Hide Behind A Smile Novels & Stories

he said, "this was my plan." I put my face in the water to hide the smile.

She always smiled, hiding all her pain behind her smiles. She never let the world know about his behavior with her, she hid it all too well.

He was facing behind me and smiling at the beautiful view here on the high line. "Yeah," I said and tried to keep my voice down so he wouldn't recognize me and simply hid my face in my hair. "Having a bad day?" he asks, "No, I'm really into black," I replied, but he just laughed and smiled when he looked at me. When he faced me, I turned in the other direction and hid my face.

I spoke. Their brows furrowed with a mix of relief and their concern for my safety evident. They had trusted in my ability to navigate the dangers outside the palace walls, and I was determined to live up to their expectations. "But how did you manage to stay hidden from him?" another voice chimed in, curiosity evident in her tone. I smiled, masking the weight of my unspoken secret. "Sometimes, the best way to hide is in plain sight," I replied, deliberately evading any further details. It was not a lie, but a carefully crafted response that shielded the truth.

So much more. It was like he didn’t want anyone to know he was more, though. He hid his depths from people, like a magician. Sleight of hand, trick of the eye, smoke and mirrors. He stood in front of the crowd, making a big production with colorful scarves and wands, and big black hats—or in his case, flirting egotistical smiles and inappropriate advances—while all the while he took your attention off what was really going on, right in front of your eyes, and concealed the very best parts of himself.

He had been in the social scene for years and knew exactly how to handle people. A perfect smile played on his lips as he clinked his glass with mine. His gaze lingered on Nydia. I excused myself, heading for the bathroom to give them some space.

There was nothing to call mine, nothing at all. “Will I ever find love? Will I ever smile, not because I do not want to be seen as rude, but because I am genuinely happy?” A tear slipped down my cheek, and I hurriedly covered it with my palm, hiding evidence of melancholy before anyone could notice. A smile involuntarily spread across my face as I nodded on. “Never realised it hurt this much…” …

There was something cruel in his smile, like he was enjoying a front-row seat to a show. Violet relaxed her brow. “Whatever happens between him and me is none of your business. Why are you at this hospital? There’s nothing here you want.” Marcus let out a short laugh. “Relax. No need to look at me like I’m here to rob you.” “I don’t think we’re close enough for a private conversation,” Violet said coolly, her guard fully up. Marcus slipped his phone back into his pocket and raised both hands, palms out, moving slowly—as if calming a skittish animal. The smirk, however, stayed on his lips, smug and assured. “I guarantee you’ll like what I’m about to say.”

She rested her face on her hand while watching the scenery from the window passing by them. He lights the cigarette. “But, I have to say, you are quite the actor. He wasn’t able to notice anything at all. The fact that you were lying in his face and he wasn’t picking up anything makes him more of a dork.” “You are wrong!”. “Wrong?” he took out his cigarette from his mouth. “I wasn’t lying at all.” “What?”. A smile formed on her lips. “I was just hiding the truth, nothing else. It doesn’t mean that I was lying then, does it?”.

The four members looked happy together with those genuine smiles plastered on their faces. I touch on the surface right to the kid who I think is Airo. He can smile. I remove my hand and look at the next picture. The two look grown a bit but their mother is not there anymore. I couldn’t see the same smile they had from the first photo. They are indeed smiling here, but not that bright. The next pictures are two young men who lost their smiles growing up together. “Ciana, I brought you your drink.” I move my head to his direction and suddenly feel a little pain in me. This man is hiding a lot of things in him. All by himself.