Chapter 2: The Secret Behind the Smile
I spent the entire drive home staring out the passenger window, watching the city blur into meaningless streaks of gray and gold.
Nolan drove in silence.
That was almost worse than if he had been angry.
My brother was never the type to fill empty space with pointless words. When we were children, he was the one who could sit beside me for hours after a nightmare and say nothing, because somehow his silence always made me feel safe.
But that night, his silence felt like a locked door.
A door I desperately wanted him to open.
I held my phone in my lap, staring at the last message Derek had sent me.
*Hope Nolan’s flight went well. Sorry I couldn’t be there. Call me when you get home ❤️*
The little heart at the end almost made me throw up.
How could someone type those words while holding another woman?
How could someone say “I love you” and then kiss someone else under airport lights?
My thumb hovered over his name.
Call him.
Demand answers.
Scream.
Anything.
But Nolan’s voice echoed in my head.
Trust me for twenty-four hours.
I hated that I wanted to trust him.
Because trusting Nolan meant admitting I didn’t know the man I was supposed to marry.
When we reached my apartment building, Nolan turned off the engine but didn’t immediately get out.
The streetlights reflected across the windshield.
“Emily.””
I looked at him.
“What?””
“Before we go upstairs, I need you to promise me something.””
I laughed bitterly.
“Another secret?””
His expression tightened.
“Yes.””
I looked away.
“Do you know how crazy that sounds? My fiancé just betrayed me, my best friend lied to me, and now my brother is asking me to keep secrets?””
Nolan didn’t argue.
That somehow hurt more.
“Say what you need to say,” I whispered.
He took a slow breath.
“Do not contact Derek tonight.””
My eyes snapped back to him.
“What?””
“Don’t call him. Don’t text him. Don’t ask where he is. Don’t let him know you saw anything.””
“You’re asking me to pretend?””
“Yes.””
“For what?””
Nolan looked at me carefully.
“Because Derek believes he is in control.””
The words made my stomach twist.
“And you’re saying he’s not?””
“No.””
The certainty in his voice was frightening.
“He has no idea what he just walked into.””
I stared at him.
“Nolan, what does that mean?””
He opened the car door.
“Come upstairs.””
That was not an answer.
But somehow, I followed him.
My apartment had never felt so unfamiliar.
The photographs on the wall.
The flowers Derek had brought me last week.
The white dress hanging in my closet for a wedding that suddenly felt like a joke.
Everything around me belonged to a future that no longer existed.
I walked into the kitchen and saw two wine glasses sitting in the cabinet.
Derek and I had bought them together.
A stupid little thing.
A pair of matching glasses from a weekend trip.
I reached for one.
Then I stopped.
Because I remembered Clara laughing when she saw them.
“You two are disgustingly cute. I’m honestly jealous.””
The memory burned.
Nolan stood near the dining table, watching me.
“Tell me everything.””
I looked at him.
“What?””
“Everything about Derek. When you met. How you met. What changed recently.””
I frowned.
“Why?””
“Because I need to understand the timeline.””
“The timeline?””
“Yes.””
I folded my arms.
“Nolan, are you investigating my fiancé?””
He didn’t answer immediately.
That was my answer.
My heart sank.
“How long have you known something was wrong?””
Silence.
Then:
“Three weeks.””
I felt like the floor moved beneath me.
“Three weeks?””
“Yes.””
“You knew?””
“I suspected.””
“And you didn’t tell me?””
His face changed.
Pain crossed his eyes.
“I wanted proof.””
“Proof?””
My voice rose.
“I was planning a wedding with someone who was cheating on me, and you wanted proof?””
“Emily—”
“No.””
I stepped back.
“I need you to understand something. I didn’t just lose a fiancé today.””
My voice broke.
“I lost my best friend too.””
Nolan lowered his eyes.
“I know.””
“No, you don’t.””
The words came out harsher than I intended.
But I couldn’t stop.
“You don’t know what it feels like to look at someone you love and realize every memory might have been fake.””
Nolan stayed quiet.
Then he walked to the table and placed his phone down.
“There’s something you need to see.””
I hesitated.
“What is it?””
“Derek’s company records.””
I frowned.
“What does his company have to do with this?””
“Everything.””
He unlocked his phone and opened a folder.
Documents.
Emails.
Financial reports.
My confusion slowly turned into disbelief.
