Hidden Takes [Jholet au]

Prologue :)

The night was thick with tension, the kind that clung to the air like a dense fog.

Janayah paced the small living room of the apartment she had shared with Calisha for the past two years.

Her hands trembled as she clutched a small piece of paper, the ink smeared from where her tears had fallen. She had spent hours trying to write the perfect words, the ones that would explain why she was leaving, but there was no way to capture the turmoil in her heart.

She had always known this day might come, but she had hoped-prayed-that it wouldn't.

That somehow, they could defy the odds and find a way to make it work. But the threats from Calisha's mother echoed in her mind, each word a dagger to her resolve.

"If you stay, you'll destroy her."

Janayah closed her eyes, forcing back the tears that threatened to spill again. She was doing this for Calisha, she told herself, trying to believe the lie. If she left now, Calisha could have the life she deserved, the career she had worked so hard for.

But as she placed the note on the kitchen counter, Janayah knew there was no going back. She was about to break both of their hearts, and the worst part was that Calisha would never know why.

Janayah took one last look around the apartment, her gaze lingering on the small reminders of their life together-a photo on the wall, a jacket draped over the back of a chair, the lingering scent of Calisha's perfume in the air. Then, with a heavy heart, she walked out the door, leaving behind everything that mattered most.

As the door clicked shut behind her, Janayah knew that nothing would ever be the same again.