âDaniel and I⊠weâve grown close.â
Close.
That word.
Like it could soften what came next.
âWe didnât plan it,â she continued. âIt just happened.â
I stared at her, waiting for the punchline.
It didnât come.
Instead, she said something that didnât feel real.
âWeâre getting married.â
I laughed.
Not because it was funny.
Because my brain refused to process it.
âYouâre joking,â I said.
She wasnât.
Ten days later, they were married.
Ten days.
Thatâs all it took to erase two years of my relationship⊠and replace it with something I still couldnât understand.
I didnât go to the wedding.
I couldnât.
I packed a bag, left my apartment, and stayed with a friend. I turned off my phone. I didnât want to hear explanations, excuses, or apologies.
Because what explanation could possibly make that okay?
Days passed.
Then weeks.
I tried to move on. To rebuild something that felt like stability.
But then, exactly ten days after their weddingâŠ
My mom called me.
Her voice was different.
Shaky.
âLila⊠I need to see you.â
I almost didnât go.
But something in her tone made it impossible to ignore.
When I arrived, she looked⊠nothing like the woman who had confidently told me she was marrying my boyfriend.
She looked tired.
Worried.
Afraid.
âWhat is it?â I asked, keeping my distance.
She hesitated.
Then she said:
âI made a mistake.â
I crossed my arms.
âYou think?â
She shook her head quickly. âNo, you donât understand. Itâs worse than that.â
My stomach dropped.
âWhat do you mean?â
She swallowed hard.
âAfter the wedding⊠I started noticing things.â
A pause.
âThe same things you probably did.â
My heart started pounding.
âLike what?â
She looked down at her hands.
âHe disappears at night. Says heâs going for a walk⊠but heâs gone for hours.â
I felt a chill run through me.
âAnd his phoneâŠâ she continued. âHe never lets it out of his sight.â
I didnât say anything.
Because I remembered.
I remembered all of it.
âBut thatâs not even the worst part,â she said quietly.
I forced myself to ask:
âThen what is?â
She looked up at me, her eyes filled with something I had never seen before.
Fear.
âI found something in his drawer.â
Silence filled the room.
âWhat did you find?â I asked.
Her voice dropped to a whisper.
âPhotos.â
My chest tightened.
âWhat kind of photos?â