Zaire has waited three long years to reunite with her best friend, Aiyana. Their joy is unmistakable, but her excitement quickly shifts when she meets Aiyana's boyfriend-Omari, the man Zaire once loved deeply.
Unbeknownst to Aiyana, Zaire and Omari...
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I knock on Dakarai's door, my knuckles brushing against the wood. It's like I'm whispering instead of demanding entry. He opens the door, his face softening slightly when he sees me. There's tension in his jaw, a stiffness in his shoulders that tells me he already knows this isn't a social visit.
"Aiyanna," he says, stepping aside to let me in. His voice carries the weight of exhaustion and something else-hurt, maybe. I step inside, feeling small in his quiet strength.
"Hey," I manage, my voice cracking. I swallow hard and force myself to meet his gaze. "I need to tell you something."
He nods, gesturing for me to sit on the couch. I perch on the edge of the cushion, hands clasped tightly in my lap. Dakarai sits across from me, his expression a careful mask, though his eyes betray his concern.
"It's about Zaire," I start, the words spilling out in a rush. "And Omari. And me. Everything. You deserve to know the truth."
His brow furrows, but he stays silent, waiting for me to continue. That patience of his, it always broke me down. I draw a shaky breath, then launch into the tangled mess of revelations. I tell him about Omari breaking up with me, the confrontation at the diner, and how everything I thought I knew feels like a lie.
"They have history, Dakarai," I say, my voice trembling. "Omari and Zaire. They were together for years, and now it's like I'm seeing it everywhere. The way they look at each other, the things they don't say. I was too blind to see it before, but now I can't unsee it."
His jaw tightens, and he leans forward, elbows resting on his knees. "Are you saying Zaire lied to me?"
"I don't know," I admit, my voice trembling. "But I walked out of that diner, and I felt like everything was crashing down around me. I don't know how to handle it, Dakarai. I don't know what to do."
The room falls into a heavy silence, the weight of my confession pressing down on both of us. Dakarai's face is a storm of emotions-hurt, confusion, anger. He opens his mouth to speak, but before he can say anything, the sound of the door opening freezes us both.
I turn sharply to see Zaire standing there, her eyes wide with shock. She looks at Dakarai, then at me, realization dawning on her face.
"Zaire," Dakarai says, his voice low and tense.
She steps inside, closing the door behind her with deliberate slowness. "I came here to talk to you, Dakarai," she says, her voice trembling. "But I see I'm too late."
"Too late for what?" Dakarai asks, his tone sharp now, cutting through the tension in the room.
Zaire's gaze shifts between us, and I can see the walls she's built around herself start to crack. "To explain everything," she whispers. "To tell you the truth."
Zaire stands frozen in the doorway, her gaze darting between Dakarai and me. The weight of the moment is suffocating, and for a second, none of us says anything. Then, as if breaking out of a spell, I stand and smooth my hands over my jeans.
