Summer in July

TRUST ON SHAKY GROUNDS

Over time, Liam and Evelyn’s bond grew stronger, But Liam’s jealousy became a constant problem. He struggled to trust Evelyn, especially since they were now in different towns.

He always had the thought of Evelyn cheating on him while he's away.

Liam’s trust issues grew worse. Every day seemed to bring a new fight. He constantly questioned her interactions with other guys, even accusing her of flirting with her male friends.

“Why were you talking to that guy on t****k?” he demanded one day. “Why does he keep liking your posts?”

Evelyn felt suffocated. " Liam I can’t control who likes my posts. And for the last time, I’m not interested in anyone else!”

But the fights didn’t stop. Liam began imposing restrictions on her, demanding she get his approval before posting anything online.

“Don’t post pictures like that,” he would say. “Guys will get attracted to you if you keep posting so much.”

Evelyn tried to be patient, but she was growing more and more frustrated. No matter how much she reassured Liam, it was never enough. She felt trapped in a relationship where her every move was examined.

One day, after another argument, Evelyn came up with an idea. She decided to involve her closest friend, someone she trusted completely.

She texted her friend, saying, “Hey, I need your help. Liam doesn’t trust me, and we keep fighting. Can you talk to him for me? I think he might listen if it comes from someone else.”

Her friend replied, “Of course, send me his number, and I’ll talk to him. Don’t worry, we’ll sort this out.”

Evelyn felt a glimmer of hope as she sent Liam’s number to her friend. She trusted her friend to explain things and help Liam understand that he had nothing to fear.

Later that day, Evelyn’s best friend, Sophia, texted Liam as planned. The conversation started with a simple “Hi,” but Liam quickly became suspicious.

“Who is this?” Liam asked. “And how did you get my number?”

Sophia panicked and quickly called Evelyn for help. “What do I say? He’s already questioning me!”

Evelyn, feeling awkward, replied, “Just make something up. Tell him you saw his number on your phone or something.”

Sophia followed her advice and told Liam, “Oh, I saw your number on my contact list and thought I’d reach out.”

But Liam wasn’t convinced. “I’ve never given my number to anyone I don't know,” he said,

Sophia quickly changed the subject, and Liam stopped questioning her, wanting to hear what she had to say. However, before Sophia could deliver the message Evelyn intended, Evelyn called her back and said, “Don’t tell him yet. Let me handle it later.”

That night, Evelyn and Liam were on Face time as usual. They talked about random topics, laughed, and seemed to be having a better time. But suddenly, Liam brought up something unexpected.....

“Who is Sophia?” he asked."

Evelyn froze, her heart racing. She hadn’t expected Liam to ask her that. She paused while trying to think of a response.

She wanted to lie, but then decided to come clean. “She’s my best friend,” Evelyn admitted.

Liam leaned closer to the screen, his expression unreadable. “And why is your best friend texting me?”

Evelyn took a deep breath, she paused before responding.

“Well,” Evelyn began, “I have Sophia’s boyfriend’s number, and I didn’t want her to feel insecure or overthink anything. I wanted it to be equal, so I gave her your number too. That way, it’s balanced, and there’s no room for any misunderstandings.”

Liam raised an eyebrow “You could have just told me that before giving her my number. That wasn’t right.”

“I know, Liam,” Evelyn said quickly, “and I’m really sorry. It won’t happen again.”

Liam sighed but seemed to let it go. “Alright, just let me know next time. Communication is key, Evelyn.”

Evelyn nodded. “I’ll make sure to do that.”

Days went by, and Evelyn and Liam continued to enjoy their relationship, despite the distance.

However, Evelyn was still in contact with someone from her past—a guy she once dated briefly when they were much younger. But Evelyn didn’t see him as an ex, cuz their relationship only lasted a week, and they had remained friends.

What Evelyn didn’t remember, though, was that she had casually mentioned to Liam in one of their past conversations that this guy was her ex.

One day, Evelyn and her “friend” were chatting casually when she uploaded a video of herself on her social media. Her ex liked the video and messaged her, saying, “This is nice! Send it to me; I want to post it too.”

Evelyn thought nothing of it and sent the video. A few minutes later, her ex posted the video on his page. To return the favor, he sent her one of his videos, asking her to post it as well. Evelyn didn’t think twice—this was something she’d done before she met Liam. She posted the video on her account, tagging him as a friendly gesture.

But Evelyn had forgotten the kind of boyfriend she had. Liam was always watchful, especially of her online activities.

Liam saw the post almost immediately. His heart sank as he noticed the tag and realized it was the guy Evelyn had once referred to as her ex. He took a screenshot of the post and messaged Evelyn right away.