Three days later, I agreed to meet Ethan.
A public place.
A crowded place.
A place where my heart couldn't make reckless decisions.
At least that was the plan.
The moment I saw him, the plan failed.
He looked tired.
The kind of tiredness that sleep couldn't fix.
His eyes found mine immediately.
And for a second, neither of us moved.
Then he smiled.
Not the confident smile from the cafรฉ.
A nervous one.
As though he wasn't sure I'd actually come.
"Hi," he said.
"Hi."
Awkward.
Painfully awkward.
We sat down.
Coffee between us.
Questions between us.
Unspoken feelings everywhere.
Finally, Ethan reached into his bag.
He pulled out a small notebook.
My eyes widened.
It looked familiar.
Very familiar.
"What's that?" I asked.
His fingers tightened around it.
"The original drafts."
"Drafts of what?"
He swallowed.
"The letter."
My heart skipped.
The letter.
The one that had started everything.
"I wrote dozens of versions before I left the final copy in the cafรฉ."
I stared at him.
"You left it there on purpose?"
A smile appeared.
Small.
Embarrassed.
"Not exactly."
"Then what exactly?"
Before he could answer, a voice interrupted.
A female voice.
Cold.
Sharp.
Dangerous.
"Ethan."
We both turned.
A woman stood beside our table.
Elegant.
Beautiful.
And furious.
She wore a red dress.
The kind that made people look twice.
But her eyes...
Her eyes were fixed on me.
Not Ethan.
Me.
And there was something unsettling in them.
Something personal.
"Ethan," she repeated.
"You didn't tell me she'd be here."
Ethan's face darkened.
"What are you doing here, Vanessa?"
Vanessa.
The name hit me instantly.
The arranged bride.
The woman from the newspaper.
The woman who was supposed to marry him.
She laughed.
A humorless laugh.
"Oh, so she knows about me."
Nobody spoke.
Then Vanessa looked directly at me.
"You should leave."
The confidence in her voice shocked me.
As if she genuinely believed she had the authority to tell me what to do.
I slowly stood.
"No."
For the first time, Vanessa looked surprised.
Ethan almost smiled.
Vanessa folded her arms.
"Do you know what happens to women who get involved with this family?"
I frowned.
"What does that mean?"
Her eyes softened.
Just for a second.
And somehow that scared me even more.
Because suddenly she didn't look angry.
She looked worried.
Actually, I'm worried.
Then she said something that made my blood run cold.
"I received the same letter."
Silence.
The world seemed to stop.
"What?" I whispered.
Vanessa nodded.
"The exact same letter."
I looked at Ethan.
His face had gone completely pale.
Which meant one terrifying thing.
He hadn't written only one letter.
Or someone else had.
And suddenly the story I thought I understood...
It made absolutely no sense.
To Be Continued...
Who do you think sent the letters?
A. Ethan
B. Vanessa
C. Someone neither of them knows