"Who is she?"
The question came out sharper than Amara intended, slicing cleanly through the fragile silence between them.
For a brief moment, the world around them seemed to fade—the laughter, the music, the clinking of glasses—all dissolving into nothingness.
All that remained was him.
And the truth he was trying so hard not to say.
David blinked slowly, his expression carefully neutral, but his eyes… his eyes betrayed him.
"What are you talking about?" he asked, his voice steady, almost too steady.
Amara let out a short, disbelieving laugh.
"Don't do that," she said, shaking her head. "Don't stand there and pretend you don't understand."
She lifted her phone again, her hand trembling slightly despite her effort to stay composed.
"London," she said, her voice dropping into something colder, more dangerous. "Who is she?"
A pause followed.
Not long.
But long enough.
David didn't answer.
Didn't deny it.
Didn't even try to lie this time.
And that silence…
It said everything.
Amara felt something inside her chest tighten painfully, like her heart was being squeezed by an invisible force.
"There is someone," she said slowly, her voice trembling now, despite all her attempts to stay strong. "Isn't there?"
David exhaled quietly, looking away.
That was all it took.
A bitter smile formed on her lips, though her eyes shimmered with unshed tears.
"Wow…" she whispered. "I didn't even have to catch you. You just… gave yourself away."
"Amara—" he started, stepping closer.
"How long?" she cut in immediately, her voice rising again. "How long have you been cheating on me?"
"I didn't say that," David replied quickly.
"You didn't have to!" she snapped, the words breaking out of her like a dam that had finally burst.
Her chest rose and fell rapidly as memories began crashing into her mind.
Late-night calls he took outside.
Trips that lasted longer than they were supposed to.
The way he had slowly become distant—subtle at first, then undeniable.
And she had ignored it.
All of it.
Because she trusted him.
Because she loved him.
Because she believed in them.
"It's not what you think," David said again, softer this time, as if lowering his voice could soften the truth.
Amara shook her head slowly.
"Then explain it," she said. "Because right now, it looks exactly like what I think it is."
David hesitated.
Again.
And that hesitation…
Felt louder than any confession.
Amara's eyes narrowed as a new thought crept in.
A darker one.
"She's not just someone," she said quietly, her voice dropping almost to a whisper now. "Is she?"
David's jaw tightened.
"Amara…"
"No," she said firmly, stepping back slightly as if bracing herself. "You don't get to say my name like that. Not anymore."
Her fingers curled slightly around her phone.
"Who. Is. She?"
The words came out slow.
Deliberate.
Final.
David ran a hand through his hair, his composure finally beginning to crack.
For the first time that night, he looked… unsettled.
A long silence followed.
Then finally—
"She's… connected to something that happened before we met."
Amara froze.
Before we met?
Her brows furrowed in confusion.
"What does that mean?" she asked, her voice quieter now, but no less intense.
David shook his head almost immediately.
"I can't talk about this here."
A hollow laugh escaped her again.
"Of course you can't," she said bitterly. "Because everything about you is a lie, isn't it?"
"Amara, please—"
Her phone buzzed again.
Both of them stopped.
Slowly, as if afraid of what she might see, Amara lowered her gaze to the screen.
Another message.
Same number.
Her heart pounded violently as she opened it.
"She knows about your past too, Amara."
Everything inside her went still.
Cold.
Her fingers tightened around the phone as a wave of fear unlike anything she had felt before washed over her.
Her past?
No.
That wasn't possible.
No one knew.
No one was supposed to know.
Slowly…
Very slowly…
She lifted her head.
David was watching her now.
Closely.
Carefully.
"Amara…" he said, his voice cautious this time. "What does that mean?"
But she couldn't answer.
Because suddenly…
The ground beneath her felt like it was shifting.
This wasn't just about David anymore.
This wasn't just about cheating.
This was something else.
Something deeper.
Something dangerous.
Because whoever was behind those messages…
Didn't just know his secrets.
They knew hers too.
And that meant one thing.
This wasn't a coincidence.
It was planned.