Chapter 9: The Woman He Chose

Three days passed without me hearing from Kostas.

For the first time, I thought he might finally have accepted my decision.

Then Eleni posted a photograph.

It appeared on my social media feed just after lunch.

She was sitting in the passenger seat of Kostas's SUV.

The photograph looked casual, but I recognized the dashboard immediately.

Her head was tilted toward him, and she was smiling at the camera.

The caption said, “Some people always know where they belong.”

I stared at it for several seconds.

Then I noticed the location.

Kostas's apartment.

I closed the app.

I didn't feel jealous.

I felt tired.

Apparently, they had decided to stop pretending.

A few minutes later, my phone rang.

It was my friend Nora.

“Did you see Eleni's post?”

“Yes.”

“Are you okay?”

I looked out the window.

“I'm fine.”

“Romy, you don't sound fine.”

I smiled faintly.

“I'm not heartbroken.”

“I'm just disappointed that I wasted so much time.”

Nora was silent for a moment.

Then she said, “Maybe you didn't waste it.”

“Maybe you learned exactly what you don't want.”

Her words stayed with me long after we ended the call.

That evening, I received another message.

This time it was from Kostas's mother.

“Can we meet?”

I hesitated before agreeing.

We met the following afternoon at a small café near her house.

She looked nervous when she sat across from me.

“I heard you and Kostas are having problems.”

I nodded.

“We're finished.”

She lowered her eyes.

“I was afraid you'd say that.”

I didn't know what to say.

She wrapped both hands around her coffee cup.

“Kostas has always been stubborn.”

“But I've never seen him act like this.”

I looked at her carefully.

“What do you mean?”

She sighed.

“He's been distracted for months.”

“He stopped coming to family dinners.”

“He stopped talking about the future.”

“And every time I asked him what was wrong, he mentioned Eleni.”

My stomach tightened.

“He mentioned her to you?”

She nodded.

“Not directly.”

“But I could tell.”

She paused.

“I asked him once whether there was someone else.”

“He said no.”

I looked down at the table.

Even his mother had suspected.

Everyone had seen something except me.

Or perhaps I had seen it too.

I just hadn't wanted to believe it.

“I'm sorry,” she said.

“For what?”

“For the way you were treated.”

I looked up.

Her eyes were wet.

“You were always kind to this family.”

“You never caused trouble.”

“I wanted you to be my daughter.”

My throat tightened.

“I wanted that too.”

She reached across the table and squeezed my hand.

“Don't go back just because he regrets losing you.”

I nodded.

“I won't.”

When I returned home, there was an envelope waiting beneath my apartment door.

My name was written across the front.

No return address.

I opened it carefully.

Inside was a printed photograph.

It showed Kostas and Eleni at the hot spring resort.

This one was different from Mason's photograph.

They were standing alone beside the resort pool.

Kostas had his arm around Eleni's waist.

On the back of the photograph, someone had written a date.

And beneath it were four words.

“You deserve the truth.”

I turned the photograph over again.

I didn't know who had sent it.

But I knew one thing.

Someone else had known about them.

Someone else had been watching.

I put the photograph beside the other evidence.

Then my phone rang.

It was Kostas.

I almost ignored him.

Instead, I answered.

“What?”

His voice sounded broken.

“Romy, please listen.”

“I'm listening.”

“Eleni and I…”

He stopped.

For several seconds, there was only silence.

Then he said the words I had been waiting to hear.

“It wasn't just that one weekend.”

My hand tightened around the phone.

He continued quietly.

“It started before that.”

I closed my eyes.

Somewhere inside me, the last piece of hope disappeared.

And strangely, I felt relieved.