Chapter 6: The Debt Nobody Knew About
Ava didn’t answer.
She didn’t even try.
That was the worst part.
When someone is innocent, they fight.
They explain.
They search desperately for the right words.
But Ava just stood there, staring at the document in my hand like she had been waiting for this moment since the beginning.
Like she knew there was no way around it anymore.
“Maya…”
I held up the paper.
“No.””
My voice was quiet.
And somehow, that scared everyone more than if I had screamed.
“Don’t say my name.””
Ava’s eyes filled with tears.
“I can explain.””
I looked at Marcus.
Then back at her.
“That’s what everyone says right before they tell me something they should have told me months ago.””
The restroom became painfully silent.
Rachel stood near the doorway, watching everything unfold.
She looked uncomfortable.
Almost guilty.
But I didn’t have space for anyone else’s guilt anymore.
I only had room for the truth.
“How much?”” I asked.
Ava blinked.
“What?””
“How much money did Marcus give you?””
She looked away.
That was enough.
“Ava.””
She swallowed.
“Thirty thousand dollars.””
The number hit me harder than I expected.
Thirty thousand.
A person could make mistakes.
A person could lose control.
A person could make one terrible decision.
But thirty thousand dollars wasn’t an accident.
It was a choice.
“You took money from him.””
Her tears fell.
“Yes.””
“Why?””
She didn’t answer.
“Why?””
Her voice cracked.
“Because I needed help.””
I stared at her.
“Help with what?””
She looked down at the pregnancy test.
And suddenly I understood.
Not everything.
But enough.
“The baby?””
She nodded.
“I found out I was pregnant, and I panicked.””
I looked at Marcus.
“And he paid you?””
Marcus stepped forward.
“It wasn’t like that.””
I turned toward him.
“Then what was it like?””
He stopped.
Again.
Always stopping.
Always hesitating.
Always waiting until there was nowhere left to hide.
“Ava needed somewhere to stay,” he said.
I looked at her.
“Why?””
She wiped her face.
“Because my apartment…”
She hesitated.
“Because I lost my job.””
I frowned.
“You lost your job?””
She nodded.
“When?””
“Three months ago.””
Three months.
Another secret.
“You didn’t tell me?””
Her face tightened.
“I was embarrassed.””
I laughed softly.
“Ava, I would have helped you.””
“I know.””
“Then why didn’t you call me?””
She looked at the floor.
“Because of him.””
My chest tightened.
“What?””
She looked at Marcus.
“He told me not to.””
The room went silent.
I slowly turned toward him.
“You told her not to come to me?””
Marcus’s face changed.
“Maya, I was trying to handle it.””
“Handle what?””
“Everything.””
I stared at him.
“You weren’t handling anything.””
My voice rose.
“You were controlling information.””
He looked hurt.
But I didn’t stop.
“You decided what Ava knew.””
“You decided what Rachel knew.””
“You decided what your mother knew.””
“And you decided what I deserved to know.””
Marcus looked down.
That was the first time I saw him truly ashamed.
Not caught.
Not scared.
Ashamed.
But it didn’t fix anything.
I looked at Ava.
“Did he tell you he loved you?””
She froze.
That pause answered everything.
I nodded slowly.
“He did.””
Her tears started falling faster.
“Yes.””
I closed my eyes.
That hurt.
More than I wanted to admit.
Because hearing that he cheated was one thing.
Hearing that he gave another woman the words he used to build my entire future was something else.
“When?””
Ava whispered.
“The first time he said it was in January.””
January.
I remembered January.
I remembered Marcus taking me to a cabin for my birthday.
I remembered him writing me a letter.
A letter where he said I was the only person who made him feel complete.
I had saved that letter.
I had kept it in my nightstand.
I suddenly wondered who he was thinking about when he wrote it.
“Did he say it to Rachel too?””
Nobody answered.
Rachel looked down.
That was enough.
I looked at Marcus.
