Love Of Lies

Chapter One

The sterile hospital room seemed to close in on Sarah as memories came flooding back - fragmented images of a heated argument, screeching tires, and the distant whine of an ambulance. She gripped the sheets beneath her, feeling the weight of her past hit her with unstoppable force.

"Jake," she whispered, the name slipping from her lips like a revelation.

The man she hated with all her heart and soul. He was the one sitting next to her bed.

"Jake, I know what you did. You should be afraid of the consequences." The girl's voice was close to screaming. "And who are you going to tell this to? Know that I have the power that you lack. We have known each other long enough that you should know what I can do to keep you silent." The man was extremely calm, he didn't even hesitate to think about what to say. Sarah knew what he meant, she knew what he could do and she knew what could await her. But she didn't think twice before she spoke. "I'm going to report it, you deserve it..."

The man who had been her adversary, her enemy, now sat at her side, staring at her with worried eyes.

"...you deserve to die." That was what she was about to say. The room, once a quiet sanctuary, echoed with the haunting echoes of the accident that would change the course of their lives.

There was an uneasy silence in the air before Jake spoke, his voice a mixture of regret and concern. "Sarah, are you okay? Do you remember what happened?"

She needed a moment to think. Now that she was so close to death, she wasn't sure of her intentions. If she admits that she remembers everything, she will face certain death. She slowly shook her head, the events replaying in her mind like a living nightmare. "I don't remember anything," she confessed, her voice shaking under the weight of the lie. "I only remember the sound of the ambulance."

Jake's blue eyes bored into hers, his face showing pain but understanding at the same time. "All right. We can talk about it and get through it together."

Then Jake started telling the story of the accident, how she was driving, they talked on the phone, up to the present. But as he talked, there was more than just shock in her eyes. Is it possible that not everything was as it seemed?

A moment passed, in which she managed to take a plastic cup filled with water before she heard his voice again. "Sarah, I'm your fiancé. We were supposed to be married in a month." She almost spit out the water she had taken a sip of.

"Excuse me?" was all she managed to say before the nurse entered the room.

A middle-aged woman came in with a warm smile on her face that faded as she felt the tension. "Is everything okay here?" she asked, looking between Sarah and Jake.

Jake quickly composed himself and gave him a reassuring smile. "We're a little overwhelmed by this situation, that's all, thank you."

The nurse nodded and began checking Sarah's vital signs, adjusting some of the monitoring equipment. As she worked, Jake watched Sarah closely and his concern was evident.

Jake cleared his throat, breaking the silence. "I know this is a lot to take in, especially considering the circumstances, but I want you to know that I care about you. We take care of each other."

Sarah's thoughts were swirling. She tried to reconcile the man sitting at her side with the one she had been ready to accuse for his actions just hours ago.

"I understand if it's overwhelming," Jake continued, his voice gentle. "But together we can face everything that has happened. You don't have to go through this alone."

She studied him, searching for any sign of the weight of his deceit or guilt. But his eyes, usually very cautious, now seemed vulnerable, full of love. There was a war going on inside her - a battle between the memories that haunted her and the possibility of a future that she was so terribly afraid of at that moment.

"I appreciate your support," she finally said, careful not to reveal her inner turmoil. "I need time to process everything." Time to find a way to end what she started.

Jake nodded, understanding evident on his face. "Take as much time as you need. I'll be here for you." As he reached for her hand, Sarah couldn't shake the feeling that the answers she was looking for were hiding behind the walls of her own mind, waiting to be unlocked. Little did she know that the journey to discover the truth would be more complicated and treacherous than she could have ever imagined.