3. The Better Man

Adrea stayed in bed most of the day. Her mind was a fog, filled with an unending mist of questions that had no clear answers. What was going to happen now? What was she going to do? She could not get over the tightness in her chest, the lump in her throat, or the weight in her belly. She felt cold, as though she were seeing the world from another realm. She might as well be. How could this be her life? How had she gotten here? She was still not sure.

Even as she remembered the events of that night a week ago, she could not believe it. Why had Felix done that to her? Was he in trouble? Had he gotten into the wrong bed and been too embarrassed to tell his brother?

But that did not make sense! It did not explain him essentially claiming he was having an affair with her. It was just not right! She had thought he was her friend. But he had not reached out to her to check if she was okay.

When she thought about it, he had taken great pleasure in making his mother call her to scold her for being a promiscuous slut who was tearing their family apart. Which was nonsense. The brothers had not been close when she married into the family. Sure, the events of the previous night had put a more tension in their already strained relationship, but it was not her doing. She had just been friends with Felix.

What puzzled her more was how he had gotten into her house. He had not been there when she had gone to sleep. Why had he come over? As far as she knew, he had been supposed to be meeting a friend that night. They were supposed to meet the next day to pick out a birthday present for her mother-in-law, as she knew more about fashion than he did.

A knock on the door made Adrea lift her head from its perch over her knees. She did not feel like talking. Her throat felt as though no sound could come out of it if she tried. That was not a problem. Her housekeeper opened the door and walked in with a food tray.

“Ma’am,” she said, “I brought you some food. You should eat something.”

“Thank you,” Adrea rasped and then cleared her throat. “Just leave it on the nightstand.”

Concern flashed in the housekeeper’s eyes as she looked at her mistress. The young woman had a blanket over her shoulders as she sat with her knees drawn to her chest, her arms securing the blanket around her. Despite her concern, she nodded, did as she was told, and retreated from the room. Adrea was aware as she shut the door behind herself and relaxed when the door clicked shut. She was alone again. It was what she wanted, but it was not good for her. It did not help her. It just drew her back into her mind, which was not the best place to be.

‘What do I do?’ she asked herself. ‘What do I do?’

There was nothing. Nothing that would help her situation. Nothing except imploring her husband to see her side. But she was as certain as the sun setting at sunset that her husband would not believe her. She would not believe anyone in her situation. In fact, she would have some choice words attacking their morality. Maybe if Felix told her husband the truth about what he was doing in their bed that night, maybe then he would believe her.

But Felix was not talking. She had tried to talk to him. She had called him the first time she thought of him as the only person her husband would believe now. She had called him. She had been shivering with anxiety and fear as she waited for him to pick up her call. She had chewed on her nails as it rang on and on. And then it had gone silent. He had not picked up her call. She had tried again and again until all she got was a pre-recorded message telling her that the number she’d called was unavailable. Then she had cried in frustration.

Surely, he would not ruin her life and then block her without an explanation, would he? But it seemed he had.

No… She could not give up like that. She couldn’t. Her marriage depended on her trying. So, she picked up her phone and tried again. She rocked back and forth on the bed as she listened to his phone ring. She was acutely aware of the time ticking around her as the phone rang.

Ring-ring. Ring-ring. Ring-ring.

“Please pick up,” she found herself whispering just as the phone gave three final beeps before going silent.

She let out a frustrated sound, and a sob clawed its way up her chest, slipping out through her lips.

“I can try again,” she mumbled to herself. “That’s right. I’ll try again.”

And she dialled the number again and pressed the call button.

The ringing began again. He had to pick up this time. He just had to. And when he did, she’d convince him to explain to his brother that this was his cruel joke and she had not done anything. She had not known. She had not touched him.

She took a shaky breath as the phone continued to ring, each tone dragging her closer to despair. Finally, a voice answered.

“Hello?”

She froze for a moment, her heart thudding in her chest. “Felix,” she rasped, the name barely escaping her lips.

There was a pause, and then he replied, “Adrea.”

Her throat tightened, but she forced the words out. “You have to talk to Rael. Please, Felix. Tell him the truth.”

“I already did,” he said, his tone calm, almost detached.

Her breath hitched. “You… did?” For a moment, hope flared. “When? What did you say?”

“That night,” he said evenly. “I have the shiner to show for it, remember?”

The flicker of hope was snuffed out in an instant, replaced by disbelief.

“But you said nothing!” she reminded him, her voice trembling. “What do you mean, everything? You lied to him, Felix!”

“I couldn’t keep lying to him, Adrea,” he said, a hint of exasperation creeping into his tone. “He deserved to know.”

“To know what?” she snapped, her voice rising. “That you decided to ruin my life for no reason? Why are you doing this to me?”

“I’m not doing anything to you,” Felix said, his voice soft but firm. “This was bound to come out eventually. Rael would’ve figured it out on his own.”

Adrea pressed a hand to her forehead, trying to keep herself from spiralling. “What are you even talking about? There’s nothing to figure out, Felix. Nothing happened!”

There was another pause. Then, with maddening calm, he said, “You’re just upset. It’s better this way. We’ll be together finally.”

“What?” Adrea could not believe what she was hearing. “Oh God… this has to be a bad dream. Why are you trying to ruin me, Felix?”

He didn’t answer immediately. When he spoke again, his tone was quieter, almost remorseful. “I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

“Then why won’t you just tell the truth?” Her voice cracked, a sob threatening to escape. “Please, Felix. If you ever cared about me, even as a friend, you’ll fix this.”

“I… can’t,” he said after a beat, “It’s better this way,” and the line went dead.

The way he spoke. So convinced of the lie he had built. Was she going crazy? Did she need to commit herself? She knew for sure that she had not touched or spoken to Felix in an inappropriate manner. Was she in some sort of alternate reality where things were different?

She looked at the call logs. She wanted to be sure she had called the right number. She had. This was Felix she had called. Why was he doing this? Nothing made sense. Nothing at all.

***

She called.

She actually called.

Felix stared at his phone long after the call had ended, her voice still echoing in his mind—cracked with desperation, thick with disbelief. It tugged at something in him. Not guilt, not exactly. Something deeper. Possessive. Familiar.

He walked over to the floor-to-ceiling windows of his apartment, watching the city move in predictable, pointless patterns below. Unlike Adrea. She had never been predictable. She had been vibrant and kind, sweet but sharp-tongued when pushed. And she had smiled at him like he mattered. Not like his brother—always so smug, always acting like he was the better man. The chosen one.

Rafael had everything handed to him. The business, the inheritance, the respect, the woman.

His woman.

Felix clenched his jaw.

Rafael didn’t deserve her. Not then, not now.

If only she could see how much better life would be without him. How peaceful. How full of love. She’d been miserable for months; he saw it in her eyes, in the way she lingered when they talked. She didn’t want to admit it—she was too loyal, too proud—but he knew. He felt it.

“Once the dust settles, she’ll understand,” he whispered to himself. “This was necessary.”

He hadn’t meant for things to explode like that. Not exactly. But the timing had been right, and fate had given him an opportunity he couldn’t pass up. She would’ve kept clinging to Rafael forever if he hadn’t pushed. She never would’ve chosen him over his golden-boy brother. Not on her own.

But now that the lie was out there—believable, undeniable—there was no turning back.

He tapped the phone screen once more and hovered over her contact. A soft smile curved his lips.

“She’ll come around,” he murmured. “She just doesn’t know it yet.”