Chapter 2: The Secret Behind The Betrayal
I wish I could say I walked away immediately.
I wish I could say I was strong enough to leave without looking back.
But the truth is, when someone breaks your heart, the first thing you search for is a reason.
You start looking for the moment where everything changed.
The moment you missed.
The sign you ignored.
The lie you believed.
I stood there in that bedroom, surrounded by graduation decorations, waiting for Ethan to explain the words he had just spoken.
“There’s something else?”” I repeated.
My voice sounded different.
Empty.
Ethan rubbed his hands together nervously.
“I didn’t know how to tell you.””
A bitter laugh escaped from me.
“You seem to have no problem hiding things from me.””
“Emma, please.””
“No.””
I pointed toward Olivia.
“You both need to tell me everything.””
Olivia sat down slowly.
Her face was filled with shame.
“I should have told you sooner.””
“That would have been nice.””
She flinched.
And for a moment, I hated that I still cared about hurting her feelings.
Because that was the worst part.
Even after everything, a piece of me still remembered the girl who had been there for me.
“I never planned for this,” Olivia whispered.
“Neither did I,” I replied.
The room went quiet.
Ethan looked at me.
“I love you.””
I stared at him.
The words that once made me smile now felt meaningless.
“You don’t get to say that right now.””
“I do love you.””
“Then how could you do this?””
He had no answer.
That silence told me everything.
I grabbed my graduation gown from the chair and folded it slowly.
My hands were shaking, but I refused to let them see me fall apart.
“I’m leaving.””
“Emma, wait,” Ethan said.
I turned around.
“Wait for what?””
He looked desperate.
“For me to explain.””
I shook my head.
“I don’t need an explanation for cheating.””
“It wasn’t just cheating.””
The way he said it made me stop.
“What does that mean?””
Ethan looked at Olivia.
She immediately looked away.
My chest tightened.
“What aren’t you telling me?””
Nobody answered.
I walked closer.
“Ethan.””
Finally, he spoke.
“Olivia and I didn’t start talking recently.””
My heart sank.
“What?””
“We knew each other before.””
I looked between them.
“Before what?””
Olivia whispered, “Before your graduation year.””
The room tilted.
I felt like I had been punched, but there was no physical pain.
Only disbelief.
“You’re saying you knew each other before I introduced you?””
Olivia started crying.
“Yes.””
“How long?””
She hesitated.
That hesitation destroyed me.
“How long?””
“A year.””
A year.
Twelve months.
365 days.
A year of smiles.
A year of friendship.
A year of pretending.
I looked at Ethan.
“You were with me for a year while knowing her?””
“I didn’t know how to handle it.””
“You didn’t know how to handle it?””
My voice rose.
“You had a thousand chances to tell me the truth.””
“I was scared.””
“Scared of what?””
He looked at me.
“Of losing you.””
I almost laughed.
Because that was the exact opposite of what he had done.
“You were scared of losing me, so you betrayed me?””
No one spoke.
I grabbed my bag.
As I reached the door, Olivia suddenly stood up.
“Emma, please.””
I stopped.
“What?””
Her lips trembled.
“There’s a reason Ethan never told you.””
I slowly turned around.
“What reason?””
She looked at Ethan.
And the fear on his face came back.
That was when I knew.
Whatever she was about to say was something Ethan desperately wanted to keep hidden.
“Olivia,” Ethan warned.
She ignored him.
“Your boyfriend didn’t just betray you with me.””
My fingers tightened around my bag strap.
“What are you talking about?””
Olivia took a shaky breath.
“He lied about where he was the night you thought he was taking care of his sick mother.””
My eyebrows pulled together.
“What?””
Ethan stepped forward.
“Don’t do this.””
But Olivia kept going.
“He wasn’t with his mother.””
The room became silent.
“He was with someone else.””
I stared at Ethan.
“Someone else?””
He looked terrified.
And for the first time that night, I realized something.
The pregnancy wasn’t the only secret.
It wasn’t even the biggest one.
Olivia reached into her purse and pulled out a small envelope.
She held it tightly in her hand.
“I found this after I realized Ethan was lying to both of us.””
I looked at the envelope.
“What is it?””
Olivia’s eyes filled with tears.
“It’s proof that Ethan has been hiding the truth about who he really is.””
Ethan’s face turned pale.
“Emma, don’t open that.””
May you like
And that was the moment I knew I had to.
Because whatever was inside that envelope was the one thing Ethan was most afraid I would discover.
