As Alice and James continued their conversation, the warmth between them slowly began to grow, and the heavy doubts that had clouded Alice's heart started to fade. But just as she thought they had begun to find their way back, a sudden interruption broke the moment.
James's phone buzzed, vibrating on the table. He glanced at it briefly but didn't answer. His eyes stayed locked on hers, as if the call didn't matter. Alice, however, couldn't help but notice the subtle shift in his demeanor.
A few minutes passed, and then his phone rang again, louder this time, demanding attention. James didn't pick it up. He simply let it ring, his fingers tapping on the table, seemingly unaffected. Alice felt a flicker of unease.
Why isn't he answering? she thought, her eyes shifting between James and the phone. It must be important if it's calling twice in such a short time.
Her mind started to race. Who is calling him like that? The question gnawed at her, and though she tried to push it away, the thought stuck with her. Is it a girl?
James must have sensed the shift in her energy because he suddenly stopped tapping his fingers. "It's nothing," he said, his voice casual, almost too casual. "Just some work stuff."
Alice wasn't convinced. She had seen the way his expression shifted when the phone rang—there was a subtle tension in his posture that didn't match his words.
Work? Alice thought, But who would call him twice in a row like that?
She didn't want to appear suspicious, but the seed of doubt had been planted. Why wasn't he open about the call? Why was he hiding it from her?
James's eyes met hers, and for a brief moment, Alice saw a flicker of something in his gaze—maybe guilt, maybe unease. But it was gone too quickly for her to be sure.
"Are you okay?" James asked, leaning slightly forward. "You seem distracted."
Alice nodded, though her mind was elsewhere. She forced a smile, not wanting to cause tension, but her heart raced with the nagging suspicion that there was something he wasn't telling her.
"No, it's fine," she said, but in her mind, the questions grew louder. What was so important that James couldn't answer the call? And why was he hiding it from her?
As the conversation continued, Alice couldn't shake the feeling that something was off. The air between them had shifted once again, and the doubts she had thought were gone slowly crept back into her mind.
The conversation continued, but Alice couldn't focus on anything James was saying. Her mind kept returning to the unanswered calls, to the way James had brushed them off, and the unsettling feeling that had settled in her chest.
Her thoughts raced. What if it's something serious? What if he's hiding something from me? The doubt gnawed at her, no matter how hard she tried to shake it off.
Finally, unable to contain her curiosity and suspicion any longer, Alice took a deep breath and said, "James, I want to see your phone."
James's eyes widened, and he immediately shook his head. "What? Why?" His voice was defensive, the tone sharp enough to make Alice pause for a second.
"Just let me see it. You said it's nothing. If it's really nothing, then why can't I just check?" Alice's voice was steady but firm. The doubt had transformed into a burning need for clarity.
James hesitated, his fingers tightening around the edge of his coffee cup. "Alice, it's just work stuff. It's not a big deal."
"I don't care if it's work or anything else. If there's nothing to hide, then just let me see your phone," Alice insisted. Her frustration was evident, her patience thinning with every passing moment.
A tense silence stretched between them, and for a second, James seemed to consider her words. But then his expression hardened. "I'm not giving you my phone, Alice." His voice was now cold, the walls between them rising again.
Alice felt her heart race. This isn't like him, she thought. Why is he acting like this? She couldn't understand it. She had trusted him, but now there was this uncomfortable space between them—one that seemed to grow every time he refused to be honest with her.
"James, I'm not asking for your password. I just want to see the calls. If there's nothing, then you don't have anything to fear, right?" Alice's voice shook with a mix of hurt and anger.
The silence that followed was heavy, and for a moment, Alice feared he wouldn't relent. But after what felt like an eternity, James let out a long sigh, his shoulders slumping in defeat. "Fine," he said quietly, his voice almost a whisper. "Here."
He slid the phone across the table toward her, his fingers lingering on it for a second longer than necessary.
Alice picked up the phone, her hands trembling slightly. She felt a surge of both relief and apprehension. She knew, in the pit of her stomach, that whatever she would find could either set things right or shatter the fragile trust between them.
As she unlocked the phone and opened the recent calls, her heart skipped a beat. The screen displayed the name of a contact—a name she didn't recognize. There were several missed calls from this same person, the most recent one just a few minutes ago.
Her pulse quickened as she stared at the name, the doubt transforming into a sharp, piercing question: Who is this?
Alice's fingers hovered over the phone as she stared at the unfamiliar name in the call log. Her heart raced, each unanswered question echoing louder in her mind. Who is this person? Why are they calling you so often?
"James, who is this?" she asked, her voice growing more insistent. "Why are they calling you all the time? You talk to them more than you talk to me!"
James remained silent, his eyes darting around the coffee shop, avoiding her gaze. His body language was tense, almost as if he was bracing for something. Alice's frustration grew. She had never seen him like this before.
