Evelyn sat at her kitchen table, the invitation firmly gripped in her palm. The weight of the card felt heavier than it should have, dragging her mind back to another time, another existence. She closed her eyes, and the memories filled her.
It had been a summer evening when she and Alexander first met. The air was warm, the city's hum a soothing soundtrack. She had been going along a crowded street when she'd accidentally bumped into him, spilling her coffee all over his immaculate white shirt. "Nice move," he had murmured, the severity in his voice only hiding the enjoyment in his eyes.
She had apologized excessively, but he merely smiled, something about him that made her feel at ease.
"Don't worry about it. " You owe me a coffee," he had said, and from that moment, they had been inseparable. In the beginning, there was a lot of laughter, the type of happiness that occurs when you're so in love that nothing else matters.
They spoke, walked, and shared everything for hours on end. Alexander was everything she had ever wanted: his calm strength, his sharp wit, and the way he made her feel like the most important person in his life.
But those days went as swiftly as they came. Evelyn moved in her seat and tightened her grip on the invitation as another recollection came to mind. She could hear his voice, which was a frigid, clipped whisper.
"I can't let you off the hook for this. You have ruined us. The words rang in her head, cutting through the memories. She had ruined all they had worked so hard to build. She had to pick between him and her family, and in the end, she made the choice that broke them apart.
The memories were a poison in her veins, each syllable a reminder of the treachery, of the decisions that had been made. But she couldn't let go.
Not entirely. Evelyn's hand shook as she put down the invitation. The weight of the past was still heavy on her chest. Her mind went back to the time when everything changed, when she had to choose between love and family.
It all started on a cold, rainy night. She was in her apartment, and Alexander's voice kept coming back to her from earlier that day. He had been aloof and distracted, and she hadn't known why. The screen lit up with her father's name as her phone called. She had always known when his calls weren't for a normal chat.
This was distinctive and urgent. Her father's voice came through the line, harsh with order. "Evelyn, listen to me." "You don't get it," she said. You need to stay away from Alexander since he is playing a hazardous game. Do it for your own good."
She had attempted to resist, to explain that Alexander wasn't like that, that he wasn't a threat. But her father's voice had gotten past her defenses. "You believe you know him? You think you know what he's capable of? Evelyn, you have to choose. Him, or us." Her heart raced, and a dull ache settled deep in her gut. She couldn't get air.
The man she loved, the one she had created a life with, was now the enemy in her father's eyes. "Choose wisely," her father had warned before the line went dead.
The decision had been made for her, even if her heart cried for another route. She had tried to resist, but the pull of family, the loyalty that ran deeper than love, had triumphed. She had left him, destroying both their hearts in one cruel, devastating deed.
Her throat clenched as the image repeated, and the tears she had been holding back now hurt her eyes. She had betrayed him. There was no way to go back from it.
Evelyn's flat was calm, with the sound of the city just beyond her windows. The evening was coming on, and the blinds let in the golden light of the setting sun. She sat at her desk, mindlessly scrolling through a stack of documents. Her thoughts were still stuck in the past.
Her phone rang on the desk, but she ignored it.
Everything felt muffled, as if the world outside had receded into the background. She was still in the tempest of her mind, divided between the past and the present, Alexander's hard glare, and the way her father's voice had plagued her every step since that night.
But suddenly she felt something, something she hadn't felt for years. It felt as if someone was watching her. She stopped, her hand still in the air.
The room was peaceful, but for the occasional automobile horn in the distance. She looked back over her shoulder without thinking, but the area was deserted. The hairs on the back of her neck sprang up, and her heart started to speed.
She resumed her focus on the window, the small mirror of herself staring back at her. It was dark outside, and the alleyway under her building was gloomy too. The lamps made long shadows that looked like they went on forever. Her gaze swept the landscape below, her breath stopping in her throat when she thought she saw something move in the darkness.
A shadow, Evelyn blinked and leaned closer to attempt to figure out what she had seen.
Nothing.
The alley was quiet and deserted, but the feeling of those creepy eyes stayed with her, burrowing beneath her skin. As she stood up and crossed the room to look out through the blinds, her heart raced. There wasn't anyone.
Nothing.
