"You think your friend is innocent." Grace’s tone changed, sharper now, no sweetness left. Her gaze hardened as she leaned forward, eyes locked on me.
"That she met my brother coincidentally?"
My brows pulled together, confusion twisting inside me. What was she talking about?
I glanced at Caroline, hoping she would say something, anything, but instead, she froze.
The tears stopped, but not because she was fine. No, her face had turned pale, like every drop of blood had drained from it.
Her lips parted, but no sound came. Her hands, which had been gripping mine just a moment ago, slipped away slowly, almost lifeless.
A shiver ran down my spine. Something was wrong. Very wrong.
"Caroline..." I whispered, my throat dry. "What is she talking about?"
Caroline’s eyes flickered to mine, wide and terrified, then darted back to Grace. She looked cornered, like a rabbit caught in a trap.
Grace smirked, enjoying every second. "Oh, she didn’t tell you?" She tilted her head, her voice cutting like a blade.
"Of course she didn’t. Because then you’d know she walked into his life... on purpose."
My stomach dropped. The air felt heavy, pressing down on me. "No..." I shook my head, not wanting to believe it. "That’s not true."
But Caroline didn’t deny it. She just sat there, trembling, her silence louder than any scream.
Nicole’s chair scraped against the floor as he stood up, his eyes burning into Caroline. "Is that true?" His voice was low, dangerous. "Answer me."
Caroline flinched, her hands gripping the edge of the table so tight her knuckles turned white. She opened her mouth, but her voice cracked as only one word came out.
"I..." she whispered.
Just that one word. Nothing else. And the whole room froze, waiting.
Dave leaned back in his chair, his expression unreadable as always. His eyes, however, flickered with something I couldn’t name. And that thought made my blood boil.
Grace’s expression darkened even more. "You cannot hide it forever, Caroline," she pressed, her voice dripping with danger.
"Tell them. Tell them how you were not just some poor, innocent girl caught in a mess.
Tell them how you knew exactly what you were doing that night." My heart skipped a beat as those words fell into my ear.
Questions swarmed in my head, one after another, each heavier than the last. Doubts and ugly what-ifs filled my head, making it hard to even breathe.
Caroline’s lips trembled. "I... I did not mean for it to..." She trailed off, her chest rising and falling rapidly as if she couldn’t catch her breath. Her eyes darted around, desperate for an escape.
"Did not mean?" Nicole snapped, slamming his hand against the table, rattling the dishes and silverware.
The sound echoed through the room, making even the waiters outside pause.
He leaned forward, his glare sharp enough to cut through steel. "So you admit that you were behind this? That you were the one who planned it?"
Caroline flinched, tears springing to her eyes again. "I... I didn’t plan all of it," she stammered. Her voice cracked. "I was forced into it."
My heart, which was running at the speed of a freaking bullet train, stopped that moment.
"Forced?" I repeated, staring at her. My hands were trembling now. I grabbed her by her shoulders and forced her to face me, "Caroline, what do you mean by forced?"
Her gaze finally turned to me, and the pain in her eyes nearly knocked the air out of my lungs. "Elena, please," she begged softly, "do not hate me. I did not have a choice. I swear I didn’t."
Grace scoffed loudly, rolling her eyes. "Don’t play the victim card now. You had plenty of choices. You just picked the one that benefited you the most."
Caroline shook her head violently, fresh tears spilling down her cheeks. "No! That’s not true. You do not understand..."
"Then make me understand!" Nicole cut her off, his voice booming. His fists clenched tightly at his sides. "Make all of us understand. Because right now, it clearly seems that you trapped me intentionally."
He paused for a few seconds before continuing, the silence stretching and tightening the tension in the air, "Because if this assumption turned out to be true, then you could not even imagine what I would do to you."
Caroline’s whole body shook at Nicole’s words. Her lips trembled as though she wanted to speak, but her voice kept dying before it could leave her throat.
"I did not trap you," she finally whispered, her words so soft I had to lean closer just to hear them. "I swear on everything, Nicole, I didn’t."
Nicole’s glare did not soften.
Instead, his jaw got even tighter. His nostrils flared as he fought to control his temper. He looked like a storm barely held back by thin glass, ready to shatter at the smallest push.
I squeezed Caroline’s shoulders, desperate. "Then tell us the truth. Please, Caroline. If you were forced... who forced you? What really happened that night?"
Her chest rose and fell in sharp, uneven breaths. She pressed her shaking hands to her face, hiding for a second, but then she lowered them, showing eyes swollen with tears.
"I... I was approached weeks before," she said, her voice weak but trembling with weight. "Someone came to me and said they..." She paused her eyes wandering around as if she was looking for the correct words.
A few seconds passed by when she continued, "They...knew things about me. Things that could ruin me. They said if I did not do what they asked, they would expose everything."
I blinked, my throat tightening. "Expose what?"
She shook her head quickly, avoiding my eyes. "Please, Elena... I can’t tell you...please try to under..."
But before she could even finish, Nicole’s low yet steady voice cut through the room like thunder.
"Don’t you dare hide it from us or else..." He left his sentence unfinished, leaving us to imagine the worst.