Chapter 7: The Truth He Never Told
560 Words
Camille barely slept that night.
John’s words kept replaying in her mind.
I never chose to leave.
What did that even mean?
For five years, she had believed he walked away.
That he stopped loving her.
That she simply wasn’t enough.
Now he was telling her an entirely different story.
By morning, dark circles lingered beneath her eyes.
She arrived at work early, hoping to bury herself in spreadsheets and deadlines.
It didn’t help.
Her phone sat beside her keyboard like a temptation she couldn’t ignore.
At noon, another message arrived.
John: I’m not asking for anything.
John: Just one conversation.
Camille stared at the screen.
One conversation.
It sounded harmless.
Yet she knew it wasn’t.
Because this wasn’t just anyone.
This was John.
Her first love.
The man who had broken her heart.
The man she had spent years trying to forget.
Before she could stop herself, she typed.
Camille: One conversation won’t change anything.
A reply came almost instantly.
John: I know.
John: I just want you to know the truth.
Camille’s pulse quickened.
She should have ignored him.
Instead, she sent another message.
Camille: Fine.
Camille: One conversation.
A long pause followed.
Then—
John: Thank you.
John: Tomorrow evening?
Camille hesitated.
Every instinct told her this was a mistake.
Yet curiosity won.
Camille: Tomorrow.
The moment she pressed send, regret settled in her chest.
What was she doing?
That evening, Ethan picked her up after work.
As always, his smile made her feel calm.
But tonight, the guilt was impossible to ignore.
They sat together in a small café, sharing dessert.
Ethan noticed her silence immediately.
“You’re somewhere else tonight.”
Camille forced a smile.
“Sorry.”
“You don’t have to apologize.”
He reached across the table and took her hand.
“Whatever it is, we’ll figure it out.”
The simple sincerity in his voice made her chest ache.
Because Ethan had no idea.
No idea that she had agreed to meet the man who once shattered her heart.
No idea that she was carrying a secret.
As they left the café, Ethan wrapped an arm around her shoulders.
“Oh, by the way,” he said.
“Hm?”
“I’ll be out of the country next week.”
Camille looked up.
“For work?”
Ethan nodded.
“Our company landed a big project overseas. I’ll probably be gone for about ten days.”
“Ten days?” she repeated.
“Unfortunately.”
He smiled and squeezed her hand.
“I’ll call you every day, though.”
Camille laughed softly.
“You better.”
“Trust me, I’ll miss you more than you’ll miss me.”
She smiled, but a strange feeling settled in her chest.
Ten days.
For some reason, the timing felt almost too perfect.
The thought immediately made her uncomfortable.
Because Ethan had done nothing wrong.
He loved her.
Trusted her.
And yet she was about to meet the man who once broke her heart.
As they continued walking down the sidewalk together, guilt quietly settled in her chest.
Later that night, standing alone by her apartment window, Camille stared at the city lights.
Tomorrow she would finally get answers.
Tomorrow she would learn what really happened five years ago.
But deep down, another question frightened her even more.
What if hearing the truth changed everything?
- Writer
