The doorbell rang three times while I was setting the dining table. I looked at the wall clock, it was 8:00 PM sharp. I was not done yet! I looked around me but my husband was not in the living room. Probably still in Clara's room. Last time I saw him, he was trying to put the mini demon to sleep.

"Babe!" I called while going back in the kitchen to bring the wine. "I think they're here, could you please go open the door?"

I heard Samuel's footsteps and later the door opening. I took a quick glance at my reflection on the chrome surface of the fridge doors. My affro bun was not so bad, but the red lipstick I found nice when buying it didn't seem to fit with my dark brown skin anymore. And hell, that sheath dress was showcasing too much of curves! There was no time left to change it, so I would have to go with it. I straightened my dress, took a deep breath and went to meet them in the living room. With a bright smile, I pulled in my arms the gorgeous woman that held the position of my best friend.

"Nina!" I squeezed her tighter. I missed her so much! It has been three years since we last met, and even though we called and chatted almost everyday, it still felt like it's been decades.

I pulled her away to look at her. Nina's brown skin seemed lighter than before, and she dyed her extra short hair in a greyish purple. Her cherry red lips parted in a smile, making her eyes look smaller behind her round glasses. She still had her model figure, beautifully wrapped in a sleeveless electric yellow dress that marked her waist and fell lightly around her hips and towards her ankles. She has been my best friend since college, and I've always been a little jealous of her perfect body.

"As beautiful as ever, huh!" I teased her as we went to sit on the couch.

"Same thing for you," she lightly hit me with her shoulder. "And seems maternity made you glow up!"

A light chuckle escaped my mouth. What would she say if she knew my so-called glow was more due to a tummy control shapewear and an improvised make up? Not that I was not happy with our beautiful Clara, but... Even before the pregnancy I was already self conscious about my not so woauh body, and I gained two more sizes since. Not that I was ugly or anything, but I was no match with Nina. I barely managed to get my ass in that size 46 sheath dress.

Samuel, cleared his throat, and that's when I noticed the man standing next to him. It was a man with short blond hair and dark brown eyes. He was a few centimetres shorter than Samuel, and wearing a black suit on a light blue shirt. His amused smile made me feel so bad. What an awful host I made! I was so happy to see Nina again, I completely forgot about her being accompanied.

"Missa, let me introduce you to James, my fiancé!" Nina stood and slid her hand under his arm. She seemed really happy, and I was happy for her. After years of being single and her family pressuring her to get married and have children, she finally met someone who loved her and agreed to  travel half around the world to meet her family.

"So nice to finally meet you, James!" I stood up and held out a hand that he shook with a bright smile. "And I'm so sorry I didn't welcome you as I should!"

"Don't worry, Missa!" His voice was calm and sweet. "I know you two missed each other, you must have a lot to catch up on."

"And here is my husband Samuel," I moved to stand by his side.

"Welcome, James!" Samuel shook his hand cheerfully. "I'm so happy to finally meet the man who succeeded in catching our Nina's heart!"

"Nice meeting you, Samuel! I heard a lot about you," James sounded colder, but I thought I was mistaken.

For a moment, they stared at each other with what seemed like a defying look from James, it made him look more intimidating than Samuel despite the body shape difference. What was going on? Why was James so hostile towards Samuel when they just met? Or was that a men thing?

"I don't know about you guys, but I'm starving!" Nina interrupted the silent war that was going on between the two men and sent a look at James.

I knew that look. It was the "please don't do that" look. Something was definitely going on, and it seemed I was the only one in the blind. I didn't like being in the blind. Whatever was going on, I had to find out.

We had dinner in a kind of cozy ambience, talking about random things, but I could sense the discomfort between the two men. All along, Nina and I did all the talk. Samuel looked concerned, while James seemed pissed off. They barely opened their mouth. I didn't like the mood, but I didn't know what to do. The ''what's wrong" question would be useless. Whatever was going on, I could sense Samuel and Nina didn't want me to find out. The first was avoiding my gaze, and the other was talking nonstop. She always did that when she didn't want me to ask her something.

"I will go get dessert," I stood up and walked to the kitchen. When I came back, Samuel and Nina were gone.

"Nina needed to use the restroom, Samuel went to show her the way," James answered to my silent question and pointed towards the hallway with his thumb.

I put down the tiramisu and went for the bathroom. There was nobody in the hallway, but as I got closer to our bedroom, I heard whispers. I carefully approached to listen. It was Samuel and Nina.

"Why did you tell him?" Samuel sounded like he wanted to shout. "We agreed to bury it and never ever bring it up!"

"We're getting married, Samuel! And there is nothing I want to hide from him. He won't tell her a thing, if that's what you're concerned about."

"How can you be so certain he won't? Do you see how he looks at me? He doesn't seem to try very hard hiding what he thinks. And I'm certain if Missa was not around I would have already tasted his fist."

