Titled: The dating app

Chapter 6: Digging Deeper

That evening, Olivia met up with Nora at their favorite bar, the place they always went when they needed a night to decompress. Nora listened as Olivia recounted everything: the article, the messages, and her growing doubts about Alex. Nora’s expression darkened. “Liv, this is serious. If someone is going out of their way to warn you, maybe you should listen.” “But what if it’s just some troll or a crazy ex of his?” Olivia asked, stirring her drink absentmindedly. “People do weird things online.”

“Or maybe it’s someone who knows something you don’t.” Nora’s eyes were serious. “Have you tried asking Alex about the article?”

“No, not yet. I don’t want to come off as paranoid, but I also don’t want to ignore a warning if it’s real.” Olivia sighed, feeling the weight of her uncertainty. “What if I’m just overreacting because of what happened with Liam?” Nora reached across the table, squeezing her hand.

“I get that you’re scared, but you have to trust your instincts. Look, why don’t we try and figure out who this MysteriousEyes97 person is? Maybe we can find out if they’re legit or just messing with you.” Olivia nodded, feeling a spark of hope.

“Yeah, okay. But how do we do that?” “I know a guy who’s great with tech stuff—Ethan, remember him? He can help us trace the account, see if we can find out who’s behind it.” Olivia felt a mix of excitement and nerves.

She hadn’t seen Ethan in years; he was one of those people she’d lost touch with after college, a tech genius who had helped them hack into their dorm’s Wi-Fi when it was down. “You think he’d help?” “Of course. I’ll reach out to him tonight.” Nora gave her a reassuring smile. “We’ll get to the bottom of this, I promise.” As Olivia headed home, she felt a flicker of relief. At least she wasn’t alone in this. But as she walked up the steps to her building, her phone buzzed again. She hesitated before glancing down. It was Alex. Hey, Olivia. I’m sorry about dinner. Can we try again tomorrow night? I want to make it up to you.

She stared at the message, her heart torn. Part of her wanted to say yes, to give him another chance, but the other part—the part that had learned to protect herself—urged caution. She needed more information before she could trust him fully. With a sigh, she typed her response. Sure, let’s meet. 7 PM, the same place.