HIS LAST SECRET

HIS LAST SECRET - Chapter 5: His Answer

Chapter 5: His Answer

The silence was louder than any fight we could’ve had.

He stood there.

I stood there.

And that text on my phone kept glowing.

"Ask him where he was last night.

- A friend"

My hands were shaking.

"Answer me," I whispered.

"Where were you last night?"

He looked away first.

That’s when I knew.

"I was with her," he said.

Quiet.

Like he was testing how the words felt in the air.

The world didn’t stop.

But mine did.

"Halima?"

"Yes."

"And the note? The texts? The ‘little secret’?"

He nodded.

Slow.

Like he was tired of lying.

"I didn’t mean for it to get this far," he said.

"I kept telling her it was over. But she... she wouldn’t stop.

Last night she showed up at my place. Crying. Said she was gonna hurt herself if I didn’t talk to her.

I panicked. I went. I thought I was doing the right thing."

"The right thing?"

My voice cracked.

"The right thing would’ve been to tell me.

The right thing would’ve been to not let me fall in love with you while you were cleaning up your past."

"I didn’t want to lose you."

"But you did."

The words came out before I could stop them.

Calm.

Final.

He stepped forward.

"Baby, please. It was one night. One mistake.

I love you. Only you.

I’ll cut her off. Block her. Anything."

I laughed.

Not because it was funny.

Because it hurt too much to cry.

"You don’t get it.

I spent a year alone to protect my peace.

A whole year.

And I gave it to you in a month.

And you threw it away for ‘one night’ and ‘one mistake’."

He reached for my hand.

I pulled back.

"I’m not mad that it happened," I said.

Tears were falling now but my voice was steady.

"I’m mad that you thought I was stupid enough not to notice.

I’m mad that you made me question myself instead of questioning him."

His face crumbled.

"Baby—"

"Don’t."

I picked up my bag. My keys.

"I need to go."

"Where?"

"Somewhere I can breathe."

Somewhere that doesn’t smell like lies.

I walked to the door.

He didn’t follow.

Maybe he knew there was nothing left to say.

As I left, my phone buzzed again.

Unknown number.

"Now you know.

Be careful.

- A friend"

I didn’t reply.

I just walked out into the morning.

2:17 AM was over.

But the war in me was just starting.