CHAPTER TEN - The Truth She Couldn’t Tell
1335 Words
Serena looked up slowly.
“Nina…”
“No.” Nina took a step back and shook her head. “Don’t ‘Nina’ me.”
She pointed toward the front door through which Damien and James had just disappeared.
“That ridiculously huge man asked me if I’d checked my phone.”
Another finger.
“Then that stupidly intimidating billionaire—”
She stopped herself, frowning.
“…Damien.”
The name still felt strange on her tongue.
“He called you his wife.”
She folded her arms tightly across her chest.
“I don’t know what happened while I was coming over here, but clearly I’ve missed something.”
Her voice softened. “So tell me, what am I missing?”
Serena opened her mouth. Nothing came out.
Nina laughed bitterly.
“I knew it.”
“Knew what?”
“You don’t trust me.” Nina blurted out, still trying to put herself together.
“That’s not true.”
“Then explain.”
Serena glanced at the overturned dining chair. “Please…”
She pulled it upright. “Sit.”
“I’m fine standing.”
“Nina…”
“Standing.”
Serena walked closer until they were only a step apart. “I’m begging you.”
Something in her voice made Nina hesitate.
With a frustrated sigh, she pulled out the chair and sat down. “Fine. Now start talking.”
Serena lowered herself into the chair opposite her. Her fingers twisted together nervously. “I owe you an apology.”
Nina scoffed. “Ohh I’m sure you owe me a lot more than that.”
“I know.”
A painful silence stretched between them.
Finally…
“My real name…” She swallowed.
“…is Shakira Baptiste.”
Nina stared, confused. “What?”
“My real name is Shakira Baptiste.”
Silence.
“So…” Nina laughed once in disbelief.
“…Serena Carter isn’t your real name?”
Serena slowly shook her head. “No.”
Nina blinked several times. “I don’t understand.”
“I changed my identity years ago, before moving down here.” The words landed like stones.
Nina searched her friend’s face for any sign that this was a joke.
There wasn’t one.
She took a deep breath before asking. “When?”
“A few years ago.”
“And you’ve let me call you Serena this entire time?”
“Yes.”
“…Why?”
Serena looked down. “I wish I could tell you, but I can't.”
Nina inhaled sharply but remained quiet.
Serena continued before she could ask another question. “I was once engaged, but I ran away on the morning of our court marriage.”
That finally made Nina’s head snap up.
“What?”
“The man you'd most likely find trending online when you finally pick up your phone from wherever you dropped it…”
She paused.
“…his name is Ricardo.”
Nina frowned.
“He was your boyfriend?”
“My fiancé.”
The room fell silent again.
“You were engaged?”
“Yes.”
“And now…” Nina gestured helplessly toward the door.
“…you’re marrying Damien?”
Serena nodded. “I signed a marriage contract today.”
Nina stared at her as though she had never seen her before.
“So…”
She spoke slowly. “Your real name is Shakira.”
“Yes.”
“You had a fiancé.”
“Yes.”
“And now you’re marrying another man.”
“…Yes.”
Nina rubbed both hands over her face.
“I feel like I’m talking to a complete stranger.”
Serena closed her eyes.
“I’m sorry.”
“No.” Nina leaned forward. “No, don’t keep apologizing.”
“Then what do you want me to say?”
“The truth.”
Serena hesitated. “I’ve told you the truth.”
“You’ve told me facts.” Nina pointed at her. “Those aren’t the same thing.”
She began counting on her fingers. “Why did you change your name?”
Silence.
“Why did you leave your fiance?”
Silence.
“You once told me both your parents were dead.” Her voice cracked slightly. “Were you lying about that?”
Serena couldn’t answer.
“Are they alive?”
Nothing.
“Are they back in your home country?”
Still nothing.
Nina slowly lowered her hand.
“Why did someone destroy your apartment?”
Serena remained silent.
Nina laughed bitterly.
“Is there a single question you’re willing to answer?”
Another long silence.
Then—
Nina frowned.
“Wait.”
Something had just occurred to her.
“Your fiancé…”
Serena looked up.
“…how did he even find you?”
Silence.
Nina continued thinking aloud.
“You changed your identity.”
“You’ve been hiding for years.”
“So why did he suddenly appear today, same day you signed a marriage agreement with some other man?”
The color slowly drained from Serena’s face.
She hadn’t thought about it. Not really.
Ricardo was the typical vintage man who believed that civilization was a curse.
He barely knew how to use a smartphone.
Hiring a private investigator? Ricardo would never think of it.
And even if he somehow found her…
How had he known where she would be?
Why today?
Why outside the private restaurant?
Why just minutes after she’d agreed to marry Damien?
Someone had told him.
Someone had wanted him there.
A face flashed through her mind just as the name escaped her lips in a whisper.
“…Ashley.”
Nina frowned.
“Who’s Ashley?”
Serena looked at her.
Fear flickered behind her eyes.
“…There’s so much you don’t know.”
“Then tell me!”
Nina shot to her feet so suddenly the chair scraped violently across the floor.
“If I’m your best friend, then tell me! Haven’t I done enough to earn your trust?”
Her eyes glistened.
“How am I supposed to protect you when I don’t even know who you are?”
Serena stood too. “You can’t.”
“What?”
“I can’t tell you because you can't protect me.”
“Why?”
“Because it isn’t safe.”
“For who?”
“You!” Serena intended to say it as a statement, but she screamed it instead. She noticed the pain in Nina's eyes and immediately apologized.
“I'm sorry. I'm so sorry.”
Nina’s shoulders slowly slumped.
When she finally spoke, her voice was heartbreakingly quiet.
“Do you know what hurts the most?”
Serena felt tears sting her eyes.
“It isn’t that your name is Shakira.”
Nina shook her head.
“It isn’t even that you had a fiancé.”
Another shake.
“It isn’t your impulsive marriage to the billionaire.”
She pressed a hand against her chest.
“It’s realizing…”
Her voice broke.
“…that I’ve been calling you my best friend…”
“…and all this time…”
“…you never trusted me enough to let me know the real you.”
She laughed through her tears.
“I guess I overrated my place in your life.”
Serena immediately reached for her.
“Nina—”
Nina stepped back.
“No.”
“I can explain.”
“No, you can’t.”
“I will. One day. I promise.”
“One day?”
Nina smiled sadly. “I needed it like yesterday.”
She turned toward the door.
“Nina, please don’t go.”
Nina stopped for only a second.
Without looking back, she whispered,
“I hope whoever Shakira Baptiste is…”
“…she realizes that there's no fun in fighting battles alone.”
Then she walked out.
Serena stood motionless long after she left.
Her absence felt heavier than the destruction surrounding her.
A sob escaped before she could stop it.
She covered her mouth with both hands, but the tears came anyway.
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