The Text Bomb
Calm before the storm is often the cruelest deceit. Ethan traveled to Shanghai for an industry summit. For three days. He left his phone charging at home. The screen lit up. A message preview popped: "Sophia: Landed? Miss your scent. Shouldn't have let you leave last night." Sent at 1:08 AM. A string snapped in my mind. The world went silent, only my heart pounding violently. Last night? He'd claimed the meeting ran late, so he stayed at the hotel. Blood rushed to my head, then drained, leaving me cold-limbed. I stared at those white-lettered words, each searing my retinas: *Miss your scent. Shouldn't have let you leave last night.
Confrontation
I called him. My fingers trembled. "Hello?" Background noise buzzed faintly. "Where were you yesterday?" My voice was terrifyingly calm, like frozen water. "At the hotel. Told you—the meeting..." "With Sophia?" I cut him off. Dead silence. Even the background hum vanished.
After long seconds, he stammered, panicked: "You're... you're crazy! Lily, don't jump to—" "I have her text," each word an icicle. "'Miss your scent. Shouldn't have let you leave last night.'" I enunciated slowly. "Not what you think!" he blurted defensively. "After the meeting... the team went out to unwind, had drinks! She got drunk! Nonsense! Nothing happened—I swear!" "The team?" I seized the word. "Who else?" Choking silence again. "Ethan?" My voice sounded hollow. "Just... key members... most left early..." he fumbled. "So, just you and her in the end?" I finished for him. No answer. Heavy breaths rasped through the receiver like a dying fish.
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Calm before the storm is often the cruelest deceit. Ethan traveled to Shanghai for an industry summit. For three days. He left his phone charging at home. The screen lit up. A message preview popped: "Sophia: Landed? Miss your scent. Shouldn't have let you leave last night." Sent at 1:08 AM. A string snapped in my mind. The world went silent, only my heart pounding violently. Last night? He'd claimed the meeting ran late, so he stayed at the hotel. Blood rushed to my head, then drained, leaving me cold-limbed. I stared at those white-lettered words, each searing my retinas: *Miss your scent. Shouldn't have let you leave last night.
Confrontation
I called him. My fingers trembled. "Hello?" Background noise buzzed faintly. "Where were you yesterday?" My voice was terrifyingly calm, like frozen water. "At the hotel. Told you—the meeting..." "With Sophia?" I cut him off. Dead silence. Even the background hum vanished.
After long seconds, he stammered, panicked: "You're... you're crazy! Lily, don't jump to—" "I have her text," each word an icicle. "'Miss your scent. Shouldn't have let you leave last night.'" I enunciated slowly. "Not what you think!" he blurted defensively. "After the meeting... the team went out to unwind, had drinks! She got drunk! Nonsense! Nothing happened—I swear!" "The team?" I seized the word. "Who else?" Choking silence again. "Ethan?" My voice sounded hollow. "Just... key members... most left early..." he fumbled. "So, just you and her in the end?" I finished for him. No answer. Heavy breaths rasped through the receiver like a dying fish.
NEXT >>
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