Noah's POV
"Put your phone away!"
Talia grabbed my phone from my hands and threw it across the room. It hit the wall with a loud crack. My heart stopped when I saw Belle's name still showing on the broken screen.
"She almost heard you talking!" Talia hissed, her eyes wild with fear. "Are you trying to ruin everything?"
I looked at my broken phone, my stomach twisting into knots. Belle had been calling to tell me about her day, like she always did. Sweet, naive Belle who worked herself to death just to pay our bills.
What kind of monster was I?
"This is wrong," I whispered, running my hands through my hair. "Belle doesn't deserve this. She loves me."
Talia laughed, but it wasn't a nice sound. "Love doesn't pay the bills, Noah. Love doesn't get you anywhere in this world."
She moved closer to me, and I could smell her expensive perfume. Everything about Talia screamed money and success. Her clothes, her jewelry, even the way she talked. She was everything Belle wasn't.
And that's what made me weak.
"Belle works three jobs for you," Talia said softly, running her fingers down my arm. "But what has she given you really? A small apartment? Store-brand food? When was the last time you ate at a real restaurant?"
My face burned with shame because she was right. Belle tried so hard, but we barely had enough money for rent each month. I wanted more than just survival. I wanted to live.
"I'm a writer," I said, trying to convince myself more than her. "I need time to work on my book. Belle understands that."
"Your book?" Talia raised an eyebrow. "The one you've been writing for two years? How many pages do you have now? Ten? Twenty?"
My silence was her answer. The truth was, I hadn't written anything good in months. Every time I sat down to write, all I could think about was how tired Belle looked when she came home from work. How she never grumbled, even when I knew she was hungry because she'd given me the last of the food.
The guilt was eating me alive.
"Belle's holding you back," Talia continued. "You could be so much more with someone who understands desire. Someone who has connections in the literary world."
My head snapped up. "You know people in publishing?"
Talia smiled like a cat who caught a mouse. "My father owns a small publishing business. I could introduce you. But only if you stop wasting time with that girl."
My heart started racing. A real chance to get published? This could change everything. All my dreams could finally come true.
But then I thought about Belle's face this morning. How excited she'd looked when she kissed me goodbye. Today was our anniversary. She probably had something special planned with the little money she'd saved.
"I can't," I said, backing away from Talia. "Belle trusts me. We're supposed to build a future together."
"What future?" Talia snapped. "You'll be thirty soon, Noah. How much longer are you going to play house with some poor girl who can't give you what you need?"
Before I could answer, my broken phone started buzzing against the wall. Belle's ringtone. My chest tensed as I scrambled to answer it.
"Hello?" I said, trying to sound normal.
"Noah? You sound weird. Is everything okay?" Belle's sweet voice made me want to throw up.
I looked at Talia, who was watching me like a hawk. Her message was clear: choose now.
"I'm fine, babe," I lied. "Listen, don't come home until exactly six-fifteen, okay? Not a minute earlier."
"Why six-fifteen? Your text said six. "
Because I need time to get Talia out of here, I thought. Because I'm the worst person living and I need to figure out how to look you in the eye. "Just... trust me. I need more time to set things up. Promise me you won't come early?"
There was something in Belle's voice when she said, "I promise. I love you, Noah."
The words hit me like a punch to the gut. She loved me. Really, truly loved me. And here I was, betraying her on our anniversary.
"Yeah. Me too. See you at six-fifteen."
I hung up before I could say something stupid. Like the truth.
Talia was smiling again. "Good boy. Now, where were we?"
"This has to stop," I said, but even as the words came out, I knew I didn't mean them. "After today, it's over. I can't keep doing this to Belle."
"Of course it's over after today," Talia agreed too quickly. "Because after today, you'll be with me. Officially."
Something cold settled in my stomach. "What do you mean officially?"
Talia walked to my desk and picked up the paper I'd been working on. My life's work. Two years of writing and editing.
"I already talked to my father about you," she said lightly. "He's very interested in meeting the man I'm dating. The man I might marry."
The room started spinning. "Marry? Talia, I never said anything about marriage. I'm with Belle."
"Are you?" Talia's voice turned ice cold. "Because Belle thinks you're going to propose to her tonight. That's why she's so excited about your anniversary gift."
My blood turned to ice. "How do you know that?"
Talia held up her phone. Text messages. Lots of them. All from Belle.
"She tells me everything, Noah. We're best friends, remember? She's been saving money for weeks to buy you some stupid gift. She thinks tonight is the night you'll finally tell her you love her."
I felt sick. Belle had been texting her best friend about me. About us. About her hopes for our future. And that best friend was here, in our bed, ruining everything.
"You're her best friend," I whispered. "How can you do this to her?"
Talia's mask slipped for just a second, and I saw something ugly underneath. "Belle has always had everything easy. Perfect grades, perfect family, everyone loves her. She doesn't even know how good she has it."
"Easy?" I almost laughed. "Belle works three jobs! She barely sleeps! How is that easy?"
"She chooses to work those jobs," Talia snapped. "She decides to live like this. Some of us don't have choices, Noah. Some of us have to fight for what we want."
There was something in her voice that made my skin crawl. Like she knew something I didn't.
My phone buzzed with a text. From Belle.
"Can't wait to see your gift! I got you something special too. This is going to be the best night of our lives! "
I stared at the heart emoji and wanted to disappear. Belle was probably walking home right now, excited and happy, thinking I loved her the way she loved me.
And in fifteen minutes, she would walk through that door and find me with her best friend.
"I have to tell her," I said suddenly. "I have to call her back and explain before she gets here."
Talia grabbed my arm hard enough to hurt. "If you warn her, I'll make sure you never get published anywhere. My father has friends in every big publishing house in the country."
"You can't—"
"I can and I will." Her grip tightened. "Besides, it's too late now. Look at the time."
I looked at the clock on the wall. Six-fourteen.
Belle would be climbing the stairs right now. She'd put her key in the lock in less than a minute. She'd walk through that door expecting rose petals and candles.
Instead, she'd find the two people she trusted most in the world abandoning her in the worst possible way.
And there was nothing I could do to stop it.
The sound of footsteps echoed in the hallway outside.
Belle was home.