The Art of Deception"

Chapter 9:Lies and Truths

Chapter 9: Lies and Truths

My phone buzzed again in my pocket, this time more insistently. I looked at the screen — it wasn’t the message from the woman at the café. It was Alma.

“I need to talk to you. There are things I haven’t told you. Please, come see me.”

A wave of emotions hit me. Part of me wanted to ignore it, to keep moving forward as if she didn’t exist, as if everything that happened hadn’t left a permanent mark on me. But another part—the weakest part, the one that couldn’t stop thinking about what we had—felt trapped.

I knew I should stay away. That keeping my distance was best, because any conversation would only bring more pain. But anxiety made me hesitate. What did she want to tell me? What secrets was she hiding? The thought of not knowing was eating me up inside.

I decided to go.

I wasn’t sure if it was curiosity, fear of not having answers, or just the need to hear her out one last time—but I headed to her apartment without overthinking it.

Each step felt like a mental storm. I was walking toward a confrontation I wasn’t sure I was ready for. Alma had left me in the dark, without answers, and now she seemed determined to shed light on something I couldn’t yet imagine.

When I arrived at the building, I took a deep breath and looked up at the apartment where I’d dreamed so many times of building a life. The happy memories hit me hard. I felt like a stranger in my own past.

I climbed the stairs slowly, each step heavier than the last. When I reached her door, I hesitated. I was about to ring the bell, but something inside stopped me. Anxiety twisted into a mix of anger and confusion. Why did I have to go through this again? Why couldn’t I just let it go?

Finally, I pressed the doorbell.

I heard footsteps on the other side, then her voice.

“Isaac?” Her voice was soft but shaky, like she was struggling with what she had to say. “Please, come in.”

I opened the door and found her sitting on the couch, staring at the floor. She looked different, but the sadness in her eyes hadn’t changed. That same lost look, the weight of guilt hanging in the air.

“I don’t know what to do, Isaac,” she said, lifting her gaze. Our eyes met, and for a moment, I felt the full weight of the past crash down on my shoulders. “I owe you a lot of explanations.”

My breath caught. Words got stuck in my throat. Where do I even start? Why did I still care about what she had to say?

“What do you want to tell me now, Alma?” My voice was colder than I expected. I couldn’t help it. All the feelings I’d carried—the betrayal, the pain—came rushing back. “What’s so important that you’re calling me now?”

She stood slowly and walked to the window, looking out as if trying to escape the conversation.

“I made a lot of mistakes, Isaac,” she whispered, the words sounding like they hurt her. “I know I hurt you in ways I can’t fix, but there’s something I never told you. Something… I never had the courage to share.”

My fists clenched. I was on the edge, about to fall into the trap I’d fought so hard to avoid. But part of me wanted to hear her out. To understand what she’d been hiding.

“What is it, Alma?” I asked, trying to stay steady.

She turned to me, pale, eyes full of endless sadness.

“Before I met you, there was something in my life I never told you. Something that’s been haunting me long before this all started. I’ve been carrying that weight, and when we got together, I didn’t know how to say it. Didn’t know how to share it with you.”

I could see the pain in her eyes, but my anger didn’t fade. I felt trapped between needing the truth and wanting to run away—from her, from everything she represented.

“And what is that?” My voice shook, but I fought to stay calm.

She took a deep breath, finally speaking words heavy with anguish that struck straight at my heart.

“Before we met, I was involved with someone else. Someone who… would have made you question everything we built. I left him behind, but I didn’t tell you because I didn’t want to lose you. But the past always comes back, Isaac. And what I never told you, what I kept silent about for so long, is that it wasn’t over.”

A crushing weight fell on my shoulders as those words landed. The pain and betrayal multiplied instantly. Not only had she lied, she’d hidden something huge—something that changed everything. There was more to her life than the story she’d told me.

“Are you telling me you lied to me this whole time?” My voice cracked, but anger bubbled beneath, ready to burst. “There was someone else while I thought I was the only one? Why didn’t you tell me, Alma?”

She looked down, unable to meet the fury in my eyes.

“I didn’t want to lose you. I thought if I told you, you’d leave. I thought you wouldn’t understand. But now I see it was a mistake. I was wrong to keep it from you. I failed you.”

My heart clenched. The secrets she hid, the lies she told—they crushed me. I wanted to run away, leave that room, let everything fall apart. But I couldn’t. Not without hearing her whole truth.

“I don’t know what to do with all this, Alma.” I stared at her, eyes filled with a pain I’d never felt before. “I don’t know how to trust you again after this.”

The silence between us grew heavy, almost unbearable. What had started as a perfect love was now becoming something irreparable.