Chapter 4
Amara jolted awake to an empty bed, the sheets cold and unruffled beside her. A sharp pang of disappointment pierced her chest.
“So much for the wedding night,” she muttered, rubbing her temples.
The bedroom intercom buzzed, jolting her from her thoughts. She sighed, picking it up with a groggy voice. “Hello?”
“So, you didn’t want Ethan to talk to me last night, did you?” Celeste’s saccharine tone sliced through the line.
Amara’s grip on the phone tightened. “What do you want, Celeste?”
Celeste chuckled, a sound that made Amara’s skin crawl. “Oh, don’t play coy. You think you’re clever, don’t you? But guess what? Ethan’s with me right now.”
Amara’s breath hitched. “You’re lying.”
“Am I?” Celeste teased. “Come over and see for yourself. Better yet, prepare yourself, sweetheart. I’m moving in. This house of yours? I’ll make it mine.”
The line went dead before Amara could respond.
Amara slammed the receiver down, her heart pounding. She dialed Ethan’s number, but it went straight to voicemail. Again and again, she tried, but it was futile.
“He wouldn’t…” she whispered to herself, shaking her head. But a gnawing doubt crept in.
She got dressed swiftly, throwing on a pair of jeans and a simple blouse. Her mind raced as she drove to Celeste’s apartment. If she thinks she can outplay me, she’s dead wrong.
As luck would have it, she spotted a man locking up a door as she approached Celeste’s building. “Excuse me,” she called out, stepping closer. “Are you Celeste’s landlord?”
The man looked her up and down suspiciously. “Who’s asking?”
“Her… friend,” Amara lied, forcing a smile. “I heard she’s having trouble with her rent. Is that true?”
The man frowned. “Trouble? What trouble? She paid in full just a few days ago.”
Amara blinked, her mind whirring. “She… paid? Are you sure?”
The landlord nodded. “Yes, cash. She’s all settled for now.”
“Thank you,” Amara said sweetly, pulling out her phone. “Would you mind saying that again? Just for confirmation?”
The man shrugged, repeating his words as Amara discreetly hit the record button.
Satisfied, she headed upstairs, her heart pounding with both anger and anticipation. She pushed open the door without knocking, her eyes immediately landing on Ethan and Celeste.
They were locked in an embrace. Celeste’s face was buried in his chest, and Ethan’s hands rested awkwardly on her back.
Amara cleared her throat loudly. “Am I interrupting something?”
Ethan jolted, stepping back from Celeste as though he’d been burned. “Amara! This isn’t what it looks like.”
Celeste turned, her lips curling into a smug smile. “Oh, but it is. Poor Ethan was just comforting me. It’s been a rough morning, you know.”
Amara ignored her, focusing on Ethan. “You couldn’t answer your phone?”
Ethan sighed, running a hand through his hair. “I was going to call you. Celeste needed someone to talk to. She’s—”
“—manipulating you,” Amara snapped, cutting him off. She turned to Celeste, her voice icy. “And I have proof.”
Celeste’s smile faltered. “What proof?”
Amara pulled out her phone, playing the recording of the landlord’s voice.
“She paid in full just a few days ago,” the recording echoed in the room.
Ethan’s face darkened as he turned to Celeste.
