Chapter 7: The truth between the lies

Pedro stood frozen at the doorway.

Emily’s expression was unusually serious.

“I know something about your marriage.”

The words echoed through the apartment.

Behind Pedro, Liyanna instinctively stepped closer.

“What do you mean?” Pedro asked.

Emily looked around the hallway before lowering her voice.

“Can I come in?”

After a brief hesitation, Pedro nodded.

“Sure.”

The apartment suddenly felt much smaller.

Emily remained standing while Pedro and Liyanna sat opposite her.

For a long moment, no one spoke.

Finally, Emily broke the silence.

“Last week, I was interviewing the director of Student Housing for one of my journalism assignments.”

Liyanna’s stomach tightened.

Emily continued.

“They mentioned a married-student orientation.”

Pedro’s heart skipped a beat.

“I didn’t think much of it until I saw your names on the attendance list.”

She looked directly at them.

“So I became curious.”

Neither Pedro nor Liyanna interrupted.

“I started asking questions.”

Emily sighed.

“And then I realized something.”

She looked at Pedro.

“You two barely knew each other before this semester.”

The room fell silent.

“You got married after knowing each other for…what?”

She shook her head.

“Two weeks?”

Pedro swallowed.

“So?”

Emily folded her arms.

“That’s not impossible.”

She looked between them.

“But it is unusual.”

Liyanna finally spoke.

“People fall in love quickly.”

“They do.”

Emily nodded.

“But that’s not what bothered me.”

She reached into her bag and placed a folded sheet of paper on the coffee table.

It was a campus newspaper.

On the front page was a photograph from the university’s welcome event.

Pedro and Liyanna were smiling at each other.

The headline read:

Young Married Couple Inspires Students With Their Love Story

Liyanna felt her face grow warm.

Emily tapped the article.

“The reporter interviewed six people.”

She looked at Pedro.

“Every single one of them described you as quiet.”

Then she looked at Liyanna.

“They described you as outgoing.”

She smiled sadly.

“Do you know what they all said?”

Neither answered.

“They said it was obvious you’d only recently become close.”

Pedro frowned.

“I’m not sure I understand.”

Emily leaned forward.

“I’m a journalism student.”

“I notice details.”

“I don’t think your marriage is fake.”

Both Pedro and Liyanna looked up in surprise.

Emily continued.

“I think it started fake.”

Silence.

“You don’t look like two people pretending anymore.”

Liyanna blinked.

“What?”

Emily laughed softly.

“I watched you at the couples’ event.”

She looked at Pedro.

“You smiled more in one evening than you did during the entire year we dated.”

Pedro lowered his eyes.

She turned toward Liyanna.

“And you.”

“You watch him when he isn’t looking.”

Liyanna opened her mouth to respond.

Nothing came out.

Emily smiled.

“I’m not here to expose you.”

Pedro looked up.

“You’re…not?”

She shook her head.

“No.”

“I came because I wanted the truth.”

Another long silence filled the apartment.

Finally, Pedro spoke.

“It started as an arrangement.”

Emily nodded slowly.

“I guessed.”

“We were both struggling financially.”

“We needed somewhere affordable to live.”

Liyanna added quietly,

“We never meant to hurt anyone.”

Emily listened without interrupting.

When they finished, she smiled sadly.

“You know…”

She stood.

“When I first saw you together, I was angry.”

She looked at Pedro.

“I thought you had replaced me.”

Pedro remained silent.

“But now…”

She glanced toward Liyanna.

“I think you found each other.”

Emily walked toward the front door.

Before leaving, she turned back.

“There’s something else you should know.”

Pedro’s expression grew serious again.

“The university has started reviewing applications for housing assistance.”

Liyanna’s heart sank.

“They’re conducting random audits.”

Pedro frowned.

“Why?”

“Someone anonymously reported that several students might be abusing university benefits.”

Neither of them spoke.

Emily’s voice softened.

