The Truth She Never Saw
Jasmine and Evelyn sat on the patio, engrossed in conversation. Their heads leaned so close together that their foreheads nearly touched above their glasses of cold drinks.
The afternoon sun bathed the garden in a warm glow, creating an atmosphere of peaceful contentment.
Neither woman noticed when the sliding door opened quietly behind them.
Isabella stepped onto the patio without announcing her arrival.
On any other day, the slightest sound from the door would have caught their attention. Today, however, they were too absorbed in their conversation to notice her.
She was about to call out when Jasmine’s expression twisted with disdain.
“You know,” Jasmine scoffed, “I’ve always found it difficult to tolerate her high and mighty attitude. Who does she think she is? Walking around with her nose in the air as though she’s better than everyone else. Even those ridiculous shoulder pads she wears irritate me.”
Isabella froze.
Was Jasmine talking about her?
Evelyn took a sip of her drink before setting the glass down with a chuckle.
“What amazes me most is how gullible she is. She’s always going on about her fans.”
She mimicked Isabella dramatically.
“My fans did this.”
“My fans did that.”
“Honestly, who doesn’t have fans? And who still talks like that these days?”
The two women burst into laughter.
Behind the doorway, Isabella tightened her grip on her handbag until her knuckles turned white.
These were the women she had considered her closest friends.
So why were they speaking about her with such contempt?
Jasmine smirked.
“And the funniest part is that she has absolutely no idea.”
“No idea about what?” Evelyn asked.
Jasmine leaned back in her chair.
“That there’s a man who’s loved her for years.”
Evelyn’s eyes widened.
“What? There’s a man? Who?”
“When did that happen? That silly girl has never had eyes for anyone except her career and those so-called fans.”
A strange feeling settled in Isabella’s chest.
A man loved her?
Someone loved her, and she knew nothing about it?
For a brief moment, jealousy flickered across Jasmine’s face. Her fingers tightened around her glass before she finally answered.
“Louis.”
The name struck Isabella like a bolt of lightning.
Louis?
Her best friend?
The one person she trusted more than anyone else?
Evelyn stared at Jasmine in disbelief.
“Louis? Isabella’s best friend?”
Jasmine nodded.
“Yes. He’s completely in love with her.”
Isabella felt as though the ground had shifted beneath her feet.
Louis.
How could it be him?
She had always seen him as her safest place, her closest friend. Never once had she imagined that he might be hiding feelings so deep.
Jasmine let out a bitter laugh.
“I’m not denying that Isabella has talent. She does. But that man has been paving the way for her ever since she stepped into this brutal industry.”
She shook her head.
“Look at us. We’ve been here far longer than she has, yet we’ve been reduced to nothing more than B-list models.”
“And in less than five years, she’s already walking international runways.”
Jasmine’s lips twisted.
“It would be a lie to say I’m not jealous.”
The bitterness in her voice was unmistakable.
Isabella instinctively stepped backward.
Her heel struck the tiled floor.
Clack.
The sound echoed across the patio.
Both women fell silent.
Evelyn frowned.
“Did you hear that?”
Jasmine glanced toward the house before shrugging.
“It must be one of the cleaners.”
“It better be,” Evelyn muttered. “I can’t imagine Isabella overhearing everything we’ve just said.”
Jasmine laughed.
“Relax. She doesn’t know a thing.”
She took another sip of her drink.
“You remember Comfortaire? The international cosmetics brand that shot her to fame?”
Evelyn nodded.
“I recently overheard Charles talking about it,” Jasmine continued. “He said Louis was the one who convinced them to give Isabella a chance.”
Evelyn’s expression changed.
“Louis did that?”
“I don’t know how much of it is true,” Jasmine admitted. “But from everything I’ve seen, that man has been doing things for her behind the scenes for years.”
She shook her head.
“And the funniest part? He refuses to tell her. He’d rather love her in silence.”
Isabella could no longer hear the rest of their conversation.
Her ears rang as the realization settled over her.
Louis had been helping her all this time?
Every memory of him came rushing back.
The way he always appeared whenever she needed help.
The way he patiently listened whenever she talked about another man.
The way he smiled even when she unknowingly gave him another reason to hide his feelings.
She had mistaken his devotion for ordinary friendship.
How blind had she been?
Without another thought, Isabella turned and ran.
She rushed out of the apartment, struggling to catch her breath. Tears blurred her vision as she stumbled toward her car.
She had to see Louis.
Now.
She needed him to deny everything.
Or tell her it was true.
Her trembling fingers turned the ignition, and she pulled onto the road.
Fresh tears streamed down her cheeks.
How many times had she excitedly told him about another man?
How many times had she unknowingly broken his heart?
“I’m sorry…”
The whisper barely escaped her lips.
She tightened her grip on the steering wheel, her thoughts spiraling.
Louis.
Louis.
Louis.
A deafening horn pierced the air.
She looked up.
A truck was hurtling straight toward her.
Panic surged through her as she jerked the steering wheel.
Too late.
The collision came with a deafening crash.
Metal twisted. Glass shattered. The world spun around her.
Then everything went still.
She could no longer feel anything.
Only regret remained.
Louis…
If only I had known sooner.
If only I had one more chance.
Darkness swallowed her whole.
