"You are safe."
The room contained several family members, but conversations were happening around us.
Most people weren't paying attention.
I smiled uncertainly.
"Thanks?"
Sarah leaned closer.
"Secure. Predictable. You have a plan for everything."
"Okay."
"But I don't think I want that anymore."
My stomach tightened.
Robert sensed the shift.
"I'm going to get another drink."
He disappeared toward the kitchen.
Sarah's mother had already gone to get dessert.
For a moment, despite the house being full, it felt like only Sarah and I existed.
"What are you talking about?"
She folded her arms.
"I don't want a man who spends his entire life playing it safe."
I stared.
"What?"
"I want someone who takes risks."
"Where is this coming from?"
She gave a short laugh.
"Come on, Alex."
"No. Seriously."
"I've been trying to tell you."
"Tell me what?"
"That we're different."
"We've always been different."
"Not like this."
Her voice remained low.
"I want more than a house in the suburbs and retirement accounts."
"You've literally told me you wanted those things."
"Maybe I thought I did."
I felt something cold move through my chest.
"Is this about Liam?"
Sarah paused.
That pause answered before she spoke.
"I told you about him."
"You told me he's your boss."
"We've been seeing each other."
The room disappeared.
I couldn't hear the television.
Couldn't hear conversations.
Couldn't smell the apple pie Diane was bringing from the kitchen.
All I heard was my own heartbeat.
"What do you mean, seeing each other?"
Sarah held my gaze.
"Exactly what it sounds like."
I waited for the follow-up.
The apology.
The panic.
The explanation.
Instead she continued almost calmly.
"It started as work."
I said nothing.
"We stayed late together a few times."
My hands became cold.
"Then we started getting drinks."
"How long?"
"A little while."
"How long, Sarah?"
"About six weeks."
Six weeks.
I mentally traveled backward.
Six weeks included venue meetings.
Cake tasting.
A dinner with my parents.
One night when Sarah had sat beside me addressing save-the-date envelopes.
Six weeks.
"Did you sleep with him?"
Sarah looked away.
That was answer enough.
I stood.
She immediately whispered, "Don't make a scene."
I stared at her.
"Don't make a scene?"
"My family is here."
"You just told me you're sleeping with your boss."
"Lower your voice."
I almost laughed.
"You want me to protect you from embarrassment?"
"That's not what I said."
"What exactly are you saying?"
Sarah looked at me with an expression I'll never forget.
A small smile appeared.
Not happiness.
Confidence.
As if she believed she had finally become brave enough to say something she'd been rehearsing.
"Liam is ambitious."
I couldn't believe what I was hearing.
"Okay."
"He's a hustler."
I nearly laughed at the word.
"He understands wanting more."
"And I don't?"
"Not like him."
She leaned back.
"He wants to travel. Start companies. Live big."
"Live big."
"Yes."
"And what exactly have I been doing for five years?"
"Building something safe."
There it was again.
Safe.
"I thought we were building a life."
"We were building your life."
I stared at her.