Lana's POV
The house felt different after that night.
Not broken.
Just… fragile.
Like one wrong word could shatter everything.
Leo tried.
I noticed it.
He came home earlier.
He asked if I ate.
He stood a little closer than before.
But something invisible still stood between us.
Trust, once cracked, doesn't fix overnight.
That afternoon, my phone buzzed.
Unknown number.
I almost ignored it.
Almost.
"Hello?"
A soft chuckle came from the other end.
"Well… if it isn't Lana."
My body went still.
I knew that voice.
"Mick."
The name tasted bitter.
"Miss me?" he asked casually.
"What do you want?"
"Oh, nothing serious," he replied lazily. "Just thought you'd like to know something interesting."
I closed my eyes briefly. "I'm not interested."
"You should be," he said smoothly. "It's about Leo."
My heart betrayed me by reacting.
Silence.
He continued.
"Do you know who he met last night? Around 9:30 PM?"
My mind flashed back.
Leo was home at 10.
"I don't care," I said firmly.
But my fingers tightened around the phone.
Mick laughed softly. "That's cute. Pretending you don't care."
"I'm hanging up."
"Chloe," he said before I could end the call.
My breath caught.
"He met Chloe. Private dinner. Business excuse, of course."
"That's a lie," I said immediately.
"Is it?" Mick's tone darkened. "Check his phone. Or better yet… ask him."
The call ended.
I stood there, frozen.
No.
No.
Leo told me he had meetings.
But not that one.
And Chloe…
Why her?
That night, Leo came home looking exhausted.
He smiled faintly when he saw me.
"Hey."
I stared at him.
"Did you meet Chloe yesterday?"
The question landed sharply.
His expression changed.
Just slightly.
But I saw it.
"Yes," he said.
And just like that…
Everything inside me went cold.