Chapter 2: The Password and the Lie

He forced a strained smile, the tension in the room palpable as the bathroom fan hummed in the background.

Trying to act calm, he took the phone. His finger hovered for a second, then he entered the password and unlocked it, avoiding my eyes as he did.

"The old phone broke when it fell, remember? The store just set a new password. I've been meaning to change it but haven't gotten around to it."

After unlocking it, he handed the phone back to me, his jaw tight but his tone feigning confidence.

"Whatever you want to see, go ahead."

His confident attitude left me stunned for a moment. Maybe he was just sure I wouldn't check up on him.

When I reached for the phone, his hand instinctively pulled back a little. I looked down, pretending not to notice, and took the phone naturally.

As I scrolled up and down, I distracted myself by explaining casually, "My phone's dead. I just needed to check my mom's Facebook or text her."

His contact list was spotless. The Messenger chat history was completely deleted. Everything looked perfect.

But his shifty eyes and the constant movement of his hands made my heart grow colder, bit by bit.

I could almost hear my own pulse in my ears, like a warning drum. The empty chat windows felt staged, scrubbed clean like a freshly vacuumed apartment after move-out. It was the kind of blankness that only comes from hiding something.

Suddenly, I lost the urge to dig any deeper. My hand shook as I handed the phone back, my breath coming in short, uneven bursts.

"Forget it. It's not important. I'll just ask her in person tomorrow."

Hearing this, he quietly breathed a sigh of relief and chuckled softly, the tension in his shoulders easing.

"I thought my wife was getting nervous before the wedding and wanted to check up on me."

I looked up and stared at him. "If I really wanted to check up on you, would you be scared?"

He was stunned, took two steps forward, then knelt on one knee in front of me, more sincere than I'd ever seen him.

In that moment, it was as if the whole world shrank to just us and the hum of the air conditioner. He looked up at me, searching my face, his own etched with desperation.

"Of course not. After all these years, we've finally made it. How could I ever betray you? When I first got together with you, I swore: if Tyler Evans ever betrays Savannah Brooks, let him lose Savannah forever. Savannah, I swear, if I ever did something like that, I'd deserve to lose you forever."

I stared at this familiar yet suddenly unfamiliar face, asking myself again and again:

Yes, how could he dare?

He is Tyler Evans—the Tyler who has loved me for eight years. How could he deceive and betray me?

I wanted to fool myself a little longer.

But that $400 hair salon charge is still sitting in my phone.