Chapter 25
429 Words
Cracks Beneath the Surface
The atmosphere in Daniel’s apartment was thick with silence. Anna sat across from him, her hands gripping the mug of untouched coffee. The events at the hospital still haunted her. Noah’s kiss, her reaction, and most of all, the way Daniel had seen it all.
He hadn’t said much since they got home. And that was what scared her the most.
“You haven’t said a word,” Anna finally whispered, breaking the silence.
Daniel glanced at her, eyes clouded with something between pain and restraint. “What would you like me to say, Anna? That it’s okay? That seeing my girlfriend kissing her ex-husband didn’t feel like a punch to the gut?”
“It wasn’t—he kissed me, Daniel. I pushed him away. You saw that.”
He nodded slowly. “I did. But I also saw the way you looked at him afterward.”
Anna flinched. She didn’t have a response for that. Because he was right.
“I never meant to hurt you,” she said, voice cracking.
“Then tell me this....Are u still in love with him?."
Anna didn’t deny it.
Because she didn’t know anymore.
Meanwhile, across the city, Juliet Carter stood in the hallway of Noah’s mansion with Isabella. She had insisted on bringing Isabella back to the house now that Noah was home and recovering. She refused to let Anna have any hold on her son again.
“You need to keep being around him,” Juliet told Isabella. “Noah might not remember everything now, but he trusts you. That woman—Anna—she's dangerous. Manipulative.”
Isabella’s lips curled into a knowing smile. “Don’t worry. I know exactly how to make him fall for me again.”
Juliet’s face softened into approval. “Good girl. You always belonged with him, not her.”
Back at Daniel’s, Anna finally stood, her voice tired but firm. “I need time. To think. To breathe.”
Daniel looked at her for a long moment. “I love you, Anna. But I won’t fight a ghost. If Noah still lives in your heart, tell me now.”
Anna turned away, tears burning her eyes. “I don’t know who I love anymore. But I’m not ready to give up on myself.”
As she walked out into the night, the stars above her felt cold and distant. But somewhere, deep down, a storm had begun to rise again—and this time, it wouldn’t just be between her and Noah.
It would consume them all.
- Writer
