The Woman You Thought Would Stay

Chapter 4 — The Message I Was Never Meant to See

I woke up the next morning with one thought on my mind.

Adrian.

The strange feeling from last night had followed me into my dreams, leaving me restless even after I opened my eyes.

I reached for my phone.

No messages.

I stared at the screen for a few seconds before laughing quietly at myself.

Why was I waiting for him to text me?

He had promised to see me that morning.

So I got ready and tried to keep myself busy.

By nine, there was still nothing.

By ten, I finally sent him a message.

"Good morning. Are we still having dinner tonight?"

I watched the message change from sent to delivered.

Then nothing.

I put my phone down.

Five minutes later, it vibrated.

My heart jumped.

It wasn't Adrian.

It was Mira.

"Are you free today?"

I frowned.

"Yes. Why?"

Her reply came almost immediately.

"Can we meet?"

Something about those three words made my stomach tighten.

Mira had never sounded like that before.

I agreed to meet her at a small café near my apartment.

When I arrived, she was already sitting in the corner.

She looked nervous.

That alone frightened me.

Mira was usually the calm one between us. Even when everything around her was falling apart, she always knew how to smile.

But today, she couldn't even look at me properly.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"Nothing."

I stared at her.

"Mira."

She sighed.

"You know you can tell me anything, right?"

The question made her finally look at me.

For a moment, neither of us spoke.

Then she reached for her coffee.

"I just wanted to see how you're doing."

"I'm fine."

"Are you sure?"

I nodded.

"Why wouldn't I be?"

She looked away.

That was when I noticed something on the table.

Her phone.

The screen lit up.

A notification appeared.

I didn't mean to read it.

But I saw Adrian's name.

My breath caught.

Mira immediately turned the phone over.

I looked at her.

"Adrian?"

She froze.

"He just messaged me."

"Why?"

"It's about work."

I forced a smile.

"Of course."

She nodded too quickly.

"Yeah. Work."

Something inside me whispered that she was lying.

But I didn't want to believe it.

Not Mira.

Not the woman who had been my best friend for years.

Not the woman who had helped me choose my wedding dress.

Not the woman I trusted enough to tell everything to.

I took a sip of my coffee.

"So, what did he say?"

Mira's fingers tightened around her cup.

"It's nothing important."

My phone suddenly vibrated.

This time, it was Adrian.

I looked at the screen.

"Sorry. Something came up this morning. I'll explain later."

I read the message twice.

Then I looked at Mira.

She was staring at me.

And for the first time in six years, I wondered if my best friend was afraid of me finding out the truth.

"What?" she asked.

"Nothing."

I smiled.

But my smile didn't reach my eyes.

Because there was something I had learned that morning.

People don't always lie with their words.

Sometimes, they lie by what they refuse to say.

When I left the café, I tried to convince myself that I was imagining things.

But halfway home, my phone vibrated again.

It was an unknown number.

One message.

"I think you deserve to know what they're hiding."

I stopped walking.

My fingers went cold.

Another message appeared.

"Don't trust either of them."

I stared at the screen.

Then a photo arrived.

I hesitated before opening it.

And the moment I saw what was inside, the world around me seemed to disappear.

It was Adrian.

And Mira.

Together.

But the photo wasn't from last night.

It wasn't from today.

The date on the picture was from three months ago.

Three months before Adrian proposed to me.

My hands began to shake.

There was something written beneath the photo.

Two words.

"Ask Adrian."

I stared at those words until my vision blurred.

For the first time, I didn't want an explanation.

I wanted the truth.

Whatever it was.

Even if it destroyed everything I thought I knew.