My husband and I get professional photos taken every anniversary.

Our tenth was no different.

The photo studio assistant was helping me flip through the pictures when she suddenly spoke up.

"Oh, we missed a few of your husband's. Here they are."

I stared at the photos.

The man was my husband, but the woman in the wedding dress wasn't me.

……

The studio assistant laid out the photos one by one.

My husband was definitely my husband, but the woman in the wedding dress was not me.

It was his secretary, Ava Conway.

In the pictures, they looked like a perfectly matched couple, handsome and beautiful, a natural fit.

The groom, mature and steady, exuded charm.

The bride, young and lovely, nestled against him like a delicate bird, her eyes sparkling as she gazed up at him.

The owner, who was fetching a frame for me, walked over and her face changed the instant she saw the photos.

She quickly reached out, closed the folder on the computer, and snapped at her employee.

"You've made a mistake! This man just looks like Mr. Presley, how could it possibly be him?! Mr. Presley and his wife are long-time clients; you can't get them wrong! You can forget about your bonus this month!"

The assistant knew she'd messed up and didn't dare say a word.

I just smiled, trying to smooth things over.

"It's alright, they’re beautiful photos. I’ll take my husband's pictures for him; I can just text him about it."

I snapped a few shots of what I thought were their best poses and sent them to Ethan.

"I think these shots of you and Ava turned out the best, so I went ahead and picked them for you."

Ethan called me immediately, his voice urgent and flustered.

"Honey, don't misunderstand. It was Ava's birthday, and she said she wanted a photo shoot to deal with her parents nagging her to get married. It's all fake, please don't take it seriously!"

A birthday wish to take wedding photos with her boss? Did he really think I’d buy that?

"The CEO of Presley Corp. posing for wedding photos for his secretary's birthday wish? You should be nominated for 'Riverton's Most Compassionate Man.'"

I hung up.

After a moment's thought, I opened Ava's social media.

Sure enough, there were the wedding photos, posted just yesterday, with the caption: "Tell me we're not the perfect match!"

The comments section was flooded with gasps.

【Your husband is so handsome!】

【Truly a beautiful couple, so well-matched!】

Some who were in on the secret also chimed in with likes.

【Only for you, Ava. Ethan would only do this kind of playful thing for you.】

【You really are Ethan's special exception, aren't you?】

…

Ava replied to them all with a unified message: "Not my husband yet, but I'm working on it. 😉"

Youth is truly something.

So young, so reckless, so full of herself. She had that "I'll win no matter what" attitude, utterly shameless.

If she hadn't set her sights on Ethan, I might have actually admired her audacity.

With a few taps, I liked her post and added a comment:

【If you're so perfect together, why aren't you married yet? Is City Hall too far away?】

Ethan’s call came, just as I expected, laced with fury.

"Eve, what do you think you're doing? I explained to you, it was just a joke! Do you really have to pick a fight with a young girl like this? Do you know how embarrassing you've made it for her at the company by commenting on her post?"

"Delete that comment right now, and come to the office to apologize to Ava!"

I could hear Ava's voice in the background, thick with unshed tears.

"Eve, I'm so sorry, I really didn't mean it. The wedding photos were my birthday wish; I thought it was just for fun. I didn't realize you'd be upset."

"Girls my age often joke around like this. I forgot you're quite a bit older than me and might not appreciate it. It's all my fault."

"I'll call the studio right away and have them destroy those photos, I'm so sorry…"