Lydia's smile was the kind that chilled bones not warm, not even fake. Just... calculated.
Amira froze.
So many questions surged through her mind, but none had a voice.
Lydia crossed the street slowly, like a cat toying with its prey.
"Long time," she said.
Amira's jaw tightened. "Not long enough."
Lydia laughed, soft and eerie. "I thought you'd come. You always did love the truth... even when it hurt."
"What do you want?" Amira snapped.
Lydia leaned in. "Let's not pretend, darling. You're not here just to yell. You want answers. So let's trade."
"Trade?"
"I give you the truth. You give me a moment to finally explain why I did what I did."
Amira's fists clenched. "You mean why you destroyed my life?"
Lydia didn't flinch. "I mean why you were never supposed to be part of his future."
They sat on a nearby bench, moonlight filtering through skeletal tree branches. Lydia's voice lowered.
"I met David first. Before he even knew your name. We were… something. Then you came along. Bright, quiet, soft-hearted."
"I didn't steal him," Amira interrupted.
Lydia raised an eyebrow. "Didn't you? He stopped answering my calls. Stopped coming by. He started talking about you like you were his savior."
She scoffed.
"He told me once that you made him believe in goodness again. That's when I knew—I'd lost.
Amira's voice shook. "So you set me up to lose my child?"
Lydia's smile vanished.
"I didn't plan it that way. At first. But after the miscarriage… I saw an opening. A way to make sure you'd never have what I couldn't."
"You tampered with my medical file?"
"I helped fate do its job," she said coldly. "David thought he was saving you. But I... I made sure you were saved without a womb to give him more love."
Amira slapped her.
Hard.
Lydia blinked, then touched her cheek.
"I deserved that," she whispered. "But you deserve the whole story."
Lydia stood and tossed something into Amira's lap.
A USB stick.
"What's this?" Amira asked.
"Proof. Of what I did. Of what David knew. And what he still hasn't told you."
Amira looked up sharply.
"He lied to me?"
"Lied by omission," Lydia replied. "He found out months ago. About everything. But he didn't tell you."
"Why?"
Lydia smirked.
"Because he's trying to win you back… on his terms. And some truths don't fit the fairytale he's selling."
Amira clutched the USB, heart pounding.
"I don't believe you."
"You don't have to," Lydia said. "Just watch it."
She began walking away.
Then paused.
"Oh, and Amira?" she called over her shoulder.
"You're not the only one he kept in the dark. There's someone else. A girl. She looks a lot like you."
Lydia disappeared into the shadows.
And Amira sat frozen.
A girl?
Who?
Why?
What else had David hidden?