Chapter 86

POV NOAH

“I need some time.”

Isabela’s words still echoed in my head like a constant sound, impossible to silence.

Low.

Broken.

Heavy with pain.

She had said it with tear-filled eyes, trying to seem strong… but I saw it.

I saw how much it was destroying her.

“I’m confused, Noah…” she said, taking a deep breath, as if every word required effort. “And… scared.”

Scared.

That hit me differently.

Deeper.

Crueler.

Because Isabela wasn’t a woman who felt fear easily.

She had always been strong.

Determined.

The kind who faces any problem head-on.

But in that moment…

She seemed different.

Vulnerable.

Hurt.

And the worst part…

I knew.

I was the reason.

“I need to think…” she repeated, almost like a whisper.

My chest tightened again.

Harder.

More painfully.

“Isa…” I murmured, taking a step forward, as if I could stop this.

But she shook her head immediately.

A simple gesture.

But finally.

“Please… just give me that time.”

I froze.

No reaction.

Not knowing what to do.

I stood there, watching as she started the engine.

The sound of the car felt too loud in the silence.

My heart was racing.

Out of sync.

Desperate.

“Isa…” I called once more.

But she didn’t respond.

Didn’t look.

Didn’t hesitate.

She just held the door… and closed it.

The dry sound echoed inside me.

Like a full stop.

I stepped back instinctively, even without wanting to.

As if my own body had understood before my mind did.

The car began to move.

Slowly.

And I stayed there.

Standing still.

Watching.

Feeling like I was seeing the only woman I had ever truly loved… driving away.

Maybe forever.

I ran a hand over my face.

Took a deep breath.

But the air didn’t feel like enough.

Nothing felt like enough.

The pain was still there.

Heavy.

Constant.

Impossible to ignore.

I turned slowly and walked back to the elevator.

Each step felt slower.

Harder.

I stepped inside.

The doors closed.

I leaned my head against the cold wall.

Closed my eyes.

Why?

The question came hard.

Why did everything always go wrong?

Why, when it felt like I was finally managing to be happy…

Did something happen?

Isabela and I had barely had time to live something light.

Peaceful.

There was always something.

Always someone.

Always a problem appearing out of nowhere.

First Daniel.

Then my father.

And now…

This.

The elevator doors opened.

I walked to the apartment.

Went in.

Closed the door.

And the silence hit me.

Heavy.

Dense.

Almost suffocating.

I ran a hand through my hair, lightly pulling the strands, trying to organize the mess in my head.

But it was useless.

My thoughts were disordered.

Confused.

Colliding with each other.

I needed to think.

Needed to understand.

But alone…

Everything felt worse.

Much worse.

That’s when I grabbed my phone.

My hands were still slightly trembling.

I dialed.

It rang twice.

“Hey, man,” Liam’s voice came from the other side, calm and carefree.

I took a deep breath before answering.

“Are you busy tonight?”

There was a brief pause.

“No… why?”

I ran a hand over my face again.

“Can you come over?”

Silence.

Longer this time.

“Did something happen?”

I swallowed hard.

“I need to talk.”

Another silence.

But this time, it's different.

More attentive.

“Yeah… I’ll come.”

My chest tightened slightly.

A small relief.

“Thanks.”

“I’ll hit the road… You know I live a bit far… but I’ll be there in an hour, tops.”

“Alright.”

I hung up.

And stayed there for a few seconds, staring at the phone screen.

Not really seeing anything.

Liam was one of the few people I truly trusted.

He had known me for years.

He knew who I was… for real.

Without filters.

Without masks.

And in that moment…

I needed that.

I took a deep breath.

And went to the kitchen.

I needed to keep my mind occupied.

Do anything that would stop my thoughts from swallowing me whole.

I started preparing dinner.

Nothing elaborate.

Nothing special.

Just enough.

I chopped vegetables.

The sound of the knife hitting the board echoed in the silence.

Repetitive.

Almost mechanical.

I prepared the meat.

Put water on to boil.

Watched the steam rise slowly.

But even so…

My mind wouldn’t stop.

Isabela.

Her expression.

The pain.

The disappointment.

Luana.

That night.

The emptiness in my memory.

My father.

The image of him with another woman.

Everything mixed together.

Everything felt wrong.

Very wrong.

An unsettling feeling started to grow inside me.

Something I still couldn’t name.

But it was there.

Persistent.

About an hour later…

The doorbell rang.

The sound pulled me out of my thoughts.

I went to the door.

Opened it.

Liam walked in, looking me up and down before saying anything.

“Man… you look awful.”

I let out a short laugh.

Humorless.

“I know.”

He stepped in, closing the door behind him.

Still watching me closely.

“What happened?”

I ran a hand over the back of my neck.

“Let’s eat first… then I’ll tell you.”

He nodded, but clearly curious.

We sat at the table.

The smell of food filled the room.

But I could barely taste anything.

We ate in silence for a few minutes.

Until Liam set his fork down with a soft sound.

“Now talk.”

I took a deep breath.

And told him.

Everything.

Without hiding anything.

From that night.

From the moment I lost control.

From the blackout.

From waking up next to Luana.

From the pregnancy.

Isabela is leaving.

Every detail.

Every feeling.

Every doubt.

Liam listened in silence.

Serious.

Focused.

Without interrupting.

When I finished, he leaned back in his chair, running a hand over his chin.

Thoughtful.

“This is strange.”

I nodded.

“Very strange.”

Silence hung in the air for a few seconds.

Heavy.

Then I took a deep breath.

“Liam… I need to ask you something.”

He frowned.

“Go ahead.”

“Luana… did you notice anything different about her?”

He seemed surprised.

“Different?”

“Yeah… behavior… attitude…”

He stayed silent for a few seconds, thinking.

“Actually… yeah.”

My heart sped up.

“What do you mean?”

He crossed his arms.

“She changed a lot after she met you.”

My stomach tightened.

“How did she change?”

“More closed off… sometimes distracted… she always seemed worried about something.”

My chest tightened.

“Anything else?”

He hesitated.

And that was enough to put me on alert.

“There was one time…”

I leaned forward slightly.

“One time… she got a visit.”

“A visit?”

He nodded.

“A man.”

My heart raced even faster.

“Who?”

“I don’t know… I've never seen him before.”

“What did he look like?”

“Older… well-dressed…” he paused. “It looked like he had money.”

My stomach churned.

He thought for a moment.

“He was in a black car… a luxury car… a Mercedes-Benz… pretty new.”

My heart pounded.

Hard.

Out of rhythm.

A black Mercedes.

The image came instantly to my mind.

My father.

That was his car.

My stomach tightened sharply.

No.

It couldn’t be.

I shook my head slowly.

Trying to push that thought away.

My father wouldn’t be capable of that.

Would he?

But then…

The image of him with another woman came back.

The lie.

The betrayal.

The cold look.

And doubt settled in.

Heavy.

Unsettling.

What if…

Was he capable?

What if this wasn’t a coincidence?

What if…

Hadn’t Luana come into my life by chance?

My mind started spinning.

Fast.

Connecting dots.

Creating links.

A cold sensation ran down my spine.

And for the first time since everything began…

A real suspicion took shape.

What if…

None of this had been an accident?

What if everything…

Had it been planned?