My brow furrows. “I’m sorry to hear that. But… I thought youleftbecause she was sick. I thought she lived in Chicago.”
He goes still. His mouth opens and shuts like he’s trying to breathe underwater.
“I don’t want to get into trouble,” he says quickly, almost in a whisper. “Let’s just pretend you didn’t see me.”
“Sanjay…” I lower my voice, stepping closer. “What are you talking about? I’m happy to see you.”
His eyes flit toward the exit. Fight or flight? Something is very off.
“Look, Cora, I regretted it the second I took the money.” The words tumble out too fast. “I mean, my family needed it. But I never—I never wanted to betray you. I relented only because I knew he’d fix everything.”
My stomach drops, and I don’t even know why. He makes no sense.
“What money?” My voice is careful now, trembling at the edges.
Sanjay swallows. “Please know I would’ve never left you. Not unless—” He breaks off, guilt etched across his face. “But I knew he would take care of things for you. I knew you’d be okay.”
A beat of silence stretches, taut and unbearable.
“Who?” I ask, even though I already know. I feel it in the clench of my jaw, in the sudden throb behind my eyes. But I fight that thought because… no, no, no.
He looks at me like a kid caught in a lie. “Mr. Stone.”
Xander.
The air around me thins, warping like heat off the sidewalk. “Xander paid you to leave?”
He nods, just once. “I’m sorry. I—Ididn’t know what else to do. He said you needed a fresh start, and he could fix it faster without me in the way. And he was offering enough to—” His voice cracks. “I was trying to do what was best for my family. But it was wrong.”
My hands tremble as I clench my notebook to my chest.
The betrayal stings sharper than I thought it would. Not because Sanjay took the money—I can understand desperation.
But Xander.
Another lie.
Another betrayal.
Why?
Why would he destroy my business?
To manipulate me.
In light of Sanjay’s admission, the lie about Xander’s father forcing him to marry pales.
I manage a nod, though I’m not sure what it’s meant to signal. That I understand? That I don’t?
“Thank you for telling me.” I don’t recognize my own voice—flat, as though all the air’s been punched out of me.
“I’m really sorry, Cora.”
“Yeah.” I offer a tight smile and leave before he can say more.
I don’t want to fall apart in a coffee shop.Not here. Not now.
Outside, the city moves around me, uncaring. But inside, something is cracking.
