Chapter 8

Chapter 8

“What?! You seriously told her that?” Clarke exclaimed, his eyes wide in shock as he leaned back in his chair.

Mikhail who was sitting across from him in the bar, nodded, swirling his drink absentmindedly. “Yeah, I did.”

His friend shook his head in disbelief. “Man, that’s bold even for you. What were you thinking?”

Mikhail sighed, running a hand through his hair. “I don’t know, Clarke. Seeing her again after all these years… I just wanted to show her that I’ve moved on. That I’m not the same man she left behind.”

His response made Clarke lean forward as his expression softened slightly. “But lying about having a wife? That’s a whole different level, Mikhail. You really think that’s going to make her jealous or something?”

Mikhail’s jaw tightened. “I did not do it only to make her jealous. I wanted her to see that I have built a better life, on my own. That I’m happy and successful, even without her in the picture.”

“And did it work? Did she seem affected by it?” Clarke aske