Chapter 2

Callie

A whole day had passed and I didn’t text Damien back. Didn’t call. Didn’t answer the stream of messages piling up on my phone.

I could have explained. I could have just told him everything, the way the woman—Eleanor—had spoken to me, the truth she had uncovered about his lies. But something held me back. I wasn’t ready to confront him.

Part of me still couldn’t believe it. Damien? The man I had shared my life with for the past few months, even if it was only that, everything between us had seemed so real. He was the one who had listened to me vent about my father’s health, who had been there when I felt like I was drowning. Now I was finding out from his supposedly 'dead' mother that he wasn’t who he said he was.

I needed space. So, I took a walk. Strolled aimlessly through the streets of the city as if I could walk away from all of it. But the cold still nipped at my skin, the unease kept eating away at my insides.

I ended up in a little park, the same one I’d used to visit as a kid. The swings creaked in the wind, and the empty benches made the world feel like it was miles away. My head was pounding, my thoughts tangled in knots.

I was about to sit when my phone buzzed in my hand, pulling me out of my daze.

It was Damien. Again.

‘Where are you?’

‘Callie, we need to talk. Please. I’m worried.’

I didn’t respond.

A part of me was confused and another part was angry. Not just with him, but with myself. How could I have been so stupid? How could I have fallen for it?

I stuffed my phone into my pocket, feeling like I might suffocate. This was all too much. Maybe I could have just ignored her. Maybe it was a bluff, a game she was playing to rattle me, but the way she looked at me, the smugness in her voice—it didn’t feel like a game. It felt like a warning.

And I wasn’t the type to ignore warnings.

“Callie? Is that you?”

The voice cut through the fog in my mind. I turned to find Clara standing there, her hands shoved deep into her jacket pockets, her breath visible in the crisp air.

I forced a smile. “Hey.”

She raised an eyebrow, clearly seeing the storm brewing in my eyes. “What happened? You’ve been MIA all day.”

I took a deep breath, trying to steady myself. “I’m just... figuring things out.”

Her eyes softened. “You can talk to me, you know that, right? I'll always be here for you.”

I wasn’t sure I wanted to talk to anyone. But I did know that Clara wouldn’t let it slide until I did. “It’s about Damien,” I started, almost hesitating before the words came out. “I found out some things about him. About his family that he'd apparently kept from me.”

Clara looked at me intently, taking a step closer. “What did you find out?”

She noticed my hesitation and then continued. "Look, you don't have to tell me, sorry for prying, but you seem really worked up about it?"

I chewed my lip, feeling the weight of the secret pushing against my chest. “Bottom point is I’m not sure I know who Damien really is.”

Clara’s eyes narrowed. “You’re telling me you’ve been seeing this guy for months, and you don’t know who he is?”

I swallowed hard. “He lied to me. About his family. About everything. He said he was an orphan, but... she’s his mother. She offered me a bribe to leave him. A million dollars, Clara.”

“A million dollars?” Her voice was a mix of disbelief and concern. “What kind of person offers money to just... walk away from someone?”

I couldn’t answer that. “I don’t know. But I’m scared. I don’t know who I’m dealing with anymore.”

Clara stepped closer, her expression softening. “So, what are you going to do?”

I wanted to say something reassuring, like I had it under control, but I didn’t. Instead, I felt more lost than ever.

Before I could answer, my phone buzzed again. Damien. Callie, please. I need to see you. Let me know you're okay. Call me when you see this.

I stared at the screen for a long moment, my finger hovering over the message. My heart twisted in my chest, and at that pressing moment, I felt the weight of everything. The love, the lies, the choice it seemed that I had to make.

“I have to go,” I said, looking at Clara with a half-smile. “But I’ll figure it out. I just need some time.”

She nodded, giving me a knowing look. “Just don’t push him away without hearing his side. People make mistakes, Callie. But they can also fix them.”

I didn’t know if Damien could fix this. But I couldn’t bring myself to close the door completely. Not yet.

As I made my way back to my apartment, the cold air stinging my cheeks, I noticed the message notifications still popping up, each one more desperate than the last.

I didn’t reply.

Not yet.

But when I stepped into my apartment, I didn’t expect what happened next. My phone buzzed again, but this time, it wasn’t Damien’s name lighting up the screen.

It was an unknown number.

A message.

‘I’m giving you one more chance to do the right thing. Don’t make me come back to you.’

It was Eleanor. It was obvious from the contents of the text. I stared at the message, my stomach twisting in knots. It was clear now. Eleanor wasn’t done. And whatever Damien’s lies were about—whatever truth he was hiding—it was only going to get worse.