Lili
“It was Daphne,” Lili says. “She was behind the messages. The harassment. All of it.”
Alexander’s expression sobers, perfectly timed. “That’s a serious betrayal.” But the moment lingers in his gaze like it’s exactly what he hoped for.
“She gave some unhinged excuse. Said she was trying to help me. That I needed to see the truth about Casey. But who does that to someone they call a friend?”
“People only go that far when they’re protecting something of their own.”
“Clearly.”
He watches her closely, then casts the question like bait. “You think she’s still hiding something?”
“I don’t know.”
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“She’s been in your life for years. Maybe she knows more about Casey than she’s letting on.”
Lili’s wondered before, too many times to count. Not quite a fear, not quite a theory. Just something that lingered. Back when the threesome idea came up, she’d told herself it was nothing, just some weird impulse, a fantasy that didn’t land. Casey didn’t want Daphne. Not really. She was just… convenient.
Wasn’t she? And Daphne—no. She wouldn’t. Would she? Of course she would. But… would he?
Cheating with a twenty-something assistant or intern or whatever she was, was bad enough. But this? Their friend. Their neighbor.
“I don’t know,” she says again, quieter now. “None of it makes sense.”
“Instincts don’t usually lie, Lili. If something feels off, it probably is. And Casey? He’s done this before.”
Lili nods, but there’s no conviction in it. Just the slow unraveling of denial. “I wanted to pretend it wasn’t real. Looking away was easier.”
“You deserve better than a guess.”
She finally looks at him, uncertain, searching, like she’s hoping he’ll say what she already wants to hear. “So what do I do?”
He leans in, like he’s about to tell her a secret. “If it were me? Next time something feels off? Don’t ask. Don’t confront. Just follow him. See for yourself.”