Chapter 3 Secrets in the Dark

Nandi lay awake, her ceiling fan clicking in the quiet of the night like a relentless metronome counting her guilt. The taste of Ben still lingered on her lips, bittersweet, dangerous. It was absurd, she, a woman who had always preached discipline, integrity, and self-restraint, now entangled in the kind of affair that novels warned against and society condemned. Worse, he wasn't just anyone. He was her student.

She pressed the heels of her palms against her eyes. God, what am I doing?

Ben's voice came back to her, low, magnetic, trembling when he whispered her name in the shadows of her office that afternoon. His hand had brushed hers, tentative, until she closed the distance herself. That kiss was fire, rebellion, desperation, all at once. And now, every time she saw him in her class, the knowledge of what they had done flared between them like a torch no one else could see.

But guilt was louder than desire in the stillness of her room. Guilt over betraying her marriage, guilt over risking her career, and an even heavier guilt that she couldn't yet name-like the dread of a storm gathering on the horizon.

The next morning, Nandi carried her guilt like a second skin as she walked through the school corridors. She tried to steady her breathing when Ben approached her after class, his eyes shadowed with a mixture of longing and fear.

"Professor," he said softly, glancing around to make sure no one was listening. "We need to talk."

"No," she cut him off, her tone sharper than intended. "Not here. Not now."

He flinched, hurt flashing across his face. "So that's it? We just pretend?"

She gripped her books tighter, her knuckles whitening. "We have to." Her voice cracked on the last word.

But as she turned to leave, she caught the faintest trace of his cologne, and it unraveled her resolve all over again.

While Nandi drowned in her secret, the city buzzed with the aftershock of Camila's sudden death. Whispers of suicide traveled fast, but whispers had a way of growing teeth. Questions spread like wildfire. Why would a girl with so much ahead of her choose death? Who had pushed her to the edge?

Detectives from the city's homicide unit moved through the neighborhood like wolves scenting blood. Officially, the case was "under investigation," but unofficially, rumors were already circling: Camila hadn't just taken her own life. Someone had helped her fall.

And Vincenzo Mahati-the brother of Judge Mahati-wasn't one to let rumors lie.

Vincenzo had the restless eyes of a man who mistrusted peace. He was sharp, calculating, his silence heavier than most men's threats. Where Judge Mahati was polished, charismatic, and political, Vincenzo was raw steel-direct, intimidating, and unforgiving.

It wasn't grief alone that drove him; it was instinct. And his instincts told him that Nandi knew more than she was letting on.

The trail began with Ben.

Vincenzo's contacts pulled records, an absent father, a mother lost to illness, and a childhood carved by tragedy. Ben had lived more life than his years allowed, and his scars showed. Camila had once been close to him, too close. Rumors at school suggested late-night study sessions, secret meetups. But then Camila turned cold, distant. Within weeks, she was gone.

Why?

Vincenzo lit a cigarette in his car, staring at the school's iron gates. If Ben was the common thread, then Nandi was the needle weaving it all together. Vincenzo had seen the way she glanced at Ben during Camila's funeral-the flicker of recognition, of something unspoken. It was quick, but for a man like him, quick was enough.

He narrowed his eyes. She's hiding something.

That night, Nandi sat at her dining table across from Judge Mahati, trying to mask her spiraling thoughts. He poured them both glasses of red wine, his smile practiced, his words gentle.

"To another year with you, my love," he said, raising his glass.

She forced a smile. "To us."

But the toast felt hollow.

He leaned back, eyes gleaming.

You deserved to be celebrated, you've been so supportive... I thought maybe we could have a family dinner

Nandi's stomach knotted. She was shocked.

After the drink, they both went to bed. Everything was silent like it's always been.

The following morning, Nandi packed her bag preparing to go to work. On getting to class, she noticed Ben was not in, so she took the class without thinking too much about him.

After class, she tried reaching out to Ben, to know why he wasn't in class, that was when her assistant told her he wants to drop out.

Nandi put a call through to Ben, to ask him what is wrong and why he decided to drop out. Ben didn't pick up his call. So Nandi was worried and had to go to his autoshop to talk to him. Getting there, she had that feeling again, the same one she had the first day they met, and it happened againNandi felt relieved and happy again forgotten about the family dinner they had planned.

As she checked the time, she had to rush down to her house. On getting there, ghrre was no one at home, so she just get dressed and waited.

Her phone rang, it was her daughter calling g for for help to come pick her up somewhere, but it wasn't really an help, there were just trying to get her to the place prepared for the wedding anniversary. It was a surprise.

Her plan all along was to end things with her husband that night.