The night began as nothing. Just another ordinary evening where the house hummed with laughter that didn’t belong to me, where Mom leaned against Mark’s shoulder, and Lily scrolled through her phone oblivious. But inside me, the restlessness had reached a fever pitch. Every look, every brush of his hand, every word held too much weight, and I couldn’t stand another hour of pretending.
When he caught my eye across the kitchen, something passed between us—wordless, dangerous, inevitable. His jaw tightened, mine did too, and I knew: if either of us made the smallest move, the entire fragile lie would shatter.
He left first. Claimed he needed some air, maybe to run to the store. Ten minutes later, my phone buzzed with a single text.
Come with me.
No address. No explanation. Just those thre
