Chapter 4 – Lines You Don’t Cross
732 Words
She tried to focus.
She really did.
The numbers on her screen blurred into each other, rows and columns losing meaning with every passing minute.Because her attention wasn’t there. It was split. Half in the office -
Half… somewhere inside a conversation she couldn’t control.
Her phone lay next to her keyboard.
Silent. For now.
And that almost felt worse.
- “You’re doing it again.” Ana’s voice cut through her thoughts.
She looked up.
- “Doing what?”
- “Disappearing,” Ana said, watching her closely. “You’ve been somewhere else all morning.”
She forced a small shrug.
- “Just tired.”
Ana didn’t look convinced.
-“Mm-hmm.”
Her phone vibrated. There it was. That shift. Instant. She didn’t pick it up right away. This time… she waited.
Five seconds.
Ten.
Control.
That’s what she needed. Then she reached for it.
“You pause before responding my messages now.”
Her heart skipped.
“Trying to prove something?”
Her jaw tightened slightly.
Okay. So that’s how this was going to be. She typed slowly. Carefully.
“Maybe I just don’t like being predictable.”
The reply came almost instantly.
“Too late.”
A pause.
“You already are.”
A flicker of irritation mixed with something else.
Something sharper.
“Really?” she typed. “Then tell me something about me.”
She hit send before she could rethink it. A test.
Three dots appeared. Stayed. Disappeared. Came back.
Her pulse picked up.
“You check your phone even when you decide not to.”
Her breath slowed.
“You hesitate before replying… like you’re arguing with yourself first.”
Her fingers stilled.
“And you stay in your mareiage longer than you need to… even after you decided to leave.”
Her chest tightened. Too close. She swallowed and typed again.
“That could apply to anyone.”
A few seconds.
Then—
“Not really.”
A pause.
“Most people don’t look like they’re about to walk away from their own life.”
Her stomach dropped.
- “Hey.”
She looked up sharply.
Ana was standing now, holding a file.
- “You okay?”
- “Yeah,” she said quickly. Too quickly.
Ana studied her for a second. Then nodded slowly.
- “If you say so.”
Her phone vibrated again.
“Did I hit something?”
She exhaled slowly. This was getting too real. Too fast. So she pushed back.
“Or maybe you’re just good at guessing.”
The reply came slower this time.
More deliberate.
“Or maybe…”
A pause.
“I pay attention to things your ‘right man’ stopped noticing.”
Her throat went dry. Before she could respond her phone rang. Not a message, a call. His name on the screen. Her husbant.
For a second, she just stared at it.
Then answered.
- “Hey,” she said.
- “Did you forget something this morning?” his voice came through, distracted.
She frowned.
- “No… what?”
“Your lunch box. It’s still here.”
A pause.
“That’s the second time this week.”
Something in his tone.
Not concern. Just… observation.
- “I’ll manage,” she said quietly.
- “Yeah,” he replied. “You always do.”
Silence stretched for a second too long.
- “I’ll be late tonight,” he added. “Work.”
Of course.
- “Okay.”
- “Okay.”
He hung up. Just like that. She lowered the phone slowly staring at the screen. At the emptiness that followed. Then—a vibration.
“Does he even notice how you are for a while? Does he see you...really see you?”
Her chest tightened.
She typed before she could stop herself.
“Don't cross the line. You don’t know him.”
The reply came instantly.
“I don’t need to.”
A pause.
“I see what he leaves behind.”
Her grip on the phone tightened. Across the office, someone laughed. A printer started humming. Normal life. Unchanged. But inside her—something was shifting faster now.
Because this wasn’t just curiosity anymore. Wasn’t just attention. It was becoming something else. Something that didn’t feel like a game anymore. And the most dangerous part?
She wasn’t sure she wanted it to stop.
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