Lily had always believed in the permanence of love—the kind that anchored you, even when the world spun off its axis. But love, she was learning, wasn't unshakable. It could slip through cracks, dissolve in silence, and leave behind a version of itself she no longer recognized.
She hadn't meant to pry.
Her hands trembled as she hovered over Daniel's laptop, his inbox open before her. A single email, buried under months of unread messages, held her in its grip.
Eva Jones.
The name alone sent a current through her, cold and sharp. With a deep breath, she clicked.
"I can't keep waiting, Daniel. If you truly meant what you said about us, prove it. You promised we'd start over. I need to know you meant it."
The words blurred as Lily's heartbeat pounded in her ears. Promised. Start over. Her throat closed.
She read the thread, each response sinking deeper into her chest. Plans. Dreams. A new life. Together.
Daniel had been planning to leave her.
A strangled sound left her lips—half disbelief, half something broken. The air felt thick, suffocating. She gripped the edge of the desk, forcing herself to breathe, to stay standing, to not let the weight of betrayal crush her.
Was she never enough?
---
She barely registered the passing of time before her fingers were dialing Claire's number.
"Lily?" Claire's voice was warm but laced with concern. "What's wrong?"
Lily swallowed against the lump in her throat. "He was going to leave me." The words felt foreign on her tongue, like she was speaking about someone else's life, not her own. "Daniel—he had an affair. With Eva."
The silence on the other end stretched too long.
"You knew," Lily whispered, realization slamming into her.
Claire sighed, guilt threading through her voice. "I didn't know for sure. I suspected, but—"
"Why didn't you tell me?" Her voice wavered, betrayal layering over betrayal.
"Because I wasn't certain! And because you loved him, Lily. I thought maybe—" Claire hesitated. "Maybe it was just a mistake. Maybe he came back to you."
Lily pressed a hand to her temple, fighting back the storm brewing inside her. "I need answers."
Claire exhaled. "Then talk to Aaron."
The name cut through Lily like a dull blade. Aaron. Daniel's closest friend. The man who had been there at the end. Who had his own secrets, his own guilt.
The man she wasn't sure she could trust.
---
Aaron opened the door with the usual guarded expression, his gaze darkening when he saw her. "Lily."
She pushed past him without invitation, her hands clenched into fists. "Tell me the truth."
He shut the door slowly, his jaw tightening. "What truth?"
She turned on him, her voice like a live wire. "Eva. Daniel. The affair. You knew, didn't you?"
Something flickered in Aaron's eyes—guilt, regret, something else she couldn't name. "I didn't."
Lily let out a bitter laugh. "Right. So you're just conveniently clueless about the fact that your best friend was building a new life behind my back?"
His expression hardened. "I knew they were close. I knew she—felt something for him. But I never saw him the way you're saying. I never—" He exhaled sharply. "I didn't know he was going to leave you."
Lily wanted to believe him. But doubt curled in her stomach, gnawing at the frayed edges of her trust.
"Then why do you look guilty?" she asked softly.
Aaron's gaze dropped, his shoulders stiff. "Because I should have done more. Maybe if I had, Daniel wouldn't be—" His voice caught. "Maybe he'd still be here."
The weight of his words settled between them, thick with unspoken truths.
Lily's pulse pounded. "What are you not telling me?"
Aaron looked up, something unreadable in his expression. "You don't want to know."
Her heart slammed against her ribs.
-------
What did Aaron know that she didn't?
And why did it feel like the worst was yet to come?