chapter three _The Truth She Wasn't Ready For
1500 Words
Brittany barely slept that night.
Every time she closed her eyes, she saw Johnson standing in front of her, looking at her with the same eyes she had fallen in love with years ago.
She hated how easily one look from him could bring back everything she had tried so hard to forget.
By morning, Brittany had already made up her mind.
She needed to leave.
Not because she wanted to run from Johnson, but because staying around him was becoming dangerous for her heart.
She packed a small suitcase and quietly walked toward the front door.
“Leaving without saying goodbye?”
Brittany froze.
She slowly turned around.
Johnson stood at the bottom of the staircase, wearing a simple black shirt. His eyes were fixed on her suitcase.
“I thought you were asleep,” she whispered.
“I was.”
“Then why are you awake?”
Johnson smiled sadly.
“Because I knew you were going to leave.”
Brittany looked away.
“You don't know me anymore.”
“I know you better than you think.”
She tightened her grip around the suitcase handle.
“That was a long time ago, Johnson.”
“And yet you're still wearing the necklace I gave you.”
Brittany immediately touched the small silver necklace around her neck.
She had forgotten she was wearing it.
“It doesn't mean anything.”
Johnson walked closer.
“Then why haven't you taken it off?”
She didn't answer.
Silence filled the room.
For a moment, neither of them moved.
Then Johnson spoke softly.
“I never stopped loving you.”
Brittany's heart sank.
She looked at him, trying desperately to control the tears forming in her eyes.
“Don't say that.”
“Why?”
“Because I don't know what to believe anymore.”
“You can believe me.”
“I believed you before.”
Johnson's face changed.
He knew exactly what she meant.
“You left,” Brittany continued. “You disappeared without explaining anything. You let me believe I wasn't important to you.”
“I didn't leave because I stopped loving you.”
“Then why?”
Johnson opened his mouth.
But before he could answer, someone knocked on the door.
Brittany wiped her tears quickly.
Johnson walked toward the door and opened it.
Williams stood outside.
The moment Williams saw Brittany with her suitcase, his expression changed.
“You're leaving?”
Brittany nodded.
“I think I should.”
Williams looked at Johnson.
“Did you tell her?”
Johnson's eyes narrowed.
“Tell her what?”
Williams immediately became quiet.
Brittany noticed.
“What is he talking about?”
“Nothing,” Johnson said.
“No.”
Brittany stepped forward.
“You both know something.”
Williams looked uncomfortable.
“Brittany, this isn't the right time.”
“When is the right time?”
Johnson glanced at Williams.
“Go home.”
Williams shook his head.
“You can't keep hiding it from her.”
Brittany's heart began beating faster.
“Hiding what?”
Neither man answered.
“Johnson?”
He looked at her.
“Tell me.”
Johnson took a deep breath.
“There are things about the night I left that you don't know.”
Brittany's eyes filled with tears.
“Then tell me.”
“I was trying to protect you.”
“Protect me from what?”
Johnson looked at Williams.
Williams lowered his head.
Finally, Johnson whispered,
“From my family.”
Brittany stared at him.
“Your family?”
Johnson nodded.
“My father found out about us.”
“So?”
“He threatened you.”
Brittany's expression changed.
“What?”
“He told me that if I didn't end our relationship, something would happen to you.”
The suitcase slipped from Brittany's hand and landed on the floor.
“You're lying.”
“I wish I was.”
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“Because I was scared.”
“You could have trusted me!”
“I was twenty-two, Brittany! I didn't know what to do.”
She covered her mouth as tears rolled down her cheeks.
Johnson continued.
“I thought leaving you would keep you safe. I thought you would eventually hate me and move on.”
“But you never gave me the chance to choose!”
“I know.”
His voice broke.
“And I've regretted it every day since.”
Brittany turned away.
All those years.
All those unanswered questions.
All those nights she had cried herself to sleep wondering what she had done wrong.
She had blamed herself.
And now she was discovering that the truth had been completely different.
“Where is your father now?” she asked.
Johnson didn't answer.
“Johnson.”
“He's dead.”
Brittany slowly turned around.
“When?”
“Three months ago.”
Her heart stopped.
Three months.
That explained why Johnson had suddenly returned.
“Then why did you come back?”
Johnson looked directly into her eyes.
“Because there was nothing stopping me anymore.”
Brittany didn't know what to say.
She wanted to be angry.
She wanted to forgive him.
She wanted to run into his arms.
But her heart couldn't decide.
Williams stepped forward.
“There is something else you need to know.”
Johnson immediately turned toward him.
“Williams, don't.”
“She's already been hurt enough.”
Brittany looked between them.
“What?”
Williams took a deep breath.
“The night Johnson left you wasn't the only thing his father did.”
Johnson's expression became tense.
“Stop.”
Williams continued.
“He paid someone to follow you.”
Brittany's blood ran cold.
“Someone followed me?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“To make sure Johnson stayed away from you.”
Brittany remembered something.
The strange car she used to see outside her apartment.
The unknown calls.
The feeling that someone was watching her.
She had always thought she was imagining it.
“Oh my God…”
Johnson walked toward her.
“Brittany, I didn't know how far he had gone.”
She stepped backward.
“Don't touch me.”
Johnson stopped.
“I need some time.”
“I understand.”
She picked up her suitcase.
Williams watched her carefully.
“Where will you go?”
“I don't know.”
Johnson looked worried.
“You shouldn't be alone.”
“I've been alone for years.”
That sentence broke something inside him.
Brittany walked toward the door.
Before she could leave, Johnson said her name.
“Brittany.”
She stopped.
“I never wanted to lose you.”
She closed her eyes.
“Maybe you should have fought harder.”
Then she walked out.
---
Two hours later, Brittany sat alone in a small café across town.
Her phone lay on the table.
She had ignored Johnson's calls.
She needed space.
She needed to think.
But before she could take another sip of her coffee, her phone vibrated.
Unknown number.
She stared at it.
The phone stopped ringing.
A few seconds later, a message appeared.
You should have stayed away from Johnson.
Brittany's hands began shaking.
Another message arrived.
His father may be dead, but his secrets aren't.
She immediately stood up.
Her chair scraped against the floor.
She looked around the café.
Everyone appeared normal.
But suddenly she felt like someone was watching her.
Then another message appeared.
Ask Johnson what happened to the woman who came before you.
Brittany's heart raced.
“What woman?”
She quickly called Johnson.
He answered immediately.
“Brittany?”
“Johnson, someone is texting me.”
“What are they saying?”
She read the messages.
There was silence on the other end.
“Johnson?”
His breathing changed.
“Where are you?”
“At a café.”
“Leave.”
“Why?”
“Just leave, Brittany.”
“Who is the woman they are talking about?”
Johnson didn't answer.
“Johnson!”
Finally, he spoke.
“Brittany… I need you to listen to me carefully.”
“What?”
“That woman…”
He paused.
“She was my fiancée.”
Brittany couldn't breathe.
“Your what?”
“My fiancée.”
Tears filled her eyes.
“You were engaged?”
“It wasn't what you think.”
“Then what was it?”
Johnson's voice became quieter.
“She disappeared.”
“When?”
“Six months before I met you.”
Brittany's heart pounded.
“Is she dead?”
Johnson said nothing.
“Johnson, is she dead?”
Then she heard something in the background.
A woman's voice.
“Johnson… who are you talking to?”
Brittany froze.
Johnson went completely silent.
“Who was that?”
No answer.
“Johnson?”
The call suddenly ended.
Brittany stared at the screen.
Then her phone vibrated again.
One final message appeared.
She's alive. And she's coming back for Johnson.
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