“How many times?””
He didn’t speak.
“How many people heard you say those words?””
“Maya…”
“How many?””
His voice became barely audible.
“Three.””
The number made my stomach turn.
Three.
Not one mistake.
Not one moment.
Three people.
Three versions of him.
I felt tears finally reach my eyes.
But they weren’t the tears I expected.
They weren’t heartbreak.
They were exhaustion.
I was tired.
Tired of being the last person to know.
I wiped my face.
“Why me?””
Nobody answered.
I looked at Marcus.
“Why did you keep me?””
His expression broke.
“What?””
“You heard me.””
“Maya…”
“No.””
I stepped closer.
“Why did you keep me?””
The question seemed to hurt him.
But I needed an answer.
“You had other women.””
“You had secrets.””
“You had a whole life I didn’t know about.””
I pointed toward the engagement ring on my finger.
“So why did you still come home to me?””
Marcus looked at the ring.
Then at me.
And for a moment, he looked like the man I used to know.
“I loved you.””
I almost believed him.
Almost.
Then I remembered everything.
“You loved me?””
“Yes.””
“Then why did you do this?””
He had no answer.
Because there was no answer that made sense.
Rachel quietly spoke.
“Because he thought he could keep everything.””
Marcus looked at her.
“Don’t.””
She shook her head.
“No, Marcus.””
Her voice became stronger.
“She deserves the truth.””
I looked at Rachel.
“What else?””
She hesitated.
Then reached into her bag again.
This time, she pulled out a phone.
“What is that?””
“My old phone.””
She unlocked it.
“I saved messages.””
Marcus’s expression changed instantly.
“Rachel.””
She ignored him.
“I should have deleted them.””
She looked at me.
“But I didn’t.””
She handed me the phone.
The screen showed a conversation.
Between her and Marcus.
My eyes moved across the messages.
*Marcus: Maya doesn’t need to know.*
My breathing stopped.
Another message.
*Marcus: I can fix this before the wedding.*
Another.
*Marcus: Just trust me.*
I looked up.
“Fix what?””
Marcus said nothing.
I scrolled.
There were more.
Many more.
Then one message caught my attention.
A message from Marcus.
Sent two weeks earlier.
*If anything happens, tell them the baby is mine.*
My blood ran cold.
I looked at Ava.
She looked terrified.
“What does that mean?””
No one answered.
I looked at Marcus.
“What does that mean?””
He stepped forward.
“Maya, listen.””
“No.””
My voice shook.
“No, because I finally understand something.””
“What?””
“You weren’t hiding the affair.””
I looked around the room.
“You were hiding something bigger.””
Marcus’s face went pale.
And I knew I was right.
“What happened two weeks ago?””
Nobody spoke.
Then Ava whispered:
“Maya…”
I turned toward her.
She looked like she was about to confess something impossible.
“I need to tell you why Marcus paid me.””
My heart pounded.
“Why?””
She took a shaky breath.
“Because the money wasn’t for the baby.””
The room went silent.
“It was to make sure I stayed quiet.””
I stared at her.
“Quiet about what?””
Ava looked at Marcus.
Then at me.
And the fear in her eyes told me the truth was worse than anything I had imagined.
“About the night your father died.””
I froze.
The world seemed to stop.
“What did you just say?””
Ava started crying.
“Marcus wasn’t just hiding who he was with.””
She looked at me.
“He was hiding what happened that night.””
My fingers went numb.
Because my father’s death was the one pain in my life Marcus had never used against me.
The one thing I believed he would never touch.
Then Ava whispered:
“He was there.””
I stared at her.
“Where?””
Her voice broke.
“With your father.””
And before I could ask another question, Marcus’s phone rang again.
This time, the caller ID wasn’t his mother.
It was the police department.
Everyone saw it.
Everyone froze.
Marcus looked at the screen.
And I watched the fear return to his face.
May you like
Because whatever happened that night…
Was finally coming back.
