CHAPTER 3:WHAT HAPPENED BETWEEN US

“How much did you hear?”

Blake's question hung in the hallway.

I stared at him.

“Enough.”

His jaw tightened.

“Chloe—”

“Who were you talking to?”

He slipped his phone into his pocket.

“No one you need to worry about.”

I laughed once, but there was nothing funny about it.

“You literally said my name.”

“I know.”

“And you said I couldn't find out what happened between us.”

Blake went completely still.

I stepped closer.

“What happened between us?”

He looked away.

That scared me more than anything.

“Blake.”

“It's complicated.”

“Then explain it.”

“I can't.”

“Why?”

“Because it isn't my secret to tell.”

My stomach dropped.

“What does that mean?”

He looked at me again.

There was something in his eyes I couldn't understand.

Regret.

Fear.

Maybe even guilt.

“Go upstairs, Chloe.”

I stared at him.

“Excuse me?”

“Please.”

The word was so quiet that I almost didn't recognize it as coming from him.

Blake never said please.

I folded my arms.

“I'm not going anywhere until you tell me what's happening.”

He took a breath.

“Fine.”

He stepped closer.

“There was someone in my life before I left.”

I waited.

“A woman?”

He nodded.

“Her name is—”

“Blake?”

Aria's sleepy voice came from the stairs.

We both turned.

She stood there in her pajamas, rubbing her eyes.

“What are you two doing?”

My heart jumped.

Blake immediately stepped away from me.

“Nothing.”

Aria looked between us.

“It's two in the morning.”

“I couldn't sleep,” I said quickly.

She frowned.

“Is something wrong?”

“No,” Blake answered.

Too quickly.

Aria looked at him suspiciously.

Then at me.

I forced a smile.

“Everything's fine.”

She nodded slowly.

“Okay. I'm going back to bed.”

She disappeared upstairs.

The moment she was gone, I looked at Blake.

“You're hiding something.”

He didn't deny it.

“Goodnight, Chloe.”

He walked away.

I watched him disappear down the hallway.

Something told me that whatever secret he was hiding wasn't about some random woman.

It was about me.

---

The next morning, Blake was gone.

I noticed immediately.

His car wasn't outside.

His usual coffee mug was missing from the kitchen.

And somehow, the house felt different without him.

I hated that I noticed.

I hated even more that I cared.

“Where's Blake?” I asked Aria.

She looked up from her phone.

“He had to go somewhere.”

“Where?”

She shrugged.

“He didn't say.”

I nodded.

“Okay.”

Aria studied me.

“Why?”

“Why what?”

“Why are you asking?”

“I was just curious.”

She smiled.

“Sure.”

I rolled my eyes.

“Don't start.”

She laughed.

Then her phone rang.

She looked at the screen.

Her smile disappeared.

“Who's that?”

“Blake.”

She answered.

“Hey.”

I wasn't listening.

At least, I tried not to.

But then I heard her say—

“What?”

Her expression changed.

She stood up.

“Are you serious?”

I looked at her.

“Aria?”

She covered the phone with her hand.

“I'll be right back.”

Then she walked into the hallway.

Something was wrong.

I didn't know what.

But I knew it involved Blake.

And I was tired of being the last person to know anything.

---

An hour later, Aria still hadn't come back.

I found her sitting alone on the back porch.

She was staring at her phone.

“Are you okay?”

She quickly locked the screen.

“Yeah.”

“You're lying.”

She sighed.

“I'm fine.”

“What did Blake say?”

Her eyes snapped toward me.

“Why do you care?”

I froze.

“I don't.”

“Then why do you keep asking about him?”

I opened my mouth.

Nothing came out.

Aria stood.

“Chloe, there's something I need to tell you.”

My heart began pounding.

“What?”

She looked nervous.

“About Blake.”

I waited.

Then she said—

“He told me he thinks he's falling for someone.”

My stomach twisted.

“Oh.”

Aria laughed bitterly.

“Yeah.”

"Who?”

She looked directly at me.

And suddenly, I was afraid of the answer.

“I don't know.”

Relief washed over me.

I hated that it did.

Then Aria continued.

“But there's something strange.”

“What?”

“He refused to tell me who she is.”

I swallowed.

“Maybe he just doesn't want to talk about it.”

“Maybe.”

She sat down again.

Then she looked at me.

“Chloe…”

“Yeah?”

“Did Blake say anything strange to you last night?”

My heart stopped.

I remembered the hallway.

The phone call.

His warning.

You shouldn't have made that promise.

I shook my head.

“No.”

The lie came out too easily.

Aria nodded.

“Okay.”

She looked away.

But something in her expression told me she didn't believe me.

---

That night, I was lying in bed when my phone vibrated.

Unknown Number.

I hesitated before opening it.

A picture loaded.

My heart stopped.

It was Blake.

But that wasn't what terrified me.

Beside him stood the same woman I'd seen at the mall.

And beneath the picture was one sentence:

You really think you're the first girl Blake has promised forever to?

My hands went cold.

Another message appeared.

Ask him what happened the night he left three years ago.

I stared at the screen.

Three years ago.

Blake had left three years ago.

And suddenly, everything made sense.

The secret.

The phone call.

The woman.

His fear.

I jumped out of bed.

I was going to confront him.

But before I could reach the door, another message arrived.

This time, there was no picture.

Only six words.

Ask Aria what she did that night.