Joan couldn’t believe her ears. There was no way the Nancy she knew would say something like that. “T-This isn’t funny, Nancy,” she stammered. “Don’t say any more. Whatever it is you’re playing at, I don’t think it’d be much fun to carry on.”
Nancy smiled at her friend. “Why haven’t you asked if the person I’m in love with is Caspian?”
Joan got all tongue-tied as her world started spinning out of control. Everything was coming at her so fast that she could no longer tell what was true.
Try as she might, Joan couldn’t shake away the escalating sense of foreboding.
She took a deep breath to steady her nerves as she looked at Nancy. “That person… do I know him?”
“You don’t. But I’ve mentioned him to you before.”
From what Joan knew, Nancy had always come across as an introverted and reserved person. Other than Caspian, she couldn’t remember Nancy ever mentioning another man’s name to her.
If she hasn’t mentioned other men to me, does that mean it’s Caspian she loves? Is she just taking me for a ride? The suspense was killing her, and Joan decided to confront Nancy with her thoughts.
“It’s not Caspian,” Nancy said with a resolute shake of her head.
When she saw how adamant Nancy was, Joan was well and truly stumped.
She could only imagine how humiliated Caspian would be if he found out about it. No man would be able to take this sort of news well, not even the strongest ones.
Nancy remained cool as a cucumber even though she noticed how quiet Joan had become. “If I told you now, you might have some recollection.”
When Joan didn’t object to it, Nancy continued, “Remember when we went to Norton Corporation for Caspian? I told you then about the fiancé I used to have. Well, he’s back now. And his name is Jory Synder.”
“Is he the mysterious S? Is that him?” Joan asked as realization slowly crept over her. Wouldn’t that mean Jory was the one who secretly photographed Dustin and me?
“I don’t know. I’ve never brought the matter up.” Even with that, Joan couldn’t tell if Nancy was covering up for Jory or if she meant it.
“I ended things with him in the past because there have been misunderstandings and malicious rumors. But now he’s back. And more importantly, he hasn’t forgotten about me.”
Despite Nancy pouring out her emotions as she spoke, Joan no longer felt the same about her. The Nancy then seemed a little more pretentious—a far cry from what she used to be. “You should know that things are different now. Caspian is your husband, and you’ve stopped being Jory’s fiancée when you turned him down!” Joan finally replied, her tone cold and harsh.
“That may be so, but it still doesn’t mean that what I have with Caspian is love. We’ve lived together for so long, but everyone can see how incompatible we are. Living with him has been exhausting for me. I’m sure it is for him too.”
Joan was getting riled up even more now. “Nancy, do you know what you’re saying?”
To her surprise, Nancy still had a smile on her face. “I do. Joan, I’ll find the right time to break this to Caspian and end things with him. Since the two of us aren’t compatible, I don’t want to continue this loveless relationship. All I’m asking of you now is to help keep this a secret.”
“You know very well he’s never going to accept this, but he’ll still have to find out about it eventually. Just how cruel can you be? You said to find the right time, but there can never be a right time for something like this.”
Ever since she got to know Nancy and Caspian, Joan had treated them like family. Nancy suddenly becoming this cruel was the scenario Joan thought one could only find in television dramas.
Joan sighed before continuing, “But rest assured that Caspian will only hear this from you. I promise to keep it a secret until then. Thank you for opening up to me, and thank you for treating me as a good friend. However, before this matter is made public, I don’t know if we can still be friends.”