“Why do you have these?””
“Because Derek isn’t just a cheating fiancé.””
I looked at him.
“What is he?””
Nolan slid the phone across the table.
“Someone who has been lying about who he is.””
I picked up the phone.
The first document was a financial statement.
The second was a transfer record.
The third was an email chain.
My eyes moved across the screen.
Then stopped.
A name appeared.
*Derek Hale.*
Underneath it:
*Unauthorized transfer request.*
My hands went cold.
“What is this?””
Nolan leaned against the chair.
“Six months ago, I started noticing unusual activity involving one of my investment partners.””
I looked up.
“Your investment partners?””
“Yes.””
“You mean Derek?””
Nolan nodded.
I stared at him.
“That doesn’t make sense. Derek works in marketing.””
“According to him.””
My fingers tightened around the phone.
“What are you saying?””
“I’m saying Derek has been pretending to be far less successful than he actually is.””
I blinked.
“That’s impossible.””
“No, it’s intentional.””
My heart pounded.
“Why?””
Nolan looked at the wedding invitation sitting on my counter.
My name.
Derek’s name.
Together.
“Because marrying you would give him access to something much bigger.””
A cold wave moved through me.
“What?””
Nolan didn’t answer right away.
He walked toward the window.
Outside, the city continued like nothing had happened.
People laughed.
Cars moved.
The world kept turning.
But mine had stopped.
“Emily, when Dad passed away, do you remember what he left you?””
I frowned.
“His company shares?””
“Not just shares.””
I looked at him.
“The trust.””
Nolan nodded.
My throat tightened.
I hated where this conversation was going.
“When you turn thirty, the controlling interest transfers fully into your name.””
I stared at him.
I knew that.
But I had never cared about it.
My father’s company had always been some distant thing handled by lawyers.
A responsibility for the future.
Not something connected to my personal life.
“Derek knew?””
“Yes.””
“How?””
Nolan’s jaw tightened.
“That’s what I’m still proving.””
I slowly lowered the phone.
“So you think he planned this?””
“I think Derek didn’t fall in love with you by accident.””
The sentence shattered something inside me.
“No.””
It came out as a whisper.
“No, you’re wrong.””
Nolan looked at me sadly.
“Emily—”
“He loved me.””
My voice shook.
“He was there when I was sick. He stayed with me after Dad died. He helped me rebuild my life.””
“Did he?””
I froze.
Nolan opened another file.
A photograph appeared.
Derek.
At a restaurant.
With a man I didn’t recognize.
The date was two years ago.
Before Derek and I officially met.
My eyebrows pulled together.
“Who is that?””
Nolan stared at the image.
“Someone connected to Clara’s family.””
My stomach dropped.
“Clara?””
“Yes.””
I shook my head.
“No.””
The room felt smaller.
“You’re telling me Derek and Clara…”
“I’m telling you there are connections you don’t know about.””
I looked at the photo again.
A horrible thought entered my mind.
“How long?””
Nolan’s expression hardened.
“I don’t know.””
“Then find out.””
The words surprised even me.
But they were real.
I was done being the person everyone protected with half-truths.
Nolan nodded slowly.
“That’s what I’ve been doing.””
A notification suddenly appeared on his phone.
His eyes moved to the screen.
The calm expression disappeared.
Only for a second.
But I noticed.
“What happened?””
He didn’t answer.
“Nolan.””
He turned the phone toward me.
It was an email.
No subject.
Only one sentence.
*They know someone saw them at the airport.*
My blood turned cold.
“What does that mean?””
Nolan grabbed his phone.
“Stay inside tonight.””
I stared at him.
“Why?””
Because suddenly, for the first time, he looked worried.
Not angry.
Not confident.
Worried.
“Because if they know you saw them…”
He stopped.
“What?””
Nolan looked toward the apartment door.
And then came a sound that made both of us freeze.
Three slow knocks.
Not a neighbor.
Not a delivery person.
Someone who knew exactly where I lived.
Nolan’s eyes narrowed.
“Emily.””
My heart raced.
“What?””
“Do not open that door.””
The knocking came again.
Three times.
Slow.
Patient.
Like whoever stood outside knew we were listening.
Then my phone lit up.
A message appeared from an unknown number.
One sentence.
May you like
One that made my blood run cold.
*You should have stayed at the airport.*
