Chapter 11: The Secret Meeting
581 Words
Back at her apartment in Mo Bei City, Lydia Harper packed a small suitcase with her essentials. She told the driver to take her back to university. Aside from the formal label of being “married,” nothing else had changed.
That night, after a long shower, she climbed into the top bunk of her dorm. The room was quiet, the dim light from the street filtering through the window. She unlocked her phone and froze.
A message appeared. A photo.
Alexander Blackwood—wearing a bathrobe—lay in bed with Nora Whitman. Close. Intimate.
Her chest tightened. A second message followed:
“Hey sister… guess what we’re about to do next?”
Lydia’s hands trembled. Pain spread through her like fire. Silent tears traced paths down her cheeks, soaking her pillow.
They were in on it together—Alexander and Nora—like a rehearsed act. And her? She was nothing but a fool caught in the middle. She hated her weakness, the way she couldn’t fight back. Her husband was with someone else. And all she could do… was cry.
She wanted warmth. A mother’s comfort. Someone to lean on. But maybe Alexander had never been meant to be that person.
“Lydia?” A soft voice broke through. Bella Young leaned over in pajamas, concern clear in her eyes. “Why are you crying? Who hurt you? Tell me—I’ll handle him.”
Lydia wiped her tears and forced a smile. “Go away. Since when did I become your little sister?”
After a pause, she whispered, “What if the person you’ve loved forever doesn’t love you back?”
“That’s easy,” Bella said without hesitation. “Find someone else. There are plenty of options. Why cling to just one?”
Chloe Hart, lounging in a face mask, added thoughtfully, “I’d wait. Give it a couple of years. If they don’t break up, let them go. But if they do… maybe there’s a chance.”
From her bed, Mia Harper—nicknamed “Monkey”—looked up from her phone. “I’d confess first,” she said bluntly. “If he chooses his girlfriend, I will walk away. If he chooses me… then I win. But first, you need to speak up. Don’t suffer in silence.”
Lydia stayed quiet, turning over to stare at the ceiling. All her life, she’d been living in Nora’s shadow. Nora was polished, brilliant, perfect. Warm. Loved.
And her? Aside from her appearance… what did she have?
That night, Lydia didn’t sleep.
The next few days blurred together. Classes. Meals. Sleep. She felt like a ghost, wandering through life without ever truly holding anything.
One afternoon, during lunch, her phone rang. The caller ID read: Benefactor. Heart pounding, she rushed outside to answer.
“Hello?”
“I’ll pick you up tomorrow,” Alexander said, his voice cold and precise. “Grandmother wants us at the old house for dinner.”
“Okay.”
“What time—” The call ended abruptly.
Lydia stared at her phone, then exhaled slowly. “Whatever,” she murmured to herself.
“If it’s meant to be, it will be. If not… forcing it won’t help.”
She pocketed her phone and looked around the empty courtyard, letting the warm afternoon breeze brush across her face. In that quiet moment, she reminded herself she had to stay strong. No matter how much her heart ached, she would survive.
- Writer