"James, I deserve to know. Who is this person?" she pressed, her voice now a mix of anger and confusion.
Still, James didn't answer. His silence only fueled her growing doubts.
Unable to take it anymore, Alice started scrolling through the phone's gallery. She wasn't sure what she was hoping to find, but something felt off, and she needed the truth.
Before she could dive deeper into the phone, James snapped. In one swift motion, he grabbed his phone back from Alice's hands, his expression suddenly sharp and defensive.
"Are you doubting me, Alice?" His voice was raised, the calm demeanor he had been holding onto slipping away. "Am I cheating on you? Is that what you think?"
Alice's pulse quickened, her emotions a whirlwind. The tension between them was palpable, thick with the weight of unanswered questions. "I don't know what to think right now, James! Why won't you just tell me the truth?"
James's grip tightened on the phone as he shook his head, his anger evident. "I'm not cheating on you, Alice. Why would you even think that?"
Alice stood up abruptly, her chair scraping loudly against the floor. She could feel the eyes of others around them, the whispers, the judging glances. She didn't want to make a scene here, not in public, not in front of people who couldn't possibly understand what was going on.
"This isn't the place to talk about this," Alice said firmly, her voice barely controlled. "Get in my car. We'll go somewhere private, and we'll figure this out there. I can't do this here."
James hesitated, his eyes locked on hers, his anger still evident but slowly giving way to something else—uncertainty, perhaps.
Alice's heart pounded as she stared at him, hoping he would agree. She needed answers. She needed him to stop hiding, to be honest with her.
Finally, after what felt like an eternity, James nodded. "Fine," he said, his voice low. "Let's go."
Alice turned and headed toward the door, her mind racing with a thousand questions. Whatever was happening, it had to end now. No more secrets, no more doubts. She would get to the bottom of it, even if it meant confronting James in the privacy of her car.
The silence in the car was deafening as Alice drove, her hands gripping the wheel tightly. The usual comfort of the road beneath her tires felt distant, and her thoughts were consumed by the storm of doubt and anger swirling inside her. James sat beside her, his eyes focused on the passing scenery, his body tense but still, as though waiting for something to snap.
Alice couldn't take it anymore. The question that had been gnawing at her for so long slipped from her lips before she could stop herself. "Why are you cheating on me, James? If there's nothing, then why are you hiding everything? Why won't you just show me the truth?"
James didn't respond immediately. His gaze remained fixed on the window, but Alice could see the subtle tightening of his jaw, the way his body shifted uneasily in his seat. The silence that followed felt like a weight pressing down on her chest.
"Why won't you tell me, James?" Alice continued, her voice trembling with a mixture of anger and desperation. "If you're not hiding anything, then why won't you just let me see your phone? What's so difficult about that?"
The car's engine hummed as they continued down the quiet road. The tension between them felt suffocating, and Alice's mind raced with possibilities. She wanted answers, and she wanted them now. She could feel the cracks in their relationship widening, and the last thing she wanted was to live in the uncertainty of unanswered questions.
Suddenly, as if fate had decided to intervene, James's phone rang once more. The sound was sharp in the silence, and Alice's frustration reached its breaking point. Without thinking, she grabbed the phone from his hand, her fingers trembling with anger.
"Who is it now?" she snapped, her voice laced with accusation.
She didn't wait for James to respond. She answered the call with an icy determination, ready to confront whoever it was on the other end.
"Hello, James, why aren't you picking up my calls?" The voice on the other end was soft, sultry, and unmistakably feminine. Alice's heart dropped in her chest as the words registered.
"I'm missing you so badly," the voice continued, each word sending a wave of cold fury through Alice.
In that moment, everything inside Alice seemed to freeze. Her breath caught in her throat, and for a few seconds, she couldn't move, couldn't speak. The world around her blurred, and all she could hear was the woman's voice echoing in her ears.
"I'm missing you so badly..."
Alice's grip on the phone tightened, but she couldn't say a word. Her mind was reeling, the pieces of the puzzle falling into place, but the clarity only brought with it an overwhelming darkness.
She slowly turned her head to look at James. His face was pale, his eyes wide, and for the first time since she had known him, there was no deflection, no attempt to justify himself. He was silent, his lips pressed into a thin line, avoiding her gaze.
Alice's entire world seemed to shatter in that instant. The person she had trusted, the person she had believed in, had betrayed her. The woman on the phone, the hidden calls, the lies—it was all too much.
The car seemed to slow down on its own, the road ahead stretching out like an endless chasm between them. Alice could feel the weight of the moment pressing down on her, suffocating her. She had never felt so alone.
She let the phone slip from her fingers, her hand shaking as she brought it back to the steering wheel.
"Why, James?" she whispered, the pain in her voice cutting through the silence..