CHAPTER 26
I didn’t tell anyone what I knew.
Not yet.
Not because I was scared—because I was patient.
Letting the truth fester in silence was louder than any outburst. And right now, I needed them comfortable. Needed Steph thinking she was still ahead, still fooling me with her wide eyes and nervous smiles.
So I watched.
Steph moved through the week like someone mid-performance. Over-correcting. Over-sharing. Sending me memes again, asking how my day was going, casually mentioning things she used to leave out.
She dropped Chen’s name into conversation like it meant nothing.
“He texted me last night about Mom’s birthday—he said we should do something small.”
Small.
Like the way she brushed over the fact that I’d seen them together at the bar. Laughing. Close. Cozy in a way that sc
