Chapter 3

I sat by the window, watching the clock hit 10 a.m. In the past, sitting by the window gave me a quiet comfort. But today, it gave me nothing.

I hadn't slept all night, not even for a second. Every time I closed my eyes, I was taken back to the photo.

Red Heels. Eleanor.

I didn't want to believe it, but I had gifted those shoes to Eleanor myself.

They were custom-made especially for her.

Between last night and this morning, I had looked at the photo more times than I wanted to. I kept zooming in and out, studying it intensely, hoping and searching for something, anything, to prove that it wasn't Eleanor.

It couldn't be her. It shouldn't be.

Eleanor has been my best friend since forever; we grew up as kids together. She knew me in more ways than one. She was bold, confident, and brutally honest. She was always the first to tell me if I was making a bad decision. And if I did it anyway, she would never let me deal with the consequences alone.

Eleanor had always been my protector and she knew every version of me.

So how could she knowingly cause me pain?

Eleanor has been in a secret relationship for close to a year, but she never let me meet him. Whenever I would tease and ask her about it, she would laugh and tell me she wasn't ready for me to meet him.

And all of a sudden, that secret was starting to feel weird.

But I was sure of one thing, Eleanor was on vacation with her family in Bali, and she wouldn't be back till next month.

So how could she possibly be the woman in the photograph?

There must be an explanation. There has to be.

***

By noon, I had already given up on trying to sleep. Instead, I decided to clean up. Not that the house was dirty; I just needed something to keep me busy and to take my mind off things.

I started with the bedroom. I changed the bedsheets and straightened the curtains before putting away the papers scattered across the dresser.

I noticed the files Ethan brought home from work last night and I gathered them to put away. Immediately I lifted the pile of files, a neatly folded piece of paper dropped to the floor. I picked it up and almost put it back.

Almost. I unfolded the paper to reveal the contents inside.

See you by 7 p.m. same .

My fingers froze immediately because suddenly, it wasn't just the note that shocked me. The handwriting as well.

My heart sank.

Eleanor. This was definitely her writing; I could spot it anywhere.

“See you by 7 p.m. Same place,” I muttered, the words coming out like a whisper.

Then I remembered something. This morning, Ethan had mentioned going out for drinks with the boys at 7pm tonight. My gaze dropped to the note again.

Could it be that they were really meeting up tonight?

I read the note over and over again. It didn't have a name to it but I didn't need one. I stared back and forth between the note and Ethan’s files.

Eleanor was on vacation; so how could her handwritten note be among the files Ethan were working on last night?

Why was she asking to meet Ethan?

Same place?

Had they been meeting secretly before?

With trembling hands, I reached for my phone and clicked on Eleanor’s number.

I hesitated for a second but I really needed to know what exactly was going on, so I pressed the call button.

She didn't pick up until the fourth ring.

“Mimi baby.” She screamed through the phone.

“Ellie, are you okay? Where are you?”

“What's wrong Mimi? I'm still in Bali with my family, remember?”

I swallowed hard and looked at the note in my hand.

“It's nothing, Ellie. I just wanted to check on you,” I said, forcing a laugh.

“You've been checking on me all week Mimi. Are you sure you're okay?” She laughed.

“I'm fine, Ellie. I just missed you a lot.”

“Oh, Mimi, I miss you too. You know, if I were back, you'd be the first to know.”

“Ellie…”

“I have to go now, Mimi. Be good, okay? Say hi to my princess for me. I love you so, so much. Muah!” she said in one breath before hanging up.

She lied. Eleanor lied to me.

Eleanor has a habit of talking extremely fast when she’s lying.

She said she was still away, but the note in my hand says something different.

Suddenly, the photograph and the red heels didn't feel like a coincidence anymore. Whatever they had going on, I was going to find out.

See you by 7 p.m.?

“I’ll see you both at 7.” My heart pounded.

***

I lay in bed. It was six in the evening, and somehow, I’d managed to fall asleep with the note still in my hand.

I was still staring at it when I heard the entrance door open, followed by Layla’s usual bubbly voice.

“Mummy!”

I pushed the note under the pillow and sat up.

Seconds later, she burst into the room with Ethan behind her.

“Mummy!” She smiled, wrapping her little arms around my neck.

“My Queen.” Ethan said, pressing a kiss against my forehead. “These are for you.”

He brought out flowers from behind his back and Layla handed them to me. I stared at the flowers for a second. Usually, whenever Ethan got me flowers, it would give me the feeling of being valued and special but now? It felt different. It felt…

Apologetic. Like he was apologising for something.

My eyes moved from the flowers to Ethan.

“They're beautiful,” I said, forcing a smile.

“Thank you.” Layla climbed onto my lap, and I hugged her tightly. For now, she was my only source of comfort.

“Anything for you.” He smiled. “After showering, I'd be out with the boys. I mentioned it earlier, remember?”

“You did.” I nodded.

“Don't wait for me, okay?” He said, heading into the bathroom.

Drinks with the boys? Yeah right.

***

Never did I imagine that one day, I would question the loyalty of my best friend and husband, so much so that I would be sitting in my car, watching both of them sit, talk, and laugh like they weren't lying and deceiving me. I left Layla home with the housekeeper and followed Ethan’s car till it came to a stop at a steakhouse.

I looked at the familiar steakhouse, a bitter laugh escaping my mouth. It was my favorite place, they knew it. And now, it has become theirs.

I watched them talk and laugh. At one point, Eleanor leaned forward, her hand brushing slightly against his. They acted like it meant nothing.

Maybe it really meant nothing.

I wasn't sure about anything anymore. I wanted to walk in and confront them but, I couldn't bring myself to move. I felt stuck.

My hands gripped the steering wheel, my knuckles turning white. Tears welled up in my eyes because, in that moment I finally understood how pathetic I’d been. All the excuses I made for Ethan came rushing back, and Eleanor’s secret relationship, which coincidentally started around the same time I noticed the lipstick stain on Ethan’s shirt.

How did I never question that before?

My chest tightened and my stomach twisted. Breathing suddenly seemed like a hard task. I needed someone to desperately take away the pain I was feeling, but the reality was that no one was coming to save me, because two out of the three people I trusted with my life were the ones driving a knife through my heart.

My sobs grew louder, filling the car as my body trembled. This was the second most excruciating pain I had ever felt in my life. The first had been losing my parents.

After what felt like an eternity, when I had no tears left in me, I remained seated in my car staring at nothing in particular. Ethan and Eleanor had already left a long time ago and my phone had died from all the missed calls and messages from Ethan.

I looked at my face in the rearview mirror, the street lights providing a soft illumination. My eyes had turned a shade of red and dull from how much I had cried. Gathering the last strength I had, I drove off. With no particular destination in mind, I just kept driving.

***

The throbbing pain behind my head was enough to drive me insane. I groaned and rolled over, pulling the blanket over my head, hoping it would somehow make me feel better.

It didn't. Neither did the cinnamon scent lingering in the blanket.

Cinnamon?

My eyes flew open despite the pounding in my head and I quickly sat up. I looked around the unfamiliar room. This wasn't my home. I peeled off the blanket from my body and realized that even the clothes I was wearing weren't mine.

“I thought you were never going to wake up,” an unfamiliar dark voice said.

I whipped my head around so fast, I felt like my neck would snap.

A tall, muscular man in a tailored black suit leaned on the door with legs crossed and arms folded. He was probably in his 30’s. His piercing gray eyes stared at me, digging holes in my body while his lips formed a thin line. His face was void of any emotion.

And suddenly, realization hit me.

“Oh my God.”