As Jamal drove them back home, none of them could say a word; not because they didn't have anything to say, quite the opposite. There were too many things that needed to be said.Too many questions. Too many truths waiting beneath the surface.Scarlet sat in the passenger seat staring out the window.Every bruise on her body seemed to ache more now, and not because of the injuries themselves.But because of the man sitting beside her.Jamal kept glancing at her whenever he thought she wasn't looking, and each time his jaw tightened.He still wasn't buying her explanation.Not even a little, and they both knew it.Yet he wasn't pushing, at least not for now.His hands remained firmly on the steering wheel as he guided the car through the evening traffic. Finally, after several minutes of silence, he cleared his throat."You should've called me.""What?" Scarlet looked toward him."If you were hurt." He mumbled in a calm voice. "You should've called me."Scarlet twitched slightly. "

An entire week had come and gone.And despite all Jamal's efforts, he was no closer to discovering the truth behind Scarlet's bruises than he had been on the day he found her outside the hospital.If anything, he was even more confused now.Because Scarlet hadn't become distant; that would've been easier to understand.Instead, she remained exactly the same... Sweet, affectionate, playful whenever they were together. She still visited him during lunch whenever her schedule allowed. She still texted him good morning almost every day.From the outside, everything looked perfectly normal.Except...Every single time the conversation drifted anywhere near her injuries... She changed.It was subtle enough that anyone else would've missed it, but Jamal had begun paying attention.Her smile would falter for only a heartbeat, and her fingers would unconsciously tighten around whatever she was holding.Then, almost expertly, she would steer the conversation elsewhere.Sometimes she would ask a

For the first time in what felt like forever, Jamal woke up genuinely excited.And it wasn't because of work.Matter of fact, today had nothing to do with business; it was in fact personal.Jamal stood before the mirror adjusting the collar of a maroon suit jacket. He inspected himself critically before loosening his tie again."No, too formal." He shook his head.He removed the tie entirely and unbuttoned the first button of his white shirt instead."There." He smiled.It looked much better now.Not like he was attending a board meeting, and more like a man hoping to spend an unforgettable evening with the woman who had quietly stitched together pieces of a heart he hadn't realized was still broken.For several seconds he simply stood there looking at his reflection.A smile slowly broke out on his face.He actually looked... Happy.And it felt so real.After what felt like forever, staring at himself in the mirror, he finally grabbed his car keys and headed out of the room.Immediat

Evelyn's words hit Jamal so hard he lost his breath for a whole minute... It was almost impossible to comprehend. Jamal didn't move.For several long seconds, he simply stared at Evelyn, convinced he had misunderstood what she'd said.His face remained expressionless, but behind his eyes, his thoughts had already begun crashing into one another."No."His voice came out almost as a whisper.Evelyn didn't answer.Instead, she quietly nodded toward the envelope still resting in his hands."I wish I was wrong."Jamal looked down at the envelope as though it had suddenly become something dangerous.His fingers refused to move, and his mind refused to cooperate."No..." He shook his head slowly. "There has to be some mistake.""I know who she is." Jamal let out a nervous laugh, one that didn't sound like laughter at all."Maybe..." He swallowed hard."Maybe Andrew approached her.. or maybe they're distant relatives.""Maybe..." He searched desperately for another explanation."Maybe these

Jamal drove home in total silence.he had driven the entire way with Scarlet's letter resting on the passenger seat beside him, untouched since he'd folded it back into its envelope.And despite the silence filling the car, his mind had never been more louder.Her handwriting refused to leave his thoughts, the apology and confession, every line she had written in that paper seemed to echo over and over inside his head."f we had met under different circumstances... I would have been the happiest woman in the world.""Goodbye, Jamal." He tightened his grip on the steering wheel until his fingers began to ache.Those lines, especially the goodbye hurt him so deeply.Because if she hadn't left, maybe he would have given her the chance explain, they could have argued and perhaps, he could have forgiven her, but goodbye...Goodbye meant she had already decided she no longer deserved a place in his life.And somehow, that thought hurt far more than discovering she'd been working for Andrew