Chapter 4: The Girl Who Knew Too Much
I looked at Rachel standing in the doorway and waited for someone to laugh.
For someone to tell me this was a cruel joke.
A misunderstanding.
Anything.
But nobody laughed.
Marcus looked like a man watching his entire world collapse in real time.
Ava looked devastated.
And Rachel looked like someone who had carried a secret for too long.
“No,” I whispered.
The word came out before I could stop it.
“No.””
Rachel’s eyes softened.
“Maya…”
“No.””
I shook my head.
“This is too much.””
My chest felt tight.
One betrayal was painful.
Two was impossible.
Three felt unreal.
I looked at Marcus.
“Tell me she’s lying.””
He didn’t answer.
That was the answer.
I turned away.
For one moment, I thought I might actually faint.
The room tilted.
The bright lights above me blurred.
All those years.
All those promises.
All those nights when I defended him.
When people told me he was too charming, too confident, too perfect.
I always said the same thing.
“You don’t know him like I do.””
Maybe that was the cruelest part.
I didn’t know him either.
“Maya,” Rachel said quietly.
I looked at her.
“Why are you here?””
She swallowed.
“Because you deserve to know.””
“Now?””
My voice sharpened.
“After everything?””
She looked down.
“I tried to tell you before.””
Marcus immediately turned toward her.
“Rachel.””
The way he said her name made my stomach turn.
Not anger.
Fear.
“What did you mean by that?”” I asked.
Rachel looked at Marcus.
Then at me.
“He told me not to contact you.””
A cold feeling moved through my body.
“Why?””
“Because he said you wouldn’t believe me.””
I looked at Marcus.
“Is that true?””
He stayed quiet.
I laughed softly.
“You really thought that?””
“Maya, it wasn’t like that.””
I turned toward him.
“Stop.””
My voice was low.
“Stop telling me what things were like.””
He froze.
“You lost the right to explain things to me when you started building a life with me while hiding three different versions of yourself.””
Ava sat down on the bench near the wall.
She looked exhausted.
Broken.
For a second, I saw the girl who had been my best friend since college.
The girl who stayed up with me before exams.
The girl who held my hand when my father got sick.
The girl who knew every dream I had.
And that almost made it hurt more.
Because betrayal only hurts when it comes from someone who mattered.
“Ava,” I said.
She looked up.
“Did you know about Rachel?””
Her eyes filled with tears.
“Yes.””
The honesty shocked me.
“When?””
“Two months ago.””
I stared at her.
“Two months?””
She nodded.
“I found out when I saw messages on Marcus’s phone.””
My heart sank.
“So you knew he was cheating on me with someone else…”
She closed her eyes.
“And you still stayed with him?””
Ava started crying.
“I was confused.””
“Confused?””
“I was angry. I was hurt. I didn’t know what to do.””
“So you decided to become part of it?””
She flinched.
“I know.””
“No, Ava.””
I stepped closer.
“I don’t think you do.””
My voice cracked.
“You weren’t some stranger who made a mistake.””
She wiped her tears.
“I know.””
“You were the person I called when I was happy.””
She looked away.
“You were the person I trusted when I was afraid.””
“I know.””
“Then why?””
Ava had no answer.
And somehow, that hurt more than an excuse would have.
Rachel quietly spoke.
“Because Marcus made everyone think they were the only one.””
I looked at her.
“What?””
She took a breath.
“That was what he did.””
Marcus’s expression hardened.
“Rachel, don’t.””
She ignored him.
“He told me you two were basically over.””
My eyes moved to Marcus.
“What?””
Rachel continued.
“He said you were only staying together because of the wedding plans.””
My hands curled into fists.
“That’s not true.””
“I know.””
Rachel looked at me.
“I found out later.””
“Later?””
“When I saw him posting pictures with you.””
The room went quiet.
“He told me he loved me.””
Rachel’s voice trembled.
“He told me he was going to leave you.””
Marcus looked away.
I felt sick.
Because I had heard those words before.
Not from him.
From movies.
From stories.
From other women who discovered they were the last person to know.
I never thought I would become one of them.
“Maya,” Marcus said.
I looked at him.
“What?””
His eyes were full of regret.
“I was confused.””
I stared at him.
Then I laughed.
“You were confused?””
“Yes.””
“You were confused for months?””
He didn’t answer.
“You were confused when you bought me a wedding ring?””
His face changed.
“You were confused when you told my mother you would protect me?””
“Maya…”
“You were confused when I was planning our future?””
My voice broke.
“And you were confused while sleeping with other women?””
Nobody spoke.
The silence was unbearable.
Then my phone buzzed.
Again.
This time, the message wasn’t from an unknown number.
It was from my mother.
*Where are you? Everyone is waiting for pictures. Marcus said you weren’t feeling well.*
I stared at the screen.
Marcus said I wasn’t feeling well.
Even now.
Even after being caught.
He was controlling the story.
I looked at him.
“You already told people something.””
He looked confused.
“What?””
“My mother thinks I’m sick.””
His face changed.
“Maya, I was trying to protect you.””
“No.””
I shook my head.
“You were protecting yourself.””
That hit him.
Because it was true.
He wasn’t worried about my feelings.
He was worried about everyone finding out who he really was.
I walked toward the mirror.
My graduation gown was still on.
My hair was still styled.
My makeup was still perfect.
From the outside, I looked like someone having the best night of her life.
I almost laughed.
The person staring back at me looked like a stranger.
A girl who had everything.
A degree.
A fiancé.
A best friend.
A future.
And now she had none of them.
Rachel stepped closer.
“There’s something else.””
I closed my eyes.
Of course there was.
There was always something else.
“What?””
She hesitated.
“I didn’t just come here because of Marcus.””
My eyes opened.
“Then why?””
She looked at Ava.
Then at the pregnancy test sitting on the counter.
“The baby.””
Nobody moved.
“What about it?””
Rachel’s face became serious.
“I think you need to know when Ava found out she was pregnant.””
I looked at Ava.
She looked terrified.
“Rachel…”
But Rachel continued.
“She found out before Marcus knew.””
My eyebrows tightened.
“That doesn’t explain anything.””
Rachel shook her head.
“She didn’t tell him because she was afraid.””
“Afraid of what?””
Rachel looked directly at me.
“Because the night Ava found out she was pregnant…”
She paused.
“And the reason she was scared Marcus would see her tonight…”
My heart started racing.
“What reason?””
Rachel took a deep breath.
“Because Ava wasn’t the only person Marcus was with that night.””
The room went completely still.
I looked at Ava.
Her face had gone pale.
“Maya…”
“No.””
I stepped back.
“No. Don’t tell me.””
But Rachel’s voice continued.
“The night Ava got pregnant…”
She looked at Marcus.
“He was with someone else before he came home to you.””
I felt the air leave my lungs.
And then Rachel said the one thing that made everyone stop breathing.
“The baby might not belong to Marcus.””
She looked at Ava.
“Because Ava wasn’t the only woman who was there that night.””
I stared at them.
At the people who had been hiding pieces of my life from me.
And for the first time, I wondered if Marcus had ever told the truth about anything.
Then Ava whispered something that answered my question.
Something that changed everything.
“The baby isn’t the worst secret.””
I looked at her.
“What do you mean?””
Her hands shook.
And she said:
“Because the person Marcus was really trying to protect…”
May you like
She looked at me.
“…wasn’t me.””