“If anyone starts asking questions…”

She looked at both of them.

“Be careful.”

The door closed behind her.

For several minutes, neither Pedro nor Liyanna moved.

Finally, Pedro sat down heavily on the couch.

“We could lose everything.”

Liyanna nodded.

“The apartment.”

“The aid.”

“Our chance to graduate.”

She wrapped her arms around herself.

“I don’t regret meeting you.”

Pedro looked up.

“What?”

“I said…”

She smiled sadly.

“I don’t regret this.”

Even if everything falls apart.”

Pedro stood.

He walked toward the window.

Outside, students laughed as they crossed the courtyard.

Everything looked so ordinary.

Inside Apartment 3B…

Nothing felt ordinary anymore.

The following week became one of the most stressful of the semester.

Every email from the university made them nervous.

Every unexpected phone call felt like bad news.

Even Mrs. Whitaker knocking on the door with fresh cookies nearly gave Pedro a heart attack.

“You two look exhausted,” she said kindly.

“Studying,” Pedro replied.

She smiled knowingly.

“You remind me of my husband and me.”

Pedro forced a smile.

Mrs. Whitaker handed over the cookies.

“Whatever you’re going through…”

She looked at both of them.

“Go through it together.”

After she left, Liyanna whispered,

“I feel guilty.”

“So do I.”

“But she believes in us.”

Pedro looked at the cookies.

“Maybe because…”

He stopped himself.

“Because what?”

He shook his head.

“Nothing.”

Friday evening arrived with another storm.

Thunder rolled across Savannah while rain lashed against the apartment windows.

The electricity flickered once.

Then went out completely.

“Oh great,” Liyanna muttered.

Pedro found a flashlight in one of the kitchen drawers.

A few minutes later they sat on the living-room floor surrounded by candles.

“It’s actually kind of cozy,” Liyanna admitted.

Pedro smiled.

“If you ignore the fact that we have no power.”

She laughed.

They talked for hours.

About childhood memories.

Dream vacations.

Books.

Music.

The future.

“What do you want after graduation?” Pedro asked.

She looked at the candlelight dancing across the room.

“I want to write stories that matter.”

“You will.”

“What about you?”

Pedro smiled softly.

“I want a little house.”

She looked surprised.

“That’s it?”

He nodded.

“A place where people always feel welcome.”

Liyanna smiled.

“I can picture that.”

“So can I.”

Their conversation slowed.

The apartment became quiet.

Rain tapped gently against the windows.

Without realizing it, Liyanna leaned against Pedro’s shoulder.

Neither of them moved away.

Pedro could hear her breathing.

Slow.

Steady.

Comforting.

He looked down.

She looked up.

Their faces were only inches apart.

No pretending.

No rules.

No fake stories.

Just two people who had slowly become each other’s safe place.

Pedro reached up and gently tucked a loose curl behind Liyanna’s ear.

She didn’t pull away.

Instead, she whispered,

“Pedro…”

“Hm?”

“I think we’re breaking Rule Number One.”

He smiled.

“I think we broke it a long time ago.”

She laughed quietly.

“So what happens now?”

Instead of answering…

Pedro leaned forward.

Very slowly.

Giving her every chance to stop him.

She didn’t.

Their lips met in a gentle, tentative kiss.

It wasn’t dramatic.

There were no fireworks.

No audience.

Just a kiss that felt honest.

When they finally pulled apart, neither spoke.

Then Liyanna smiled.

“So…”

“So.”

She laughed.

“That definitely wasn’t pretending.”

Pedro laughed too.

“No.”

“It wasn’t.”

For the first time since signing their marriage certificate…

Neither of them wanted the marriage to end.

But neither realized that, across campus, an anonymous email had just landed in the university’s compliance office.

Its subject line read:

Possible Fraud in Married Student Housing Program

And attached to it…

Was a copy of Pedro and Liyanna’s marriage application.