Chapter 6: The Best Man’s Confession
I stared at Dylan’s message until the words stopped looking like words.
*Nia, I need to tell you what Marcus did.*
Fourteen years of friendship.
Fourteen years of knowing Dylan.
He was the person Marcus called when he needed advice.
The person who stood beside him at our wedding.
The person who gave the speech about how lucky Marcus was to find “a woman who made him want to become better.””
I remembered that sentence.
I remembered smiling.
I remembered believing every word.
Now those memories felt like a performance I didn’t know I was watching.
Marcus saw the name on my screen.
His face changed instantly.
“No.””
The way he said it made my hand tighten around my phone.
Not confusion.
Not surprise.
Fear.
“You don’t get to tell me who I can talk to.””
“Nia, please.””
I looked at him.
“Why?””
He didn’t answer.
“Why are you afraid of Dylan talking to me?””
Marcus ran a hand through his hair.
“Because he doesn’t know everything.””
I laughed quietly.
“Neither did I.””
That hit him.
Good.
I wanted him to feel even a fraction of what I had been feeling all night.
Claire stepped back inside from the balcony.
She looked between us.
“What happened?””
I held up my phone.
“Dylan wants to tell me what Marcus did.””
Claire stared at Marcus.
Her expression changed.
“Your best friend?””
Marcus looked away.
That was enough.
Claire noticed.
“You knew.””
Marcus didn’t respond.
“You knew he knew something.””
Silence.
She shook her head.
“This just keeps getting worse.””
I opened the message again.
My fingers hovered over the keyboard.
Before I could respond, Marcus spoke.
“Nia, don’t meet him alone.””
I looked up.
“Why?””
“He’s angry.””
“At you?””
“Yes.””
I almost smiled.
“That’s supposed to make me trust him less?””
Marcus looked frustrated.
“I’m saying he has his own reasons.””
“Everyone has reasons, Marcus.””
I walked toward the door.
“Your reasons got me here.””
He stepped in front of me.
“Nia.””
I stopped.
“Move.””
“I’m trying to protect you.””
The words were so familiar.
Too familiar.
I looked at him.
“No.””
His face fell.
“You’re trying to protect yourself.””
He opened his mouth.
Nothing came out.
Because this time, he couldn’t convince me otherwise.
I stepped around him.
Behind me, Claire said quietly:
“Let her go.””
Marcus looked at her.
“You’re taking her side?””
Claire stared at him.
“There are no sides anymore.””
Her voice was calm.
“There’s just the truth.””
Dylan chose a small coffee shop twenty minutes away from my apartment.
Somewhere public.
Somewhere neutral.
Somewhere Marcus couldn’t control the conversation.
I arrived early.
I didn’t know why.
Maybe because I was afraid he wouldn’t come.
Maybe because a part of me was still trying to wake up from a nightmare.
Five minutes later, Dylan walked in.
He looked exhausted.
Older than I remembered.
He saw me and immediately stopped.
“Nia.””
I stood.
“Dylan.””
He looked uncomfortable.
“I’m sorry.””
I didn’t sit down.
“For what?””
He looked down.
“For knowing.””
The honesty surprised me.
I sat slowly.
“What did you know?””
Dylan took the chair across from me.
The silence between us felt heavy.
“I knew about Lauren.””
My chest tightened.
“Start there.””
He nodded.
“Marcus told me about her before the wedding.””
I stared.
“You knew?””
“Yes.””
“And you still stood beside him?””
His face dropped.
“I was wrong.””
I waited.
Because apologies were easy.
Truth was harder.
“I should have told you.””
“Yes.””
“I know.””
“No, Dylan.””
My voice sharpened.
“You don’t know.””
He looked at me.
“You were there.””
I swallowed.
“You watched me marry him.””
His eyes filled with regret.
“You’re right.””
The fact that he admitted it almost hurt more.
“I spent years thinking you were my friend too.””
“I am your friend.””
“No.””
I shook my head.
“A friend doesn’t let someone walk into a marriage with missing information.””
Dylan looked away.
“I was scared.””
I almost laughed.
Everyone was scared.
Everyone had a reason.
Everyone except me.
“Scared of what?””
“That Marcus would destroy his life.””
I stared at him.
“So you protected him.””
“Yes.””
“And who protected me?””
He didn’t answer.
Because there was no answer.
I looked out the window.
Cars passed on the street.
People walked by carrying coffee.
The world continued like mine hadn’t just collapsed.
“What happened with Lauren?””
Dylan sighed.
“After Marcus told her he was marrying you, she showed up at the rehearsal dinner.””
