QUESTIONS WITHOUT ANSWERS

The papers scattered across the floor like pieces of a puzzle I couldn't solve.

My pulse hammered against my ribs as I stared at the signature again.

Evelyn Hart. It was the same woman. The same woman sitting across from Ryan.The same woman whose photo had been sent to me.The same woman who had secretly paid thousands of dollars toward my medical bills.

Nothing about it made sense to me. I crouched down and gathered the receipts with trembling fingers.

As I flipped, each page felt heavier that the last.

Unknowingly, payments were confirmed, payment were processed, and my balance reduced.

It occurs date after date.

Who does that?

Who pays a stranger's hospital bills?

And why should she be paying a stranger’s bills?

My mind immediately supplied the answer I didn't want.

She was a stranger to me, and not to Ryan.

The thought made me feel sick. I shoved the documents back into the envelope just as the front door opened.

Footsteps echoed through the foyer. It was Ryan.

I straightened myself so quickly that I nearly lost my balance.

He walked in looking exhausted. His sleeves were rolled up. His tie hung loosely around his neck.

For a brief moment, he looked less like the powerful businessman everyone admired and more like the man I had fallen in love with years ago.

His eyes landed on me. Then he looked towards the direction of the envelope.

His expression changed immediately.

"What happened?" he asked.

I tightened my grip on the envelope.

Nothing. That's what I wanted to answer.

The word almost escaped; but something stopped me. Maybe it was the photograph. Maybe it was the years of loneliness. Maybe it was the simple fact that I was tired of pretending.

Instead, I askedhim quietly.

"Ryan... is there something you want to tell me?"

His expression didn't change.

"About what?"

I stared at him. Waiting and hoping, he would tell me the truth. He should tell me anything. Everything that has been going on.

The answer came too quickly. Even if it is this once.

But Ryan only frowned.

"Amelia?"

I looked away first.

 Coward. I said to myself. The word echoed in my head.

Because I couldn't bring my self to ask him, or say her name. I couldn't risk hearing the answer.

Not his.

"Forget it."

Ryan kept staring at me. Like he wanted to get me to ask him some questions.

The tension in the room lingered. Then Ryan sighed. 

He always sighed. We never had a serious conversation.

He loosened his tie and headed upstairs. Leaving me alone with my questions again.

---

That night, sleep never came. Ryan lay beside me. Close enough to touch me; but far enough to feel unreachable in terms of how I felt.

I turned onto my side and stared at his sleeping face. The moonlight illuminated the sharp angles of his features. He looked peaceful.

I completely hated him for it. 

Because who I call my husband, could sleep while I was drowning. He always disappears anytime I needed him. He let another woman somehow know more about my struggles that him.

My eyes burned. I rolled over and reached for my phone. The glow from the screen illuminated the darkness. Without thinking, I typed Evelyn Hart's name into the search bar.

A dozen articles appeared.

Business awards.

Magazine covers.

Corporate interviews.

Photos.

There were so many photos.

I clicked one. Then another. Then another.

Every picture looked perfect.

She had the perfect hair, perfect smile, perfect body, perfect life.

My stomach twisted.

I hated myself for comparing. Yet I couldn't stop.

Evelyn looked like the type of woman people admired the moment she entered a room.

The type of woman who never had strangers whispering behind her back.

The type of woman who never cried in hospital bathrooms because she couldn't afford another bill. The type of woman who never looked in a mirror and felt disappointed.

I felt a little pain in my chest. I locked my phone and tossed it onto the nightstand. Comparison was a dangerous game. And I always lost.

---

The next morning, I woke up to an empty bed.

Ryan was already gone. No surprise there.

I'm used to this.

I shuffled downstairs and found the kitchen just as empty.

The silence in the house felt overwhelming. A house this large shouldn't feel so lonely. Yet somehow it always did.

I made coffee and sat by the window. The envelope remained on the table.

My phone buzzed.

It was a text message from Lucas.

Good morning, Amelia.

The simple message made me smile before I could stop myself.

I stared at the screen. Then at the empty chair across from me.

Ryan had sat there once. It was years ago

Back when breakfast conversations were normal.

When he laughed with me, and always looked at me. Now all I had were memories.

And somehow a man who hadn't seen me in ten years was putting more effort into checking on me than my husband.

I typed back.

Good morning.

Almost instantly, another message appeared.

How are you today?

The question made me feel better. Nobody asked me that anymore. Not genuinely. Not because they cared about the answer.

I stared at the words.

Then typed:

Trying to survive.

Three dots appeared immediately.

Then:

That bad?

I hesitated before replying.

Maybe.

His response came seconds later.

Lunch?

Leave it to Lucas to solve everything with food.

The irony wasn't lost on me.

But, the thought of spending another day alone sounded unbearable.

So I agreed.

---

By noon, Lucas was parked outside the mansion.

He stepped out of the car when he saw me.

His smile faltered slightly.

"Rough night?"

I groaned.

"Am I that obvious?"

"You are, only to people paying attention to you."

The answer caught me off guard, because that was exactly the problem.

Ryan wasn't paying attention to me.

Lucas opened the passenger door for me. The simple gesture shouldn't have mattered.

Yet it did matter to me.

Everything seems to matter these days.

Especially the little things.

---

Lunch was easy and comfortable. Lucas had a way of making conversations feel effortless.

He talked about his business.

His travels. Funny stories from school.

Just anything to make me laugh.

And somehow it always worked.

For two hours, I forgot about hospital bills.

I forgot about Evelyn, Ryan. I forgot about everything.

Then my phone buzzed.

One glance at the screen ruined my mood instantly.

It was an unknown number. My stomach dropped.

I opened the message.Attached was another photograph.

My breath caught. It was Ryan and Evelyn again.

This time they weren't at a restaurant.

They were standing outside a building talking.

They stood close enough to look familiar. Close enough to make my heart hurt.

Beneath the photograph was a message; just one sentence.

He's lying to you.

The blood drained from my face.

"Amelia?"

Lucas's voice sounded distant from me.

I stared at the screen ofy phone. I was unable to breathe, think, and look away.

"Amelia."

This time his voice was firmer. It was full of concern.

I quickly locked my phone. I looked at it so quickly that Lucas noticed. Of course he noticed.

But to his credit, he didn't push. He didn't push immediately. Instead he asked quietly,

"Is someone bothering you?"

I wanted to say no. Instead, tears burned behind my eyes; that was answer enough.

---

That evening, after Lucas dropped me home, I found myself standing in front of Ryan's home office.

The door was slightly open. Light spilled into the hallway. I could hear his voice.

It was low, serious and tense.

He was on the phone. Normally, I would have walked away. But tonight, I couldn't.

I moved closer. Close enough to hear.

"She can't know yet."

My heart stopped. Ryan sighed heavily.

He stopped talking for a moment.

"I know what I'm doing." He replied.

His voice lowered.

"Because if Amelia finds out now, everything will fall apart."

My pulse roared in my ears. The floor seemed to tilt beneath me. I could barely feel myself.

Find out what? What was he hiding? 

What secret was so important that it could destroy everything?

I took a step closer. The floorboard creaked.

Ryan went silent. My breath caught.

The office chair moved. His footsteps started approaching me.

Before I could escape, the door swung open.

Ryan Infront of me. His phone was still in his hand.

For several seconds, neither of us spoke.

"How long have you been standing there?"

My throat went dry. I couldn't speak. For the first time since this nightmare began...

I realized Ryan might be hiding something far worse than an affair.