ROBERT The woman staring at me from across the table was the polar opposite of the bubbly woman I'd fallen in love with as a teenager. She had a mischievous, almost frightening expression, which seemed out of place in the small, cozy, expensive restaurant. She couldn't have looked more ridiculous—at least to me—in a skintight dress that exposed too much of her skin and fake curves. She'd gone overboard with the dressing tonight, trying to impress me and up her game. But I didn't care. I never gave a damn. On the outside, she was beautiful in a plastic way. Her lips were smeared red with lipstick, and heavy makeup covered her face. But on the inside, she was sorely lacking. She appeared as a caricature of herself. A caricature I despised and loathed with every fiber of my being.