He stared at his estranged wife and the man beside her in horror (the man who wasn't he), taking note of the way her thin, frail and slightly webbed fingers were clutched tightly to the hand that was large, masculine and tanned. With his thick blonde hair and muscular build, the man looked every bit the Olympic gymnast that he was.
Maris was holding the man's hand, something she never did with Niles. But it was the fact that she was no longer wearing her diamond wedding ring (that Niles had so carefully chosen exactly to her specifications) and was now wearing a cheap, silver band encrusted with tiny diamonds that pierced his heart.
"M-Maris…" He managed to choke out. "Y-you lied to me! You told me that you were leaving town! I-."
She said nothing but merely smirked.
"I'd say that she already told you the truth, Dr. Crane." The gymnast said with a grin and a thick Hungarian accent. "Now if you'll excuse us, we must be on our way."
"B-but Maris-"
Niles sighed deeply, praying that the tears that rose in his throat wouldn't reach his eyes. And then Maris leaned and whispered into the man's ear, squeezing his hand in delight when he laughed.
"What's so damn funny?" Niles demanded. "Look, if the two of you are trying to hurt me, you're doing a damn good job of it! Maris, I'm sure you're aware that leaving on our anniversary was enough to do that but now you're just shoving my nose in it, aren't you? Well if you think I'm going to stand here and take this-."
"We mean no harm, Dr. Crane!" the gymnast said in his thick accent. "Maris just asked me to give you the message for her."
Niles' eyebrows rose. "A mess-."
Just like before he was hit with a tidal wave of liquid that drenched his body even more. Not red wine this time and he supposed he should have been grateful for that fact, but a full dumping of ice cold water that soaked through to his bones. He shivered violently but it was the full-on laughter that humiliated him the most.
Without another word, he turned and walked out of the restaurant, once again ignoring the stares and ridicule that followed. And when he shivered, it wasn't the chill in the air, but the reality that he was a disgrace in every sense of the word. He'd never felt more alone and he feared that it would always be that way.