Later that night, I lay in bed alone, pulling the blanket over my head as if to shield myself from the storm raging in my mind. But Nathan and Clair’s faces kept flashing in my mind. It was impossible to shake them off. Suddenly, my phone buzzed, pulling me out of my thoughts.
Annoyed, I checked the notification—it was from an unknown number. Curious, I opened it to find the unedited version of Clair’s photo. There, the owner of the hand was revealed and I was right. It belonged to Nathan.
Before seeing this, I could still fool myself into believing I might have been mistaken. But now, even the last shreds of self-deception had been ripped away.
In the photo, Nathan wore an apron, holding a strawberry while smiling softly at the camera.
His eyes, however, were filled with nothing but Clair.
A follow-up message arrived shortly after: [Did you like the strawberry cake? Yours was just something Nathan grabbed at random store. The one I had was the one he made with his own hands from scratch.]
Her words were filled with arrogance and triumph.
My heart sank to rock bottom once more.
[Do you really think Nathan likes you that much? He’s long since gotten bored of you. Believe it or not, if I send him a single text, he’ll come running to me right away!]
I didn’t reply to her. Instead, I turned off my phone and lay back down.
At that moment, I wasn’t sure whether I was genuinely upset or waiting for her claim to be proven true. A bitter smile crept onto my face. I’ve become so insecure.
Nathan came out of the bathroom, a towel in one hand as he dried his hair while reaching for his phone with the other. When he saw the screen light up, his brow arched slightly and unmistakable joy sparkled in his eyes. He typed a reply and soon enough, I received a screenshot.
It was Clair. She’d sent me Nathan’s reply: [Wait for me. I’ll be right over. Don’t forget to wear the outfit I bought you.]
Before I could process it, Nathan spoke up.
“Honey, something urgent came up at work. I need to head back to the office.”
He acted as if he didn’t want to go, as if the situation truly irritated him, but he was already pulling on his clothes.
I gestured in sign language, my face calm as I decided not to expose his lie.
“Go ahead. Don’t keep them waiting.”