Chapter:Seven-One More Lie
1026 Words
Chapter Seven
One More Lie
Adrian arrived at the café ten minutes early.
He had barely slept the previous night. Every time he closed his eyes, he saw the photograph of Lena standing beside Daniel.
He wanted an explanation.
But deep down, he was afraid of what he might discover.
When Lena finally walked in, he stood.
“Thank you for coming,” he said.
She sat opposite him.
“You said you wanted to talk.”
Adrian nodded.
“Who is Daniel?”
Lena's expression tightened.
“Someone from my past.”
“How far back?”
“Before I met you.”
“Why didn't you tell me about him?”
She stared at him in disbelief.
“Because I barely remembered him until yesterday!”
Adrian looked away.
“Did you ever have feelings for him?”
Lena went quiet.
That silence hurt him more than he expected.
“Lena?”
“I knew him years ago, Adrian. We were friends. That's all I can remember clearly.”
“And now he's back?”
“Yes. And he told me something you need to hear.”
Adrian leaned forward.
“What?”
“Mira has been lying to both of us.”
His expression hardened.
“Don't do this.”
“Do what?”
“Turn this around on Mira whenever I ask you a question.”
Lena's eyes filled with disappointment.
“I'm not turning anything around. Daniel showed me messages proving that Mira pretended to be me.”
Adrian said nothing.
“He believed I wanted him out of my life because she told him so. Then she asked him to help make you suspicious of me.”
Adrian's face changed slightly.
For the first time, he looked uncertain.
“Do you have proof?”
“Yes.”
“Then show me.”
Lena opened her bag, but before she could take out her phone, Adrian's screen lit up.
A message from Mira.
Mira: Adrian, please don't let Lena manipulate you. There's something you need to know about Daniel.
Lena read the message.
Then she slowly looked at Adrian.
“She's doing it again.”
He locked his phone.
“I'll decide that for myself.”
Lena stood.
“You know what hurts the most? It's not that you ask questions. It's that you never give me the chance to answer before deciding I'm guilty.”
She picked up her bag.
“I loved you enough to fight for us. But I can't keep fighting someone who refuses to stand beside me.”
“Lena, wait.”
She stopped, but didn't turn around.
Adrian struggled to find the right words.
“I just want to know the truth.”
“So do I,” she replied.
Then she walked away.
---
Across town, Mira sat in her apartment, reading a message from Daniel.
Daniel: Lena knows what you did.
Her fingers tightened around the phone.
She immediately called him.
He answered on the third ring.
“What have you told her?” Mira demanded.
“The truth.”
“You had no right!”
“And you had no right to destroy her relationship.”
Mira laughed bitterly.
“Don't pretend you're innocent, Daniel. You helped me.”
“I know. That's why I'm going to tell Adrian everything.”
Her smile vanished.
“You wouldn't dare.”
“Try me.”
The call ended.
Mira stared at her phone.
For years, she had controlled the story by making sure everyone heard her version first.
Now Daniel was threatening to expose her.
And Lena was finally asking the right questions.
Mira couldn't allow them to compare everything they knew.
She opened her contacts and called Adrian.
When he answered, she let her voice tremble.
“Adrian, I'm scared.”
His expression changed.
“What's happened?”
“Daniel contacted me. He says he's going to ruin my life because I refused to help him get Lena back.”
Adrian sat up.
“Get Lena back? What are you talking about?”
Mira hesitated.
“I didn't want to tell you this, but I think Daniel has been using Lena to get close to you again.”
Adrian went silent.
Mira closed her eyes, pretending to fight back tears.
“Please don't tell Lena I called. I don't know what Daniel might do.”
When the call ended, she lowered her phone.
Her tears disappeared.
“I'm sorry, Lena,” she whispered. “But I'm not losing him to you.”
---
That evening, Adrian returned home and opened the photograph of Lena and Daniel.
For the first time, he noticed something he had overlooked.
Daniel wasn't holding Lena's hand.
He wasn't touching her.
He was simply standing beside her.
Adrian stared at the image.
What if Lena had been telling the truth?
His phone vibrated.
An email had arrived from an unknown sender.
Subject: Before You Accuse Lena Again
Adrian opened it.
There was one attachment: a screenshot of an old conversation between Mira and Daniel.
He read the first few lines.
Then his face drained of colour.
Mira's message was clear.
Mira: Once Adrian believes Lena betrayed him, he'll never look at her the same way again.
Adrian stopped breathing for a moment.
Below it was Daniel's reply.
Daniel: And what happens when he discovers the truth?
Mira's answer was even shorter.
Mira: By then, she'll be gone.
Adrian stared at the screen, his hands trembling.
Then another email arrived.
This one contained a photograph of Mira standing outside Lena's house three years earlier.
The timestamp was dated the night everything between Adrian and Lena began to fall apart.
Beneath the photograph were six words:
Ask Mira what happened that night.
Adrian immediately reached for his phone.
He had to confront her.
But before he could dial, a final message appeared from the unknown sender.
Unknown: If you want the whole truth, ask Lena why she disappeared three years ago.
Adrian froze.
Because that was the one question he had never been able to answer.
And suddenly, he wasn't sure he was ready to hear it.
End of Chapter Seven
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