Mirabelle’s POV:
The silence in the study was oddly soothing as I sat at my desk, trying to push aside the thoughts of last night’s argument.
I’d spent hours thinking about Noah, replaying his gestures and words over and over in my mind.
The flowers, the apology, the effort to make things right… They all seemed genuine, but then my mind returned to the nagging question that refused to let her rest- why can’t he call off the partnership with her, if he’s truly sorry?
My phone buzzed, and for a moment, I thought nothing of it. But when the notification flashed on the screen, my stomach twisted.
Entertainment News: CEO Caught on Late-Night Outing with Model.
Without even thinking, my finger hovered over the headline. A click. And then-there it was. A photo of Noah and Natasha.
The image was grainy, taken in the dim light of a bar, their faces were close, heads bent toward one another. They looked… intimate, as if they were about to…
My breath hitched.
I had seen the photo before I even realized what I was doing. I already begun to feel that sharp, stabbing ache in my chest. Betrayal. That was the only word that could fit.
I’d been ready to forgive him after what happened last night. Ready to believe that maybe, just maybe, he was trying to make things right. And now this.
My fingers trembled as I read the article, but it didn’t offer any explanation, just more speculation about the closeness of the two. The words blurred together. Noah. Natasha. Together. Again. Last night.
I gripped the phone harder, my knuckles turning white. This wasn’t a misunderstanding. This wasn’t just another rumor. This was real. And Noah had been with her last night, claiming he wanted me back, all while he went back to Natasha.
I should have seen this coming. How many times would I be disappointed already? How many more times?
He had chosen to be with Natasha, just like Ken had also chosen to be with Mitchelle. Am I just some fool to them? Am I only worth their time when it was convenient?
My heart hurt deeply as I stared at the photo one more time. The image felt like a knife to my chest.
The door to my study creaked open, and Jamie, stepped in. Jamie could tell something was off with the way I was sitting there, staring at my phone with a grim expression.
“Is everything okay, Miss Mirabelle?” She asked softly.
I blinked rapidly, forcing myself to look away from the screen. “I-” I swallowed hard, my throat suddenly dry and tight. “I don’t know.”
Jamie stepped closer. “What happened?”
I hesitated for a moment before showing her the photo on the phone. “This,” I said, my voice cracking. “This is what I just found.”
Her eyes widened, and she took a step back, clearly shocked. “Miss Mirabelle, I… I don’t know what to say.”
I leaned back in the chair I sat on, my head spinning. “What am I supposed to do about this, Jamie?”
Jamie hesitated. “Maybe you should let him know how this is affecting you. Also, I have a feeling that this is just a rumor, he doesn’t look like the type of a man to do such a thing.”
Her words struck a chord within me as I was still trying to hold back the tears that was threatening to spill over. I nodded slowly. “Have you taken the kids to school already?” I asked and she nodded.
After sitting around for a while, I left the study. I found Grandpa Edward in the sitting room, he was reading a newspaper when he looked up. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost,” He said, gently setting the paper aside.
I sank into the chair across from him, my fingers digging into the armrests. “I think I’ve just realized how blind I’ve been.”
He leaned forward. “What happened?” He asked.
I hesitated but then spilled the story-everything. The photos. I told him everything, too exhausted to keep any of it inside anymore and he listened intently, not interrupting.
When I finished, he sighed deeply, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. “Mirabelle, my dear, I can’t tell you what to do. But I can tell you this: No one, not even Noah, deserves your trust if they haven’t earned it. And trust, once broken, is not easily repaired.” He began. “But that’s only if your trust was actually broken in the first place. Noah already told me everything that happened, although he was careless. He didn’t mean to hurt you and he definitely didn’t do anything with Natasha. I don’t know about this recent picture of a thing but I am sure that the first one was actually a misunderstanding.”
Before I could respond, my phone buzzed again. This time, it wasn’t a notification. It was a message-an anonymous one.
“If you want the truth about Noah and Natasha, meet me tonight. Don’t tell anyone.”
My mind raced as I stared at the message. Every part of me told me to ignore it, that it was probably just some cruel prank. But the other part of me-the part that was broken and desperate for answers, couldn’t resist.
With trembling hands, I typed back. “Where?”
I couldn’t stop my hands from shaking as I buttoned up my coat. “Meet me at the Cafe Rose at five.” The message had said. “If you want to know the truth about Noah and Natasha, don’t tell anyone. Come alone.”
The words had echoed in my mind all day. Part of me wanted to ignore it, pretend I hadn’t seen it, but something in my gut told me I couldn’t. I needed answers. I needed to know what was really going on.
Not from Noah at least.
I needed someone who I could trust not to sugar coat the truth.
I grabbed my purse and headed for the door. Then I climbed into my car, my hands gripped the wheel, my knuckles white, as I drove toward the cafe.
What if it was someone just trying to mess with me? I had no idea who had sent that message, but the idea of confronting the truth felt good.
By the time I pulled into the parking lot of Cafe Rose, my nerves were a tangled mess. The cafe was nestled on a quiet corner. As I stepped out of the car, I felt my breath catch in my throat.
Inside, the cafe was dimly lit, cozy, with a soft jazz tune playing in the background. It was nearly empty, save for a few people scattered across the room.
I scanned the space, my heart pounding in my chest, and there, in the far corner, I saw her. A woman sitting alone, face partially covered by a large scarf. She sat still, almost as if she was waiting for someone, and instinctively, I knew-this was the person I was supposed to meet.