The Secret Between Us
1518 Words
Chapter 3
Emily stared at Michael as if she no longer recognized him.
The café suddenly felt too small.
Too suffocating.
Jessica leaned back in her chair calmly, clearly enjoying the tension she had created.
“What does she mean?” Emily asked again, her voice shaking.
Michael looked furious.
“Jessica, leave.”
Jessica crossed her arms slowly.
“Why? She deserves the truth.”
Emily’s breathing became uneven.
Truth?
What truth?
For two years she believed Michael abandoned her willingly.
But now Jessica was saying something completely different.
Michael turned toward Emily quickly.
“Don’t listen to her.”
Jessica laughed softly.
“That’s interesting coming from the man who spent two years hiding everything.”
Emily stood up suddenly.
“No. Somebody needs to explain what’s happening right now.”
Silence.
Heavy silence.
Michael rubbed his jaw frustratedly before finally speaking.
“The night I disappeared…”
His voice sounded tired.
“…I saw you with another man.”
Emily blinked in confusion.
“What?”
Michael looked away briefly, as if the memory still hurt him.
“You were hugging him outside your apartment.”
Emily frowned harder.
“Who?”
“Samuel.”
Emily’s eyes widened instantly.
“Samuel?!”
Michael clenched his fists.
“He kissed you.”
Emily looked completely stunned before suddenly realizing something.
“Oh my God…”
Michael’s eyes darkened painfully.
“You don’t deny it.”
“Because that never happened!”
Jessica rolled her eyes.
“Michael literally saw it himself.”
Emily turned toward her angrily.
“You need to stop interfering in our conversation.”
Jessica smirked slightly.
“Our conversation? Emily, you lost that privilege a long time ago.”
Michael’s voice turned sharp instantly.
“Enough.”
Jessica fell silent, though irritation was obvious on her face.
Emily looked back at Michael desperately.
“Samuel is Daniel’s best friend. He comforted me that night because we had argued earlier.”
Michael’s jaw tightened.
“He kissed you.”
Emily shook her head immediately.
“No, he didn’t.”
Michael laughed bitterly.
“I saw it with my own eyes.”
Emily’s heart started racing.
Then suddenly…
A horrible memory flashed through her mind.
That night.
The rain.
Samuel hugging her while she cried after fighting with Michael on the phone.
And then—
Emily’s eyes widened.
“Oh my God…”
Michael stared at her silently.
Emily covered her mouth slowly.
“Samuel kissed my forehead.”
Michael froze.
Emily’s eyes filled with tears instantly.
“That’s what you saw?”
Michael said nothing.
And his silence confirmed everything.
Emily almost laughed from disbelief.
“You destroyed us over a misunderstanding?”
Pain crossed Michael’s face.
“It wasn’t just that.”
Emily looked heartbroken.
“Then what else was there?”
Michael remained silent again.
Jessica suddenly stood up.
“You know what? This is pointless.”
Michael ignored her completely, his eyes still fixed on Emily.
Emily felt anger building inside her chest.
“For two years…” she whispered shakily. “For two whole years, I blamed myself.”
Michael looked devastated.
“I know.”
“You ignored my calls.”
“I know.”
“You disappeared without explanation.”
Michael closed his eyes briefly.
“I know.”
Tears rolled down Emily’s cheeks.
“And all because you thought I cheated on you?”
Michael finally looked at her again.
“You don’t understand what kind of state I was in back then.”
Emily laughed bitterly through tears.
“No. YOU don’t understand.”
Her voice cracked emotionally.
“You broke me, Michael.”
The pain in her voice hit him harder than anything else.
Jessica watched silently from nearby.
For the first time, even she looked slightly uncomfortable.
Michael stood up slowly.
“Emily…”
“No.” She stepped back immediately. “Don’t.”
The entire café had become quiet around them.
People were staring now.
But Emily no longer cared.
“You promised you trusted me,” she whispered painfully.
Michael swallowed hard.
“I did trust you.”
“Clearly not enough.”
That sentence shattered something inside him.
Emily grabbed her bag quickly.
“I can’t do this.”
Then she turned and walked away.
“Emily!”
She ignored him.
Michael immediately followed her outside despite the heavy rain pouring from the sky.
“Emily, wait!”
She spun around angrily once they reached the sidewalk.
“What?!”
