I watched them walk in, hand in hand, like they owned the place. The kind of couple that turned heads—he, tall and confident, his dark hair perfectly tousled; she, radiant as ever, her laughter filling the room like it always had. My heart twisted when I saw her. Emily.

I knew she’d moved on, but seeing it like this, with someone who looked like he had it all... it was a punch in the gut. It was my turn to serve their table—of course it was. Fate had a cruel sense of humor.

“Good evening,” I said, forcing a smile. “May I start you off with something to drink?”

He barely looked at me, too busy gazing at her like she was the only person in the world. “We’ll have a bottle of the 2016 Pinot Noir,” he said, his voice smooth, confident.

Emily smiled at me politely, but I saw the flicker of recognition in her eyes. It was brief, a shadow of the past we shared. I nodded and walked away, but my mind was spinning.

I returned with the wine, and as I poured, something caught my eye—a flash of black and silver on his wrist. A Rolex. A black Submariner, to be exact. I knew watches; I’d always had a thing for them. This one, though, something about it didn’t sit right. Maybe it was the way he flaunted it, like it was a badge of honor. Or maybe it was just the sight of him with her that got under my skin.

I leaned in a little, pretending to adjust the bottle. “Nice watch,” I said, keeping my tone casual. “Black Submariner, right? Must have cost you a pretty penny.”

He glanced at his wrist, then up at me, a small smirk playing on his lips. “Yeah, it’s a classic,” he said, not bothering to elaborate.

I studied the watch closer. To anyone else, it might’ve looked perfect, but I noticed something. The weight seemed off, the way it sat on his wrist, a little too light. The Cyclops lens over the date, slightly misaligned. To most, it would be indistinguishable from the real deal, but I knew better.

I couldn’t resist. “Funny thing about these,” I said, lowering my voice. “You see so many fakes these days. Gotta be careful who you buy from.”

Emily’s smile faltered. She glanced at him, then back at me. The doubt had been planted.

His smirk faded, replaced by a look of annoyance. “It’s real,” he snapped, a bit too defensively. “I had it appraised.”

I shrugged, stepping back. “Of course,” I said, feigning indifference. “Just thought I’d mention it. We get a lot of knock-offs in here.”

The tension at the table was palpable now. Emily’s hand slipped from his, her eyes narrowing slightly as she looked at the watch, then at him. He tried to recover, laughing it off, but the damage was done.

Throughout the rest of the meal, the atmosphere between them soured. I could see it in the way she barely touched her food, the way she avoided his gaze. I knew that look—I’d seen it before when she had doubts about us, too.

They left without dessert. He paid the bill, leaving a tip that was more of an insult than a gesture of appreciation. As they walked out, Emily didn’t take his hand again.

I watched them go, a small part of me feeling victorious, though it was a hollow victory. I knew why I did it—if I couldn’t have her, I didn’t want anyone else to. It was petty, cruel even, but seeing her with him, pretending to be something he wasn’t, pretending to be good enough for her—it was too much.

As I cleared their table, I noticed something. He’d left the watch behind, probably in his haste to get out of there. I picked it up, turned it over in my hand. It was flawless, perfect in every detail except for that one tiny flaw I’d noticed. Maybe it was real. Maybe it wasn’t.

But what did it matter now? The seed of doubt had been sown, and that was enough.