HIS LAST SECRET

HIS LAST SECRET - Chapter 1: 2:17 AM

Chapter 1: 2:17 AM

I greeted him "good evening" this morning.

Didn’t even realize until he laughed softly and said, "Baby, it’s 8am."

That’s how tired I am. That’s how much my brain hasn’t shut off lately.

AI ads to fix. Deadlines piling up. Data class in a few hours.

And him.

Always him.

He makes me feel safe. Like I can finally exhale and just be a woman again.

God knows I stayed a whole year single to protect my peace. To protect me.

I’m stubborn. I overthink every text. I replay every conversation.

I fall apart quietly in bathrooms and come out smiling.

But when he talks to me — calm, low, steady — the noise stops.

For the first time in a long time, I let my guard down.

I let myself believe that maybe this was different. That maybe he was different.

Tonight should’ve been normal.

We ordered food. Watched half a movie. He fell asleep with his arm around me and I watched him breathe.

Safe. That’s what I kept telling myself. Safe.

Now it’s 2:17 AM and I can’t sleep.

My mind is running through everything. Work. Money. The presentation I forgot to send. Him.

He’s in the shower. I can hear the water running.

His phone is on the bed, face up. It buzzes.

Once.

Twice.

Three times.

I wasn’t going to look. I’m not that girl.

The girl who checks phones. The girl who snoops.

I spent a year building walls just so I wouldn’t have to feel like this again.

But the screen lit up.

Her ❤️

Miss you 😘

Can't wait to see you ❤️

I love our little secret 😘

My stomach dropped.

The water was still running.

And I was standing there, barefoot on the cold floor, holding his phone with shaking hands.

"Her."

With a heart.

And a "little secret."

I locked the phone before he could see me. Before I could see more.

My chest felt too tight to breathe.

For a year I chose peace.

For a month I chose him.

And in 3 texts, I don’t know what I chose anymore.

The shower stopped.

Footsteps.

"Hey, you okay?" His voice was soft. Sleepy.

I forced a smile and put the phone down.

"Yeah. Just couldn’t sleep."

He kissed my forehead like nothing was wrong.

Like my world hadn’t just tilted.

And I lay there next to him, staring at the ceiling,

wondering when "safe" started feeling like "secret."