Rain soaked both of them instantly.
Michael looked desperate now.
A side of him almost nobody ever saw.
“I was scared.”
Emily stared at him silently.
Michael ran a hand through his wet hair.
“My father was dying. The company was collapsing. My mother kept pressuring me. Then I saw Samuel kissing you and I…”
He stopped speaking.
Emily’s chest tightened.
“You what?”
Michael’s eyes met hers painfully.
“I lost control.”
Emily looked away as tears mixed with rainwater again.
“You should’ve asked me.”
“I know.”
“You should’ve trusted me.”
“I know.”
“You should’ve fought for us.”
Michael’s face looked broken.
“I regret it every single day.”
Emily hated how sincere he sounded.
Because part of her still loved him enough to believe him.
And that terrified her.
A loud thunder echoed above them.
Michael stepped closer carefully.
“Emily… I never stopped loving you.”
Her heart betrayed her painfully at those words.
She immediately stepped back again.
“Don’t say that.”
“It’s true.”
“You don’t get to come back into my life and suddenly say things like that!”
Michael’s voice softened.
“Then tell me to leave.”
Emily opened her mouth—
But no words came out.
Because deep inside…
She didn’t want him to leave.
Michael noticed the hesitation in her eyes instantly.
And for the first time in years, hope flickered inside his chest.
But before either of them could speak again—
A black SUV suddenly stopped beside the road.
Several men stepped out wearing dark suits.
Emily frowned nervously.
Michael’s expression changed immediately.
Cold.
Dangerous.
Protective.
One of the men approached quickly.
“Mr. Anderson, we need to leave now.”
Michael looked irritated.
“What happened?”
“The board meeting was leaked to the media. Your mother is demanding your presence.”
Michael cursed quietly under his breath.
Emily watched everything silently.
This world…
This powerful dangerous world surrounding Michael…
It felt completely different from hers.
One of the men suddenly noticed Emily.
His expression shifted slightly.
“Who’s she?”
Michael answered instantly.
“She’s nobody.”
The words hit Emily like a knife.
Michael immediately realized his mistake.
“Emily, I—”
But it was too late.
Her eyes filled with hurt instantly.
“Nobody?”
Michael stepped toward her desperately.
“That’s not what I meant.”
Emily laughed bitterly.
“No. It’s fine.”
The guards were still watching.
Jessica suddenly exited the café too, clearly annoyed.
“Michael, your mother is furious.”
Emily looked between all of them slowly.
This was Michael’s reality now.
Luxury cars.
Security.
Powerful people.
Cold secrets.
And maybe…
There was no longer space for someone like her.
Michael grabbed her hand gently before she could walk away.
“Emily, listen to me.”
But Emily pulled away.
“No.”
Her voice trembled emotionally.
“I’m tired of listening.”
Then she finally walked away into the rain again.
This time…
Michael didn’t follow her.
Because deep down, he knew he had hurt her all over again.
—
Later that night…
Emily sat alone inside her apartment staring blankly at the city lights outside the window.
Her mind replayed everything repeatedly.
Michael thought she betrayed him.
Michael still loved her.
Michael regretted leaving.
It was too much.
Daniel entered quietly carrying coffee.
“You okay?”
Emily nodded weakly.
Daniel sat beside her carefully.
“Talk to me.”
Emily looked down.
“He thought I cheated on him.”
Daniel froze.
“What?”
Emily explained everything slowly.
By the time she finished, Daniel looked furious.
“That idiot.”
Emily sighed shakily.
“It was all a misunderstanding.”
Daniel frowned.
“No, Emily. A misunderstanding is forgetting a birthday. What he did was destroy your relationship because he refused to trust you.”
Emily stayed silent.
Because sadly…
Daniel wasn’t wrong.
Meanwhile…
Across the city, Michael stood alone inside his office overlooking New York.
Rain still hit the glass windows heavily.
Jessica entered quietly.
“You’re losing focus again.”
Michael didn’t answer.
Jessica crossed her arms.
“You know she’ll never forgive you, right?”
Michael’s eyes remained fixed on the city lights.
“I don’t care.”
Jessica frowned slightly.
Michael finally turned toward her.
“I’ll spend the rest of my life trying if I have to.”
And for the first time…
Jessica realized Emily Carter was still the only woman Michael Anderson had ever truly loved.
- Writer
