Sisters, Secrets and The Stalker

Chapter Five - The Confrontation

Tiana’s POV

"Mari," I said, sliding into the chair opposite her. "We need to talk. It's about Ben."

She looked up, her expression softening into a smile before she caught the frantic tremor in my voice. "Ti? You look like you've seen a ghost. What is it?"

"I signed up for that dating app," I started, my voice barely a whisper. "And... Ben messaged me."

Mari froze, the colour draining from her face. "Ben? Ben as in my husband? That’s not funny, Tiana."

"He has a profile on LoveBomb," I continued, pulling my phone from my bag. "I’m not joking. He sent me this."

I pushed the phone across the table. Mari’s eyes scanned the message: B: Hey Tia. Didn't expect to see you on here. You looked stunning when you dropped Mari off last week. Fancy keeping a secret?

Then, she tapped on the profile picture. It was a cropped image of Ben in the navy jumper from last month. A low, pained groan escaped her throat. She closed her eyes and face-palmed so hard it echoed slightly in the alcove. She didn't say a word for a long, agonising minute, just staring at the grain of the wood on the table – as if searching for answers in the varnish.

"Oh, for f**k's sake," she whispered, her voice cracking. "Ti... I’m so sorry."

"What? Is it him?" I asked, my own anxiety spiking. "Is he actually doing this?"

"That’s Ben," she said, her voice turning hollow. She dropped my phone onto the table like it was contaminated. "He’s been acting distant for weeks, claiming he was swamped with coding in the den, but I didn't think... I didn't want to believe he was capable of this. He’s been my best friend since we were seven years old. He told me he loved me in the school garden."

"But why me?" I asked, feeling a wave of nausea. "Why would he target his own sister-in-law?"

Mari’s eyes hardened into shards of freezing glass. The happy, relaxed woman who had been laughing over tequila a moment ago was gone, replaced by the formidable force of nature that used to terrify the entire Masemann office building. "I'm going to kill him. I am going to walk across the street to that Playzone, and I am going to kill him in front of the ball pit."

She slammed her hand down on the table, drawing stares from the nearby diners, but she didn't care. She reached into her purse, grabbed a handful of cash, and slammed it onto the table with enough force to make our glasses rattle. Her chair scraped back against the floor – a harsh, screeching sound. I didn't stop her. I scrambled to grab my velvet clutch and followed her out, my heart hammering against my ribs.

The walk across the street felt like an eternity. Every step I took, the image of that message burned brighter in my mind. Was this why he’d been so distant? Was this why he hadn't touched Mari in months?

"Mari, you can't just storm in there!" I panted, catching up to her. "There’s a hundred kids in there! Let's be smart about this."

"I don't care if there are a thousand kids in there," she snarled. "He is going to look me in the eye and explain this."

The corrugated metal building of Playzone loomed ahead like a fortress. She pushed the heavy doors open with herculean force. A wall of sound – shrieking children, pop music, and the hum of coffee machines – hit us.

We scanned the room, and there they were, in the far corner. Ben was holding Harry with a bottle in one hand, looking like the picture-perfect father talking to a staff member who had her hand on his shoulder. Greg was beside him, laughing with Henry.

"BENJAMIN BARDEAU!" Mari bellowed. The sound echoed off the high ceilings, momentarily drowning out the chaos.

Greg’s jaw dropped to the floor as he spotted us. "WE AREN'T GAY!" he suddenly shouted, his voice cracking with absolute panic.

I didn't even process the absurdity of his words. I just watched as Mari marched to the sofa and stood over Ben, her shadow falling across him like a shroud.

"Hey babe, what’s up?" Ben asked, his brow furrowing in genuine confusion. He actually looked happy to see us. The audacity made my blood boil on Mari's behalf.

Mari grabbed my phone and slammed it onto the table. "Care to explain this? Your secret?"

Ben looked down at the screen. I watched the colour drain from his face. He looked like he’d been hit by a truck. He looked at the phone, then at Mari, then back at the phone, looking completely utterly blindsided.

"I... I've never seen this in my life," he stammered. "Mari, I swear...."

"Henry, come with Auntie Ti," I interjected quickly, scooping Harry out of Ben’s frozen arms and grabbing Henry’s hand. "Let’s go get some ice cream. Uncle Greg, help us out?"

Greg scrambled to his feet, eyes darting nervously between us, and herded me and the boys toward the café, leaving Mari and Ben alone on the sofa.

Marissa’s POV

"Talk, Ben. Fast."

I watched him recoil as if I’d struck him, his face twisting into a mask of pure, unadulterated terror. He didn't look like a man caught in a lie; he looked like a man who had just watched his entire world crumble into dust in the span of three seconds.

"It's not me! I mean, it is my photo, but it's not my profile," he pleaded, his icy blue eyes wide with panic as they darted between my cold, unyielding stare and the phone still resting on the table. "I was talking to Greg about dating sites on the way here. There are loads of fake profiles using stolen pictures. Catfishing. I swear to you, Mari, I would never do that to you. I've loved you since we were kids. Things have been off with us lately, but I would never risk losing you."

I searched his face for a flicker of deceit – a twitch in the jaw, a nervous shift in his gaze – but I found nothing. Just the raw, frantic desperation of a man fighting for his life. My anger was still a pulsing, hot coal in my chest, but hearing him speak, hearing the tremor of genuine heartbreak in his voice, made the red fog begin to dissipate.

"Then what was that when we came in? Why did that girl have her hands on you?" I demanded, crossing my arms to keep my hands from shaking.

He let out a watery, incredulous laugh that sounded more like a sob. "She thought Greg and I were gay dads! She tripped on the table leg, grabbed my shoulder to balance, and was apologising while saying what a shame it was because we 'look so good together'. Did you not hear Greg scream that he wasn't gay?"

I blinked, the absolute absurdity of the situation finally beginning to pierce through the heavy, suffocating tension that had gripped the room. I felt the sharp edges of my fury blunting as the image of that girl’s mortified face, followed by Greg’s panicked shouting, replayed in my mind.

"To be honest, I was so angry I couldn't hear anything," I admitted, my voice finally softening, losing that terrifying, icy clarity that had sent shivers down my spine just moments ago. "I know things haven't been easy lately, but I do love you too. I think we really need to sit down together and have a proper conversation."

He squeezed my hands, staring deeply into my eyes, searching for the connection that had been slipping through our fingers for months. It was an intimate, almost painful moment to witness, even from inside my own skin.

"Maybe you will allow me to take you on an actual date? It has been a while!" he suggested, his voice thick with hope.

"Do married people actually date? What about the kids?" I questioned, though a small, genuine smile was finally breaking through the tension.

"I'm sure Auntie Tia and Uncle Greg would be more than happy to help," he suggested, glancing over at them.

I looked over. They were sitting at the table, Harry on Tiana’s chest, Henry chatting away as if they didn't have a care in the world. Greg was looking at Tiana with such intensity that I felt a flush of heat, even from across the room. It was a strange, heart-warming sight – the two people I loved most, looking like they were in a world of their own.

"How about I get us a coffee and we can have a chat while they've got the kids?" Ben suggested, his thumb tracing the back of my hand.

"I guess now is as good a time as any," I sighed, the exhaustion finally catching up to me as I leaned back against the cushions.

"I'll drop this back to Tia on the way," he scooped up the phone and headed towards the cafe.