I frowned.
“Rehearsal dinner?””
“Yes.””
“I thought she wasn’t invited.””
“She wasn’t.””
My stomach twisted.
“What did she want?””
“To stop the wedding.””
I stared at him.
“Why didn’t she?””
Dylan looked at his hands.
“Because Marcus convinced her to leave.””
“How?””
He hesitated.
Then:
“He paid her.””
The room went silent.
I felt cold.
“He paid her?””
“Yes.””
“How much?””
“Twenty thousand.””
My fingers tightened around my cup.
Another payment.
Another secret.
Another piece of my life Marcus had hidden.
“Where did the money come from?””
Dylan looked at me.
“You already know.””
The answer hit me.
Our account.
My account.
The money he later replaced with lies and excuses.
I shook my head slowly.
“So the money he gave Evan…”
“Wasn’t the first time he took from you.””
My eyes closed.
The pain was almost physical.
“How much did you know?””
Dylan looked miserable.
“Not everything.””
“But enough.””
“Yes.””
I looked at him.
“Why tell me now?””
He was quiet.
Then he pulled out his phone.
“I received something yesterday.””
He placed it on the table.
A screenshot.
An email.
My eyes moved across the screen.
The sender was Lauren.
The message was short.
*I can’t stay quiet anymore. He’s doing it again.*
I looked up.
“Doing what again?””
Dylan’s expression changed.
“He’s been repeating the same pattern.””
“What pattern?””
Dylan leaned forward.
“Marcus doesn’t leave people.””
I frowned.
“What?””
“He collects them.””
The words made my skin crawl.
“He keeps everyone close. Everyone useful.””
I stared.
“He doesn’t like being alone.””
Dylan continued.
“So instead of choosing, he builds backup plans.””
I thought about Claire.
The apartment key.
The second life.
The money.
The lies.
Dylan tapped the screen.
“Lauren was one.””
He looked at me.
“Claire was another.””
My stomach turned.
“And me?””
Dylan looked down.
“You were the foundation.””
The sentence hurt more than I expected.
Because it was true.
I was the stable part.
The person who stayed.
The person who believed.
The person he thought would always be there.
“What does Lauren mean by ‘doing it again’?””
Dylan hesitated.
Then he reached into his bag.
He pulled out a folder.
My heart sank.
Another folder.
Another secret.
“What is that?””
“Documents.””
“About what?””
He pushed it toward me.
“About Marcus’s plan.””
I opened it.
The first page was a copy of a legal document.
My name.
Marcus’s name.
And a date.
A date six months before I found Claire.
I looked at Dylan.
“What am I looking at?””
His voice was quiet.
“The reason Marcus needed your signature.””
I flipped the page.
Then the next.
And slowly, the truth began forming.
The fake signature.
The transferred money.
The hidden accounts.
They weren’t random.
They were preparation.
For something.
I looked at Dylan.
“What was Marcus planning?””
Dylan took a deep breath.
Then he said:
“He wasn’t preparing to leave you.””
I waited.
“He was preparing to make sure you couldn’t leave him.””
The words froze me.
“What does that mean?””
Dylan looked directly into my eyes.
“It means Marcus knew you were getting close to discovering the truth.””
My heartbeat increased.
“And?””
“And he had already started making a plan to make you look unstable.””
I stared.
“No.””
Dylan nodded.
“Yes.””
He pushed one final paper toward me.
A report.
With my name on it.
And a date from two weeks earlier.
My hands started shaking.
Because at the bottom of the page was a statement I never made.
A statement claiming I had been experiencing emotional problems.
A statement claiming I was becoming paranoid.
A statement claiming I was no longer capable of making financial decisions.
I looked up.
“Who wrote this?””
Dylan’s face went pale.
“Marcus.””
My breath caught.
“He was building a case against me?””
Dylan didn’t answer.
He didn’t have to.
Because I finally understood.
Marcus wasn’t just hiding a second relationship.
He was preparing a way to make me the villain in my own life.
My phone suddenly rang.
I looked down.
The caller ID appeared.
*Marcus Reed.*
I stared at the name.
Then answered.
“Hello?””
For several seconds, there was only silence.
Then Marcus spoke.
His voice was low.
Broken.
“Nia…”
I said nothing.
“I need you to come home.””
My grip tightened around the phone.
“Why?””
Another pause.
Then:
“Because Lauren is at the apartment.””
My blood ran cold.
“What?””
Marcus’s voice shook.
“And she brought proof.””
The line went silent.
May you like
Then he whispered:
“Proof that I’ve been lying to you since the day we met.””