"How would you feel if it were you? How would you feel if you met the man... You know what? It's your mess now."

"You're her best friend, it's not only my mess."

"Let's go back before she comes to look for us."

I considered running back before they see me, but then it came to my mind that it was nonsense. Why would I be the one hiding when they obviously were the ones guilty of something? The door opened and Nina walked out first. When she saw me, she jumped in fear. She tried to smile at me, but it was so fake.

"You were here," Nina sounded more like she was asking than stating, probably wondering since when, and what I possibly heard.

Samuel immediately came out of the room, and when he saw me, his beautiful eyes were filled in fear. My gaze went back and forth between them, waiting for someone to say something, but they didn't.

"James said you needed to use the restroom," I narrowed my eyes towards Nina. "So why are you whispering with Samuel in our bedroom?"

"Missa, it's nothing!" Samuel held out his hand to grab me, but I avoided his touch.

I slowly breathed in and out to calm down. Whatever they were hiding, I would find out soon. And I should not get all worked out right now. My baby was sleeping in the room next to us, I didn't want to wake her up.

"Let's go, the dessert is out." I walked around and went back to the table where James was waiting, as if nothing was going on.

For almost ten minutes, the only sounds we could hear in the apartment were the forks clinking against the porcelain plates and the wall clock gears. When I planned tonight's dinner, this is not what I imagined. I wanted it to be cheerful, I wanted to catch up with my best friend after three years living hundreds of kilometres away from each other. So why did it seem like we were closer back when she lived on the other side of the earth?

"Ok, that's enough!" I angrily put my fork down on the table. "What is going on?"

"It's nothing" Samuel replied, covering my hand with his.

"It's not nothing!" I took my hand off his. "You guys are acting like something awful happened and you don't want me to know. But if you didn't want me to know, you should have worked on your acting skills."

I looked at James, and he blushed before looking away. What was it they were hiding and that made someone I just met avoid my gaze? I looked at Nina, she tried again one of her fake smiles, but I didn't buy it. Samuel looked like he was about to fell from a cliff, sweat dripping from his forehead. What was that serious for them to act this way?

"What is going on?" I clenched my fist.

I was trying really hard to remain calm. I never liked ambiguous situations, I don't think anyone does. What could I do for them to tell me what was going on?

"James?" He was the first to act strangely, and he didn't seem really trying to keep it from me, it was probably out of loyalty to Nina. "What is going on? What did Samuel do to get on your bad side on your first encounter?"

"He should tell you" James gave another deadly glare to Samuel. "You should tell her"

"James, please don't!" Nina's voice sounded broken. Her fake smile was gone, and she was about to cry.

"You know she should know," James squeezed her hand. "If you guys really are sorry for what you did, you should tell her before she finds out another way."

Another silence filled the place, heavier than before. Samuel was playing with his ring, Nina was silently crying, and James was trying to comfort her. I was acting cool, but deep inside, I was completely freaked out. My heart was beating like crazy, and hundreds of scenarios were playing in my mind. At this point, I could sense what was going on. And if it really was what I thought it was, I would be devastated. It was something I thought about before. It was one of my biggest fears, another representation of my insecurities.

But until now, it was just a thought. I could be mistaken. And all of a sudden, I didn't want to know anymore. I was not ready to hear that. I would not be able to bear the truth. Wouldn't it be better to live on in the dark? But I was no longer in the dark. The box was unlocked, opening it was unavoidable.

"I will give you guys some intimacy. I'll be waiting in the parking lot," James stood up, kissed Nina on the forehead and left.

A moment later the entrance door closed, and the silence came back. I took a bite of tiramisu, but it had no taste. I pushed the plate away and crossed my arms. Tears were threatening to come down, but I was trying hard to keep them in. If I cried already, what would I do when they say it out loud? I closed my eyes to keep the tears in and breathed slowly, as I was told to do while giving birth. Back then, it helped smoothing the pain.  The real tip was thinking about something else to prevent your mind from focusing on the pain.

So I looked at my nails. They were polished pink and nicely cut. I kept them quite short, because they were not very strong so they tend to break over little things. Just like my heart. I should look for something to strengthen them. Or maybe I should consider using artificial nails? They would be good shields to keep my nails from getting broken.

"I swear it was an accident!" Samuel broke the silence.

The box was now widely open, there was no turning back. And I noticed a crack on one of my nails.

Hello dear Wattpadians, and welcome in my new little baby!🤗🤗

This story is written for the Open Novella Contest 2024, using the prompt 30. "How to forgive a cheater 101"

Are there other participants in this year's ONC? If yes, which prompt(s) are you writing on?🙃

Anyway, hope you guys will enjoy the story! Let me know your impressions in the comment section!

🤎🤎