Alex sat alone in the room, the weight of his secrets and deceptions pressing down on him like a heavy cloak. He ran a trembling hand through his hair, trying to steady his nerves as he replayed the confrontation with Isabella over and over in his mind.He closed his eyes, taking a deep, shuddering breath in the quiet moments, away from Isabella's probing questions as he allowed himself to reflect on how he had ended up in this precarious position; the affair with Emily and the lies he had told Isabella.The thought of what might happen if Isabella discovered the truth sent a wave of dread through him again. Would she lash out in a fit of rage? Would she threaten to expose his secrets, jeopardising everything he had worked so hard to build? The possibilities played out in his mind, each scenario more dire than the last.The weight of his actions pressed heavily on his conscience. What had started as a calculated ploy to teach Emily a lesson had become something much more complex. A

As Isabella tailed Alex's car, she prepared herself for a confrontation with whatever—or whoever—he was meeting. But when he pulled at a neighbourhood that had a gritty, rundown feel, with potholed streets and graffiti marrying the brick walls, she wondered his reason for being in such a stinking neighbourhood, thinking perhaps he could have noticed her tailing him and drove there to confuse her.Her doubts were cleared when he got out of the car, which assured her that he was definitely there to meet someone.Parked behind a battered Toyota, she wrinkled her nose. “Who could he be meeting in such squalor?” She wondered.She watched him as he entered the house he parked in front of, hoping to see the person he was meeting. She didn't care if it would take her a whole day to achieve her goal.Alex rapped on Emily's door but was disappointed as no reply came, indicating that she was not at home.“Where could she be?” He wondered.Just then, Amara arrived, alerted by the knocking sound

“Emily?” Alex called out, breathing her name as he hurried to catch up with her strides.Emily didn't stop or glance back, but instead walked further to an unfamiliar destination.Observing that only a few people were around the area, he walked closer to her, suddenly grabbing her hand, forcing her to turn to face him.“What?!” She arched her brows defiantly, trying to tug her hand free from his grip, but he refused to loosen his hold.He raised a finger to his lips. "Please, lower your voice.” He urged in a whisper."Lower my voice?" She hissed. "For what? Just let me be, Alex. Please."But he held firm, not willing to release her. She widened her eyes, glaring at his unmovable grasp on her wrist. "I said let me go!”“I can't, Emily. How do you expect me to?" His voice took on a pleading tone. "Look, I don't know what I did, but it's obvious you're angry with me. The reason exactly is what I can't figure out, because we...we said goodnight while smiling at each other. What happen

“I'm really famished. What do you have at home?” Alex inquired after they had settled their little fight.He was surprised when Emily told him that there was nothing edible for him to eat. “Not even groceries?”She nodded.“How can you be living in a room without anything edible? Has hunger not struck you in the middle of the night?”“Well, apparently, it hasn't.”He then proposed they go out for a meal and also do some grocery shopping to stock up her kitchen with food supplies.She protested, saying that she was accustomed to not having food at home.With a light chuckle, Alex said, "You might be used to that, but I'm not. If you had something we could eat readily available, we wouldn't need to go out. What if I stay over and wake up feeling hungry?"“Sleep over?” She furrowed her brows.“Yes…” He stared at her intensely, and his brows were also furrowed. “How is that a surprise to you? Why wouldn't I? Who knows, I might decide to do that tonight.”The mention of him sleeping over

After Alex left the next morning, Isabella went upstairs to have her morning coffee before leaving to meet someone important.As she saw Derek, she remembered that he had asked for an audience with her the previous day. “You said you wanted to have a conversation with me yesterday.” She said, sipping her steamy coffee as Derek walked past her front.She was sitting on one of the dining chairs.Derek then walked closer to her, dragged the chair beside her, and turned it to face her.“What is happening, Isa?” His eyes were etched with emotions that Isabella could not read. She furrowed her brows. “What do you mean?”He leaned closer, as if to whisper, and clarified. “What is happening to us?”She understood the meaning of his words, but her surprise stemmed from the fact that they could come out of his mouth. Not after their agreement!“I don't understand you. Explain what you mean.” She said.“It seems you've been avoiding me recently. No, you have.” He said it firmly.It was the tru