Chapter 43 – Shadows of Doubt

"Hey… What’s wrong with you, Jes?" Kiara asked, noticing the pale look on Jeslyn’s face and the fear in her eyes, fixed on the television screen.

"Jes… Are you sick? Don’t scare me!" Kiara gently shook her arm, snapping her out of her frozen state. "What is it? Do you know the man on TV?"

"What… exactly did he do?" Jeslyn murmured.

Kiara frowned. "Jes… who are you talking about?"

Jeslyn slowly turned her gaze away from the television, her eyes red and glassy. Her voice was low, barely a whisper.

"What is it? You know that man?" Kiara repeated.

"No. It's nothing… Maybe I mistook him for someone else," Jeslyn muttered, trying to convince herself more than anyone.

"But your face looks like you've just seen a ghost, Jes," Kiara teased, still concerned.

Jeslyn stayed silent for a few seconds, taking a deep breath to calm the storm building in her chest. "Sorry. I was just… surprised."

Kiara narrowed her eyes. "Jes, you’re not the kind of person who gets shaken by news reports. I know you. Don’t lie to me."

Jeslyn looked away, sipping from her glass. Her hand trembled slightly. "He just… looked like someone I met before."

"Who?" Kiara pressed.

Jeslyn bit her lower lip, hesitant. "I'm not sure. But if it was him..."

Kiara raised an eyebrow, confused and curious.

Jeslyn shook her head quickly, as if trying to shut down her own thoughts. "Forget it. Maybe I'm just too stressed out."

But Kiara wasn’t easily fooled. She narrowed her eyes. "Jeslyn… I’m not going to force you to talk right now. But if you're really involved or know something about that man who was found dead… you need to be careful. This world is a lot crueler than we think."

Jeslyn lowered her head. She could still hear Kiara’s voice, but her thoughts were drifting far away.

“Let’s just eat. I’m starving,” Jeslyn said, quickly changing the topic. She knew Kiara was the kind of person who wouldn't stop once she was curious.

Kiara sighed, realizing Jeslyn was trying to shut down the conversation. But she let it go this time.

“Alright. Let’s eat,” she said, opening the food containers.

Jeslyn offered a faint smile, then picked up some plates and began serving their dinner. “At least let me fill my stomach before I get grilled by an interrogator like you.”

“Deal,” Kiara replied with a small laugh.

They ate in silence, occasionally sharing light jokes to ease the tension. But inside Jeslyn, the storm of unease continued to rage.

And one thought wouldn’t leave her mind…

Was this connected to Leonel?

After dinner, Kiara had fallen asleep on the couch, hugging a pillow. Jeslyn got up quietly, took her phone, and opened her folder of encrypted messages.

“We haven’t had a peaceful night like this in a long time,” Kiara mumbled, her eyes still half-closed. “We rarely get to spend time together anymore, huh?”

“Yeah, that’s true.”

They both stared at the ceiling in a moment of silence.

“How are things between you and Ian, Ki?” Jeslyn asked.

Kiara let out a long sigh, her eyes still fixed above. “Weird. Sometimes I think we’re okay… but other times I feel like a stranger lying next to him.”

Jeslyn slowly turned to look at her friend, noting the change in her expression. “Do you love him?”

Kiara paused for a few seconds before answering, “I think I do. But love isn’t always enough, is it?”

Jeslyn nodded slowly. She knew all too well what it felt like to be in a relationship that seemed directionless. “Have you ever tried being completely honest with him?”

Kiara let out a bitter chuckle. “Every time I try, he finds a way to change the subject. And honestly… I’m just too tired to keep trying.”

Silence fell once more.

Jeslyn gently patted Kiara’s hand. “If you ever need to get away from everything, you can stay here with me.”

Kiara smiled, her eyes beginning to mist. “Thanks, Jes… You’ve always been my safest place.”

Jeslyn smiled back, but her own heart was still weighed down by everything unresolved. When Kiara finally closed her eyes again, Jeslyn quietly stood and stepped out onto the balcony.

The night breeze brushed through her hair, and from the pocket of her pajamas...

“So, are you sure he’s seeing another woman?” Jeslyn asked quietly.

Kiara slowly opened her eyes again. Her voice was soft but clear, muffled slightly by the pillow she hugged.

“I don’t have proof yet. But my gut says something’s changed these past few months.”

She took a long breath. “He avoids me more, comes home later and later… and I found a woman’s perfume in his car. Not mine.”

Jeslyn closed her eyes, trying to absorb the pain in her friend’s voice. “If you’re right, then you need to be prepared—for anything.”

Kiara gave a bitter laugh. “You know… I used to think cheating only happened in the dramas or novels we read back in high school. Turns out, reality is far crueler than fiction.”

Jeslyn lowered her head, heart aching at her friend’s tone. She walked back to the sofa and sat beside Kiara.

“I can’t promise everything will be okay, Ki. But you’re not alone.”

Kiara turned to her slowly, nodding. “And you, Jes… you need to be honest with yourself, too. About who you really want. Leonel, Jefran… or maybe someone else entirely.”

Jeslyn froze. Kiara’s words pierced through her like a sharp arrow.

She looked out toward the balcony again. The night air suddenly felt colder.

“I don’t know. They’re two completely different men. When I agreed to be engaged to Jefran, I told myself I’d give him a chance. That I’d try to love him. But then he betrayed me with another woman… and I ended up tangled with Leonel—someone so mysterious, and at times, terrifying. With him, it feels like I’m only waiting for the next danger to come,” she whispered.

Kiara let out a deep sigh, then sat up straight. She looked at Jeslyn with gentle but piercing eyes.

“Jes, you always try to look strong… but I know you’re scared. Not just of getting hurt—but of making the wrong choice.”

Jeslyn turned her gaze away, her chest tightening.

“Leonel… He’s not an ordinary man, Ki. There’s something dark in him, something I don’t understand. I don’t even know what kind of man he really is…”

***