want it. I didn't agree right away, but I gave up fighting. I was tired."
"So this is Peter's fault?" Brian said. "That's the story?"
"No. It's not about blame," she said. "It's about what I became in that house. I was a ghost."
Brian looked at Jack again. "And you—what were you, the hero? Her savior?"
Jack finally took a step closer. "I didn't go looking for any of this. But I couldn't keep pretending I didn't care. I've loved her for years, and—"
"Loved?" Brian interrupted, his voice sharp. "You're calling it love now?"
Jack met his eyes. "Yes. And I know how that sounds. I know it's messy and wrong and complicated. But it's also real."
Selena's eyes widened. She hadn't expected him to say it like that. Out loud.
She turned slowly toward Jack, her voice barely a whisper. "What?"
Jack looked at her, unsure now.
"I... I thought it just words you said after that," she said. Her voice cracked. "I didn't think you—"
"You didn't think I meant it?" Jack asked quietly.
She didn't answer. She couldn't. Her mind was spinning too fast.
Brian looked between them, his disgust rising again. "Jesus. You don't even know what this is. You're both so deep in this you can't see how far gone you are."
Jack swallowed, trying to find something to say that would make this less of a disaster, but Selena was already retreating inside herself.
"I never wanted to be the reason everything fell apart," Jack said to her.
"Well, congratulations," Brian said, his voice sharp and cold. "You are."
Jack stepped back. The look in Selena's eyes wasn't love. It wasn't even gratitude. It was fear. Regret. Like he was a reminder of everything she didn't want to face.
He nodded, jaw set, and turned toward the door.
"Jack—" Selena said, reaching slightly toward him.
He stopped, but didn't turn back.
"I was never a game," he said, quietly enough that only she heard. "But maybe I was just another thing you didn't want to admit you needed."
He walked out without another word.
Selena stood still, her body cold despite the warmth of the room.
Brian didn't say anything else. He just walked past her and dropped into a chair, burying his face in his hands.