Day of the big masquerade ball (cheating path)

You stand in front of the triple-mirror in the master bedroom, straightening your tie. It's a perfectly knotted Windsor, a sliver of deep crimson against the stark white of your shirt. The tuxedo fits like a second skin, a familiar armor for formal occasions. But tonight, it feels different. It feels like a costume. The man in the mirror, with his carefully combed hair and confident posture, is a stranger. A cheater, a manipulative person staring back.

"You look handsome," Ava says, her voice soft behind you.

You turn. She's a vision in deep blue silk. The dress is simple, elegant, clinging to her curves in a way that reminds you of the first night you met her, a lifetime ago in a crowded party. But it's her mask that changes everything. It's not a simple party-store mask. It's a creation of wire and lace and sapphire-blue feathers, a delicate, avian thing that covers the upper half of her face. It makes her look mysterious, untouchable. Through the eye holes, her gaze is unreadable. She's been different since the shopping trip. Quieter, but with a new core of steel.

"You look incredible," you say, and the words are true, but they feel hollow, like you're complimenting an actress in a play.

She smiles, a slow, deliberate curve of her lips. "Ready for our big night out, as a big happy family?"

Downstairs, the front door opens. "Come on get a move on, I want to see this party!" Jason calls. You look out the window. He sitting in your new Honda, idling in the place. His girlfriend is in the passenger seat. She waves a fun night playing out in her head. Jason, in a slightly-too-large rented tux, gives you a funny glare to speed you up.

You didn't see Elsa or Kyler. They text you both that they'll be driving separately with their own friends. They wanted to make an entrance. Elsa texted something about an older gentleman wanting to pick her up himself. That text send a chill down your spine. You wonder if she knows about your tinder, or if that's even a different older man. You try to push that thought away as you both leave.

The drive to the mayor's mansion is silent. Not a comfortable silence, but a heavy, layered one. Ava stares out her window, the blue feathers of her mask a stark silhouette against the passing streetlights. You grip the steering wheel, your knuckles white. The city thins out, replaced by sprawling estates with manicured lawns and iron gates.

"You seem quiet," Ava says, her voice finally cutting through the tension.

"Just thinking about work," you lie, the words smooth and practiced. "Don't want to be thinking about a deal when I'm supposed to be having fun with my beautiful wife. Wondering what type lingerie you got underneath your dress tonight.” You want those words to be true as you said those words for only Ava could hear not for Jason and his hot girlfriend ears.

She turns her head to look at you, her mask making her expression impossible to decipher. "Is that all you're thinking about?"

You glance at her, then back at the road. "What else would there be?"

She doesn't answer. She just turns back to the window. The silence returns, thicker and heavier than before. You pull up to the mansion, a sprawling behemoth of white stone and glittering windows, bathed in the light of a full moon. Jason is already out, helping his girlfriend onto the crushed-gravel drive, their laughter echoing in the crisp night air. They look young, happy, and beautifully unaware.

You get out and open Ava's door, offering her your arm. She takes it, her grip firm, her steps sure. You walk towards the grand entrance, a phalanx of beautiful strangers, masks hiding familiar faces, turning the world into a carnivale of secrets. For a moment, you and your wife are a perfect, united front. A power couple. But you can only think about what desperate cheating you'll be up to tonight.

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