Lies and manipulation

RYAN

The phone on my nightstand buzzed again, the vibration loud enough to cut through the silence of my apartment. I glanced at the screen, irritation simmering as Violet’s name lit up, then disappeared just as quickly.

She isn't picking up again..fourth time now.

Something wasn’t right.

I pushed the laptop off my lap, my focus entirely gone from the report I’d been working on. My muscles were tense, a coiled frustration I couldn’t shake. Violet always answered, even if it was just to tell me she was busy or tired. But tonight? Nothing.

I ran a hand through my hair and stood, pacing the length of the room. A flicker of doubt gnawed at the edges of my mind.

Was she ignoring me?No. That didn’t make sense. Violet wasn’t like that. There was no way she would ignore me.

Right?

I stopped pacing and glared at my phone, as if the damn thing could give me the answers I needed. When it buzzed again, my heart jumped. I grabbed it immediately, hoping—praying—that it was her calling me back.

But it wasn’t.

A message.

From an anonymous number.

My brows furrowed as I opened it, a tight knot of unease twisting in my chest.

“Thought you’d want to see this.”

That was it. No name. No context. Just a single sentence. And attached was a picture.

I tapped on it, and the image that filled my screen hit me like a sucker punch to the gut.

Violet.

Her face was unmistakable, even in the dim lighting of what looked like a crowded party. A party? What the hell was she doing at a party?

But that wasn’t what made my chest tighten and my blood run cold.

She wasn’t alone.

Some guy—some random asshole I didn’t recognize—was with her, their faces inches apart. Too close. Way too close. And then there it was.

His lips on hers.

For a moment, the world around me went silent. My pulse pounded in my ears, drowning out everything else.

I clenched my jaw so hard I thought my teeth might crack. The image burned into my mind, fueling a fire in my chest I couldn’t put out. My grip on the phone tightened, and for a split second, I considered smashing it against the wall.

What the hell was this?

I dropped onto the edge of my bed, staring at the picture as a wave of something unfamiliar washed over me.

One.

Two.

Three.

I took a deep breath, trying to steady the anger building inside me. Just that it wasn’t anger this time. It was something else. Something sharper.

Heartbreak? Is this what it feels like?

My gaze darted back to my phone, the image still mocking me. Taunting me.

It couldn’t be.

She loved me. She wouldn’t do this. She wouldn’t cheat on me.

“How can you be so sure? You’re miles apart."

The voice in my head taunted cruelly, feeding the gnawing doubt already clawing at my chest.

No. She wouldn’t. She couldn’t.

The sharp ring of my phone snapped me out of my spiraling thoughts, and my heart lurched when I saw her name flashing across the screen.

Violet.

I stared at the screen, my thumb hovering over the answer button.

She was calling now?

My mind raced, torn between wanting to confront her and wanting to hear her voice—hear her tell me it wasn’t what it looked like. That there was an explanation.

My jaw tightened as I hit the answer button and brought the phone to my ear.

“Violet,” I said, my tone sharper than I intended.

“Ryan…” Her voice was soft, almost hesitant. Like she knew something was wrong.

I stayed silent, letting the weight of the pause hang heavy between us, daring her to fill it.

“Hi, how are you?” she asked.

“I’m good,” I replied, my voice clipped. “You?”

“Great,” she said quickly. “Uhm… I missed your call. I was asleep.”

Lies.

Fucking lies.

My grip on the phone tightened as my jaw clenched. Why the fuck was she lying to me?

“Oh…” I muttered, the word coming out hollow.

“Is everything okay?” she asked again.

I paused, debating. I could play along, pretend I didn’t know anything, and wait for her to come clean. But the image on my phone burned in my mind, and the anger bubbling beneath the surface refused to be silenced.

“I was just wondering when you were planning to tell me about the party,” I said, my voice low and cold.

The silence on her end was deafening.

“Or,” I continued, my anger boiling over, “how you kissed some guy.”

Her sharp intake of breath was audible, and for a moment, I thought she might deny it.

“I—” she stammered, but the words didn’t come.

I felt the ache in my chest deepen, but it only fueled my frustration. “What the hell, Violet?!” I snapped, the edge of betrayal cutting through my words. “I called you, and you ignored me. You told me you were asleep, and now this?”

“It wasn’t—” she started, but I didn’t let her finish.

