Chapter 14: Watching Me

“Honestly, I took you for a different kind of person,” Steven said. His arms were still crossed, and his eyes did not leave my face.

“No, sir. I think you have got this wrong.” My voice came out smaller than I intended. “I didn’t look carefully before I went in. I’m sorry. It wasn’t intentional.”

“You know, I have seen a lot of people try to seduce me. Not only women, men too.” He exhaled slowly, as though the subject exhausted him. “It is irritating. Love is supposed to come genuinely.”

The moment he finished, a heavy lump settled in my throat. Of all the things he could have accused me of, this was the one I had never imagined. My face burned, and I wanted the floor to open and swallow me whole.

“Honestly, sir, it wasn’t intentional,” I repeated.

“I hope so.”

That was all he said. He turned and walked away, while my pulse hammered in my ears. I let out a breath I hadn’t realized I was holding and wished, with everything in me, that I could turn back time, even by five minutes.

I had barely steadied myself when I saw Natasha heading in our direction.

She walked like a woman who knew that every eye in the room belonged to her. A designer bag worth millions hung from her arm, her outfit was flashy and flawless, and a pair of model-style eyeglasses sat perfectly on her face. Even the air seemed to rearrange itself around her.

“Good morning, my love,” she said sweetly, reaching up to adjust Steven’s tie.

Then she hugged him. Her face was turned directly toward me over his shoulder, and she gave me a look I could not read. It was not quite a smile, and it was not quite a warning. It lingered just long enough to make my skin prickle, and then it was gone.

When she pulled away, her tone was light, almost playful. “Mmm… don’t get me wrong, but someone asked me a question that has been troubling me ever since.”

“What is it?” Steven asked. “Feel free to tell me.”

“She said it was the kind of question a fiancée always asks herself.” Her gaze drifted to me for a moment, then returned to him. “If someone told you I was cheating on you, would you believe it?”

Steven considered her for a while. “Judging by how things look, I don’t think you could.”

“Okay, so you don’t fully trust me?”

“Of course I trust you. But the truth lies within the heart.”

Natasha rolled her eyes. “Fine. I can’t cheat on you, okay?”

She laughed, and the moment passed as though nothing had happened. Still, a quiet unease followed me for the rest of the day. It was a small, nagging feeling that those words had not been meant for Steven alone. Apart from that, everything went smoothly, and I was grateful for it.

When I got home, my mother was waiting for me with an expression that said she had news.

“You will not believe this,” she began. “Rui and Nora have moved into the house nearby. The one you saw him around earlier.”

I stared at her. “What?”

“They moved in this afternoon.”

I felt the blood drain from my face. Had Rui done this on purpose? Why would he not simply let me be? I had spent so long trying to build a quiet life without him in it, and now he had planted himself a few steps from my front door.

I mumbled something polite and escaped to my room, my mind spinning with the news. I dropped onto the edge of my bed and tried to breathe. Then, almost without meaning to, I glanced toward the window.

Across the way, in the new house, two figures stood close together in a lit room. The light was behind them, which made them easy to see from outside, as if they had forgotten that anyone could be watching. They were wrapped in a romantic moment, his arms around her, her head tilted toward his.

I did not need to be told who they were. It had to be Rui and Nora.

I pulled the curtain shut at once and stepped back, my heart beating faster than I wanted to admit.

It was none of my business, I told myself. They could do whatever they wanted, and I truly did not care. But why, of all the places in the city, had they chosen to live so close to me? I hoped they simply liked the house. I hoped it was only that, and not that they wanted to play games with me.

Just then, my phone buzzed. It was a message from Ethan.

Have you gotten the voice recording?

I sighed and held the phone against my chest for a second. Ethan and I had been planning to get that recording for some time now. It was the one thing that could prove I had not done what everyone believed. I did not want revenge, and I did not want to win. All I wanted was to live my life in peace, without Rui interfering in it. Yet it seemed that was impossible.

I typed a reply slowly: Not yet. I’m working on it.

Three dots appeared almost immediately, vanished, and appeared again. Ethan was clearly weighing his words.

Finally, his message arrived.

"Listen, I have been thinking. What if we fake date? If Rui sees you with someone else, he will finally believe you have moved on. Maybe then he will leave you alone."

I stared at the screen, unsure whether to laugh or to panic.

Fake dating. With Rui living a few steps away and Natasha’s strange look still replaying in my mind, it sounded like either the best idea or the worst one I had ever heard.

I put the phone down and looked at the curtain, behind which the light across the way still glowed.

The decision to accept began echoing in my head, louder with every second I stared at that glowing window.