Liora lay awake, staring at the ceiling, her thoughts swirling in a haze of doubt. The soft rise and fall of Ziv's breath beside her should have been comforting, but it felt like a distant echo. His phone buzzed again, a low vibration against the nightstand, pulling her attention. She didn't reach for it this time, though part of her wondered if she should.
She tried to push the unease aside, telling herself it was just her mind running wild. But something about his quiet withdrawal, the tension in his movements earlier, gnawed at her.
The night was still, the room bathed in moonlight, and yet it felt like everything was moving at a pace too fast for her to keep up. Ziv was no longer the open, carefree man she had fallen for. He had become a stranger—one she couldn't quite reach, no matter how hard she tried.
Liora turned onto her side, facing him. His eyes were closed, lashes dark against his tan skin, and his jaw relaxed, but she could still sense the weight of something unspoken between them. The silence in the room felt heavy, suffocating even.
She closed her eyes, willing herself to relax, to trust that maybe she was overthinking things. But as the minutes ticked by, that little voice in her head grew louder.
The phone buzzed again.
Unable to resist any longer, she slid out of bed quietly, careful not to wake him. She glanced at the screen—another message, but this time, from an unknown number.
We need to talk.
Her heart skipped a beat. She hadn't seen this number before, and the message was vague, unsettling. Was it from the same person who had called him earlier? What was so urgent that he couldn't discuss it with her?
Liora's mind raced. She should just ignore it, go back to bed, pretend like nothing was wrong. But a part of her felt she couldn't let go of this nagging suspicion, not when everything seemed to be shifting so suddenly.
She took a deep breath, walking away from the bed toward the window. The city lights below twinkled, but all she could see was the shadow of the unknown. The more she tried to avoid it, the more it loomed over her. She was starting to realize that maybe this was her test—one she couldn't ignore, no matter how much she wanted to.
Turning back toward Ziv, she watched him sleep for a moment longer, her heart heavy. The man she thought she knew had slipped away, and in his place was someone she couldn't yet understand.
Suddenly, the ringing of Ziv's phone broke the stillness. She froze.
The screen displayed the same unknown number.
Liora's pulse quickened. She glanced at Ziv, still deeply asleep. Without thinking, she reached for the phone and answered it, her voice shaking. "Hello?"
There was no response—just the sound of someone breathing heavily on the other end. Confusion and frustration crept over her. She ended the call, but before she could process it, Ziv stirred beside her.
"What's going on?" he asked groggily, rubbing his eyes.
The moment felt like a small eternity. Liora felt the question escape her lips before she could stop it. "Who was that?"
Ziv sat up in bed, immediately reaching for his phone. His face softened as he saw the missed call. "It's work, Liora," he said with a sigh, his voice laced with exhaustion. "I've been dealing with some issues with a contact overseas. I didn't want to wake you."
He pulled up his contacts and showed her the name on the phone screen—a name she didn't recognize. It read "Alex – Business."
"I know it looks suspicious," he said, his tone apologetic, "but it's really just work. She's a colleague from a project I've been managing, nothing more."
Liora hesitated, the doubt still lingering in her chest. But then, she saw it—the sincerity in his eyes, the weight of the exhaustion on his face. He had never been this open, this vulnerable with her. Her heart softened, and the distance between them seemed to lessen, even if only slightly.
"It's really nothing," he repeated, gently brushing a strand of hair from her face. "I promise, there's nothing going on that you need to worry about."
She swallowed, trying to push down the gnawing feeling in her gut. He was right. He had always been there for her, always put her first. Maybe it was just her overthinking things.
"Okay," she said quietly, forcing a smile as she nestled back beside him. "I trust you."
Ziv smiled, brushing his lips over her forehead. "Thank you. I don't want you to feel like this is something that could come between us."
But as the night stretched on, Liora's thoughts were anything but settled. She wanted to believe him, to trust in the love they shared. But deep down, a part of her wondered if there was more she didn't know, if the unknown was not just something outside of her, but something inside their relationship as well.
The phone buzzed again, and Liora glanced at it, feeling a pang of uncertainty. But this time, she didn't pick it up. She had already embraced the unknown once tonight. Maybe it was time to let go and embrace it once more—whatever it would bring.
And so, she closed her eyes and surrendered to the moment, allowing herself to believe in the future she longed for, the future she wanted to trust.