The alley, the street, and the world outside her window were all quiet. But the feeling wouldn't go away. It gnawed at her, like something lurking just out of her grasp. And then, just as she went back to her work, she saw it. a small movement, a flicker of something in the corner of her eye.
She saw a shadow go quickly across the alley, but when she glanced again, the street was still vacant. A cold went down her spine. Someone had been observing her. But who? Evelyn's mind was racing as she walked back to her apartment door. She still felt like someone was watching her.
The city outside appeared quieter now, and the weight of the night was heavy on her chest. The air felt thick, as though the world itself was holding its breath, waiting for something to happen. Her footsteps echoed along the tiny corridor as she fumbled for her keys, the cold metal burning into her palm. She had the unmistakable impression that something was off. It was modest at first, just the tiniest whisper of disquiet, like an itch she couldn't touch.
When she stepped into her flat, the silence that greeted her felt heavier than normal. It wasn't the stillness she was used to that made her feel safe. Not this time. It was a calm that seemed to have been transformed, broken. She walked further inside, and the gentle click of the door closing behind her made her feel uneasy.
It was evident right away that something was awry when she looked around the room. Her usually ordered space appeared out of sync. Small things, little details, had been moved just enough to make her stomach hurt. Her books, piled neatly on the shelf, were now askew.
The kitchen counter, which had been spotless, was now full of things she didn't recall leaving out. She felt a chill run down her spine as she walked across the room, and her heart raced with each step. However, the sight of her son's photo on her desk abruptly halted her. She noticed a picture of her son on her desk.
It was positioned carefully on the center of the desk, the edges of the frame somewhat worn. She hadn't left it there. The picture itself was fine, a picture of her and her son smiling and having fun at a family picnic. But the note, which was scrawled in big, scary letters across the picture, made her blood run cold.
"I know what you're hiding." Her breath hitched, the world contracting to the single, horrifying message before her. Someone had been in her apartment, someone who knew more than they should. The weight of the words struck her suddenly. Her hands shook as she grabbed for the picture, and her mind was racing.
The note was clear. Someone who had left this was watching her. And they knew exactly what she had kept hidden.
Evelyn's fingers tightened around the picture as her mind raced to figure out what was going on. The note and the picture all pointed to something she wasn't ready to deal with. She had always known that her life wasn't as tranquil as it seemed, but this was different. Someone was following her around and watching her in ways she couldn't understand.
The feeling of being watched returned, burrowing beneath her skin once again. Her heart hammered in her chest as she struggled to slow her breathing, every muscle in her body tense with unease. She couldn't stay here, not with this lingering threat hovering over her.
She turned away from the desk, hurrying rapidly to the door. She was trying to piece together the events in her mind. Who had done this? Why? And what did they imply by "I know your secret"? A knock at the door broke through her thoughts, harsh and unexpected.
Evelyn froze, her breath catching in her throat. She didn't think anyone would come. No buddies. No family. The only people who ever came over were folks she had let into her life before, people who knew her too well. The knock came again, louder this time. She swallowed hard, and her instincts told her to remain away from the door.
But she couldn't ignore it.
There was someone out there. Someone was aware. With hesitant steps, she walked toward the door, her hand lingering just above the doorknob. She didn't know what to anticipate.
Maybe her fears were getting the best of her, or maybe she was about to meet whatever danger had been hiding in the shadows. She felt her heart rush as she grabbed the door handle and pulled it open. But there was no one there.
The hallway outside was deserted, the silence overwhelming. Evelyn blinked, her mind scrambling to make sense of what she was witnessing.
Had she imagined the knock?
Was this just another piece of her broken psyche, putting together bits of fear?
A shadow moved in her peripheral vision just as she was about to close the door. It was too fast, and then a figure walked out of the dark hallway. The shadowy figure was tall, with broad shoulders, and stood out in the dark.
Evelyn's breath seized in her throat. She hadn't seen or heard anyone come up to her. The figure moved closer, coming out of the shadows slowly and on purpose. His presence was scary. "You should have stayed away from him." The man's voice was low, rough, and threatening.
His eyes glinted in the dim light, dark and full of truths she wasn't ready to hear. Evelyn's heart raced as the door shook when he came in. She couldn't talk or move.
She was trapped, caught between the person she had once known and the scary unknown standing before her now.