Chapter 5 Defending the Unseen

Liana sat at her desk, the fluorescent lights overhead humming softly, casting a sterile glow over her carefully organized workspace. Around her, the office buzzed with the steady rhythm of phones ringing, keyboards clicking, and hushed conversations. But for Liana, the noise felt distant-as if it belonged to another world. Her mind was elsewhere, tangled in the growing unease that had settled like a stone in her stomach.

Ryan's behavior was changing.

She tried to dismiss the feeling every time it rose, pushing it down beneath layers of logic and hope. Because Ryan-her fiancé-was perfect on paper. Brilliant, ambitious, charming. The kind of man who could sweep you off your feet and promise forever. She wanted to believe in it forever. Maybe she was just being paranoid.

But last week, when she stopped by his apartment unexpectedly, she'd caught him mid-conversation on the phone, his tone sharp and secretive. When he noticed her, the smile he flashed was too quick, too practiced, and his eyes darted away in a way that didn't sit right with her.

She hadn't confronted him then. Not yet. Tonight, she glanced at her phone. A text from Ryan popped up: Working late. Don't wait up.

Again. That was becoming routine.

Liana's fingers hovered over the keyboard before she typed back, Okay. Hope everything's alright.

No reply.

Her breath hitched. Was it the late nights? The growing distance? Or something else-something she refused to admit?

Her phone buzzed again, this time an incoming call. It was her best friend, Marissa.

"Liana? Hey, you alright?" Marissa's voice was warm but tinged with concern.

"I'm fine," Liana lied quickly, forcing a smile she knew Marissa couldn't see. "Just tired."

"Come on, spill it. You don't look fine."

Liana sighed, leaning back in her chair. "It's Ryan. I don't know... something's off. He's been distant, and secretive. I caught him on the phone the other day, and he seemed... different."

Marissa paused. "Have you talked to him about it?"

"I want to," Liana admitted. "But every time I try, he brushes me off. I don't want to be that girlfriend who's paranoid and nagging, you know?"

"Sometimes, though, that paranoia has a cause,"

Marissa said gently. "Trust your instincts, Lia."

Liana bit her lip. Instincts had gotten her this far. But could she risk facing a truth she wasn't ready to accept?

Later that evening, Liana sat curled on her couch in the dim light of her apartment, a glass of wine half-forgotten in her hand. The silence felt heavier than usual.

Her phone vibrated again. Another message from Ryan: Dinner tomorrow?

Her heart ached with the mixture of hope and suspicion. She typed back: Sure.

As the night deepened, she tried to focus on the spreadsheets and reports she'd brought home. But her eyes kept drifting to the phone, to the shadows outside her window, to the space where Ryan used to be so present and warm.

The next morning, her doubts grew.

At work, she noticed Ryan's name popping up in strange places. Emails addressed to him but forwarded to her. Whispers in the office about meetings he'd missed. And then, a conversation overheard near the coffee machine that froze her blood.

"He's been seen with another woman downtown," a colleague whispered to another. "I don't know if it's serious, but... well, you know how Ryan is."

Liana's pulse quickened. Her hands clenched into fists.

She wanted to shout, to ask, to confront-but she held back. Instead, she buried herself deeper into her work.

That evening, Ryan was late again.

The hours ticked by, the silence in her apartment growing unbearable. She scrolled through her phone, searching for clues, piecing together fragments of a puzzle she wished didn't exist.

Then, a notification-a tagged photo on social media. Ryan, arm around a woman, laughing like they shared a secret joke. The image blurred, but the context was clear.

Liana's breath hitched. She stared at the screen, disbelief and pain colliding in her chest.

How had she defended him for so long?

She remembered the nights she had stayed up, comforting him after long days, the compromises she'd made, the quiet sacrifices swallowed in the name of love.

But this? This was a betrayal.

The next morning, she confronted him. Ryan's apartment felt colder than she remembered. The sunlight filtering through the blinds failed to warm the room. She stood at the doorway, clutching her phone, her voice steady but trembling underneath.

"Ryan, we need to talk."

He looked up from his laptop, surprised but quickly masking it with a smile.

"Hey, Lia. You look tense. Work stressing you out?"

"Don't play games," she said, stepping inside. "I saw the photo. The one with the woman downtown."

Ryan's smile faltered. He rubbed the back of his neck, avoiding her gaze.

"It's not what you think," he said quickly.

Liana's eyes narrowed. "Then explain it."

He sighed, running a hand through his hair. "Look, it's complicated. She's just a colleague. It meant nothing."

"Nothing?" Her voice rose. "You lied to me. You've been distant and secretive, and now this?"

Ryan stood, closing the laptop with a decisive click.

"Lia, you're blowing this out of proportion." "No," she said firmly, stepping closer. "I'm seeing what's been there all along. The control, the secrets. The way you isolate me from my friends, from my work."

Ryan's expression hardened. "You don't understand me. I'm doing this for us."

"For us?" Liana shook her head, tears threatening to spill. "You're doing it for yourself." The room fell silent except for the faint hum of the air conditioner.

She realized then how far she'd come. The walls she'd built around her heart were cracking, but they were still standing. She wasn't the same woman who ignored the signs. She could see the shadows now.

"I can't do this," she whispered.

Ryan's jaw clenched. "Fine. If you're going to be like this..."

She didn't wait for him to finish. She turned and walked out, her heart heavy but her steps sure.

Back at her apartment, Liana sank onto the couch, feeling the weight of grief settle over her. It wasn't just the loss of Ryan-it was the loss of the future she had believed in.

Her phone buzzed again. This time, it was a message from Marissa.

You're stronger than you think. Don't let him dim your light.

Liana smiled faintly. Maybe she was stronger. Maybe she could rebuild.

Logic would be her shield now. Ambition her armor.

But deep inside, a small, unspoken part of her whispered that perhaps, someday, she could learn to trust again.