That night, Julie, who was so deeply intoxicated, could barely open her eyes. She tried to remember: What exactly happened? She thought Mike and she were getting married tomorrow, so today she was throwing a party for her friends. But after drinking too much at the party, she lost her sense of humor, and Mike took her to the room. Thinking of all this, Julie felt a surge of happiness—Mike cared about her, and it made her feel safe. But her happiness didn't last long.
She suddenly heard voices—soft whispers, followed by a burst of laughter. Julie's head felt heavy, as though a fog had descended. She could barely make out the words, but one thing was certain: the voices were coming from the next room, and one of them was unmistakably Mike's.
"Mike?" she whispered, trying to sit up, but her vision swam, and she slumped back onto the bed. She strained to hear, but it wasn't Mike's usual deep voice that answered.
Instead, it was a woman's voice—familiar, yet foreign.
"Why are you still pretending, Mike? You know she doesn't know anything."
Julie's heart skipped a beat. Her head was clouded, but the words struck her like a cold slap to the face. She couldn't make sense of it. What was this woman talking about?
She tried to shake off the dizziness, but the scene felt distant, like a nightmare she couldn't escape from. Her mind raced, scrambling to grasp at fragments of information.
The woman continued, her voice low but cutting, "You can't keep hiding it from her forever."
Julie's breath hitched. Hiding it? What was Mike hiding?
A surge of panic coursed through her. She had to know what was going on. She tried to push herself up again, but this time, she was able to stand—stumbling to the door, her pulse quickening.
She slowly turned the doorknob, her heart pounding in her chest, as if she could hear every beat. The door creaked open, revealing a scene that made her blood run cold.
Mike was standing there, facing a woman she recognized all too well. It was Anna—her best friend. Julie's world felt as if it had shattered in an instant. The two of them stood too close, too familiar, like they had shared something that she had been blind to all along.
"I thought you loved me, Mike," Julie finally whispered, her voice trembling.
Both Mike and Anna froze, their faces drained of color. Mike stepped forward, but Julie took a step back, shaking her head. "The truth… What is the truth?"
Anna's eyes flickered with something close to guilt, but she didn't speak. Mike, however, seemed to struggle with his words.
"Julie, I… I didn't want you to find out this way."
But it was already too late. Julie had already seen enough. The truth had found its way to her, whether she was ready for it or not.