“It wasn’t what?!” I shot back, pacing the length of my room. “Because from where I’m standing, it looks like you went to a party you didn’t bother to tell me about and ended up locking lips with some random asshole.”

Her voice broke when she spoke again, softer now. “Ryan, it’s not what it looks like. I swear.”

“Then explain it to me,” I demanded, my grip on the phone so tight my knuckles ached.

There was another pause, longer this time, and with every second that passed, my patience thinned.

“I didn’t kiss him,” she said finally, her voice trembling.

I let out a bitter laugh, shaking my head. “Funny, because the picture says otherwise.”

Her breath hitched. “What picture?”

“The one someone sent me. You, at a party, with some guy’s lips on yours.”

There was a long pause, and I could hear her breathing, shaky and uneven.

“Ryan,” she said, softer now. “I swear it wasn’t like that. I wasn’t even paying attention when it happened. Someone bumped into me—I stumbled, and Caleb was trying to steady me.”

“Caleb?” The name rolled off my tongue like venom. “Who the hell is Caleb?”

“He’s no one,” she said quickly. “Just a guy from one of my classes. I don’t even talk to him like that. He was just trying to help, and our lips—” She stopped, exhaling shakily. “It was an accident. You have to believe me.”

My head spun, and I gritted my teeth, staring at the far wall as her words replayed in my mind. 

An accident.

“You didn’t think to tell me about this party,” I said, my voice cold, “or the fact that this guy—Caleb—was close enough for something like this to even happen?”

“I didn’t mean for it to happen!” she cried. “You have to believe me, Ryan. I didn’t kiss him. He didn’t kiss me. It—it wasn’t anything!”

“It didn’t look like ‘nothing,’ Violet,” I said bitterly, the tightness in my chest nearly suffocating. “Do you have any idea what it felt like to see that? To get sent some anonymous text about you at a party—a party you didn’t even tell me about?”

“It’s not what it looks like,” she interrupted desperately. “Ryan, I swear, I wanted to tell you, but it happened so fast. You were busy all day, and Amelia insisted I—”

Her voice broke again, and I froze, the name hitting me like a cold slap.

“Amelia?” I echoed

“Yes,” she replied in haste. “I followed her to the party. She was the one who stumbled into us. She can testify to it if you want.”

Amelia.

I pulled the phone away, staring at the picture again. I studied it closely this time, the blurry outlines of other people in the background, the tilt of Violet’s body, the awkward way Caleb’s hand was gripping her arm. It did look like an accident.

But the timing. The anonymous message.

Could it be her?

My fists clenched, the anger in me threatening to boil over, but this time, it wasn’t directed solely at Violet.

“Ryan, please,” Violet’s voice broke through my thoughts, soft and trembling. “You know me. You know I’d never hurt you like that.”

I shut my eyes, trying to block out the picture, the doubts, and the gnawing sense of betrayal. 

Yes, I know mouse. I know you wouldn’t hurt me.

But I didn’t say those words. I was too angry—too consumed by the fact that she hadn’t told me. That she’d lied.

“Then why didn’t you tell me?” I asked, my voice quieter but no less strained.

“I didn’t think you’d understand,” she admitted, her voice barely above a whisper. “You wouldn’t have let me go.”

My jaw tightened. “You didn’t think I’d understand? So instead, you let me find out like this?”

“I didn’t want to fight,” she said softly, almost defeated.

“Well, congratulations, Violet,” I said coldly, my voice cutting. “Because now, we’re doing exactly that.”

I ended the call before she could say another word. The silence that followed was deafening, broken only by the faint buzz of the phone in my hand.

My thumb hovered over the screen, a flicker of regret threatening to creep in. But I pushed it down, hard. I’d call her later. I had to. But not now. Not like this.

Right now, I needed to get my head straight.

I tossed the phone onto the couch and ran a hand down my face, the image of Violet and Caleb burned into the back of my mind like a brand. Accident or not, the situation had spiraled into something more—a web of doubt, manipulation, and one name at the center of it all.

Amelia.

It wasn’t a coincidence. It couldn’t be. She’d insisted Violet go to the party. She’d been there when it happened. And then, not long after, I’d received that anonymous message.

But if she truly was the mastermind behind this, at least her plan was clear now. It is to drive a wedge between me and Violet. To break us apart.