"I received the same letter."
Vanessa's words hung in the air.
I looked at Ethan.
Then at Vanessa.
Then back at Ethan.
Neither of them seemed to be lying.
Which made everything worse.
"How is that possible?" I asked.
Vanessa reached into her handbag.
Slowly.
She pulled out a folded piece of paper.
My stomach tightened.
It looked exactly like the letter I had found.
Same brown paper.
Same handwriting.
Same ink.
She handed it to me.
My fingers shook as I opened it.
The words were identical.
Every sentence.
Every line.
Every emotion.
Exactly the same.
I turned toward Ethan.
"Did you send this to her?"
"No."
"Then how did she get it?"
"I don't know."
For the first time since meeting him...
He genuinely looked afraid.
Not nervous.
Not embarrassed.
Afraid.
Vanessa noticed it too.
Which meant this wasn't a game.
Someone was doing this.
Someone who wanted all three of us connected.
For a reason.
Then Ethan suddenly grabbed the notebook from the table.
The one containing the drafts.
His eyes widened.
"No..."
"What?"
A page was missing.
Several pages.
Torn out.
Recently.
Someone had taken them.
The color drained from his face.
"I had this notebook locked in my apartment."
Vanessa cursed under her breath.
I felt a chill crawl up my spine.
Because if someone had entered Ethan's apartment...
This wasn't just manipulation anymore.
Someone was watching.
Someone was planning.
Someone knew far more about us than we knew about them.
Then my phone buzzed.
Unknown Number.
Again.
This time it wasn't a picture.
It was a message.
Just six words.
Check the last page, Maya.
My heart stopped.
Slowly, I flipped through Ethan's notebook.
Page after page.
Draft after draft.
Crossed-out words.
Deleted sentences.
Half-finished confessions.
Then I reached the final page.
And froze.
Because it was written there...
In Ethan's handwriting...
It was my name.
Not recently.
Not yesterday.
Not last week.
Months ago.
Before we met.
Before the cafรฉ.
Before everything.
Just my name.
Over and over.
Maya.
Maya.
Maya.
Alongside little notes.
"Girl with the yellow umbrella."
"Read while waiting for the bus."
"Always buy two pastries but only eat one."
"I still haven't found the courage to talk to her."
I couldn't breathe.
My eyes lifted slowly to Ethan.
His face said everything.
He knew me.
For months.
Maybe longer.
The letter wasn't written after we met.
The letter existed because of me.
And before I could process any of it...
Vanessa whispered something.
Something neither of us expected.
"Oh my God."
"What?" Ethan asked.
Vanessa was staring at one of the notes.
A specific note.
A date.
A location.
And suddenly she looked terrified.
"Someone else was there that day."
The cafรฉ fell silent.
"Who?" I asked.
Vanessa looked up.
Her face was completely pale.
"The person who sent those messages..."
She swallowed hard.
"I think they're sitting behind us."
To Be Continued...
If you were Maya, would you turn around immediately?
A. YES
B. NO WAY