Chapter 162: Lilian Baker

Something didn't feel right.

The conversation with Martha refused to leave my mind.

"Lewis Walker."

"No."

"I don't approve."

"End of discussion."

That wasn't normal.

“Lily!”

I heard my name.

I sat up abruptly, expecting her to call me again. But she didn't.

Had she changed her mind?

Was she willing to give me a reasonable explanation now?

But she didn't call me again.

That didn't mean I shouldn't meet her right.

She called me once, I needed to know why.

Curiosity had always been my greatest weakness. Whenever something didn't make sense, I couldn't simply ignore it. I had to know. Maybe that was why I kept finding myself in trouble.

I quietly slipped off my bed and opened my bedroom door.

I could hear faint footsteps downstairs.

Martha.

I crept toward the staircase, careful not to make a sound.

She looked determined. The kind of determination that usually meant someone was about to get into trouble.

She didn't notice me as she walked straight to the front door and stepped outside.

Where was she going in such a hurry?

Without thinking twice, I followed. I stayed a few steps behind, making sure she couldn't hear me.

She hadn't even walked seven steps before a black car pulled up beside her, right between our house and the Walker’s house.

I froze.

The headlights briefly illuminated her face.

The driver's window rolled down.

Even from a distance, I recognised him immediately.

Derek.

My heart skipped.

What was he doing here?

I instinctively stepped behind one of the large flower fencing the Walker house. It wasn't the best hiding place, but it was enough.

From where I stood, I could see them clearly. I just couldn't hear them.

She climbed into the car.

Why would she get into his car?

If she was angry, shouldn't she have walked away?

I stepped behind another flower, careful to remain hidden from them. Still, the distance prevented me from hearing anything.

All I could do was watch.

Thankfully, the little light in the car gave me a better view.

Martha was still looking upset. She gestured with her hands.

Derek remained unusually calm.

He spoke.

She answered.

He nodded.

Slowly, her posture changed. The anger seemed to lessen and her shoulders relaxed. She stopped gesturing so wildly.

But they were still talking.

What could possibly be so important?

A dozen different possibilities raced through my mind.

Business? Neighbours? Me? Lewis? Andrew?

Was she telling Derek about my relationship with Lewis?

Everything happened so quickly that I wasn't even sure I'd seen it properly.

Derek leaned toward Mum.

I frowned.

Mum didn't move away.

He leaned closer.

My breath caught.

"No..." I whispered.

There was no way. Absolutely no way.

Then… His face disappeared into the darkness between them.

It looked like he had kissed her.

I blinked rapidly.

"No,” I whispered again. "I imagined that."

I had to have imagined it.

Maybe he'd only leaned closer to tell her something.

Maybe...

"Lily."

I jumped so violently that my heart almost escaped my chest.

“Jesus!” I almost screamed.

I spun around just to find Susan standing a few feet away from me.

I hadn't even heard her approach.

She looked at me curiously. "What are you doing outside?"

I quickly looked back toward the car.

The interior light had already switched off. The windows looked dark now. I couldn't see anything anymore.

Had they really...

No.

Maybe not.

Maybe I'd imagined everything.

Susan gently touched my arm. "It's getting cold."

I looked at her.

She smiled softly. "Come inside."

For a moment, I considered refusing.

Instead, I nodded. "Okay."

She walked ahead.

I followed quietly.

The entire way inside, my thoughts refused to settle.

By the time we reached the living room, I couldn't keep the question inside any longer.

"Susan?"

She turned toward me.

"Yes?"

I hesitated.

What if I really had imagined it? What if I sounded ridiculous?

Still, I had to ask.

"Did you… did you see it?"

Her expression didn't change.

"What?"

"Outside."

She looked at me carefully.

"The car."

Silence.

I continued, "I thought..." I laughed nervously. "I don't even know what I thought."

"I just..."

"I think..."

How was I supposed to tell her that her husband just kissed my mother?

Susan simply looked at me. Then she slowly walked toward the sofa and sat down.

Then her eyes landed on me again.

"Lily."

I waited.

"If you want to see more, you have to pretend you didn't see anything."

"What?"

She smiled faintly. "The moment people know you've noticed..." She gently shook her head. "...they become careful."

I stared at her.

"So..." She continued. "...until you've seen enough, pretend you saw nothing."

The words settled over me like a heavy blanket.

"I don't understand."

"You don't have to,” she replied softly.

Then she looked toward the window. "People reveal themselves when they believe no one is watching."

"What are you trying to tell me?"

She smiled sadly. "I'm telling you to be patient."

I searched her face desperately.

"Do you know something?"

Silence.

"Susan?"

She didn't answer immediately.

Instead, she reached for a cup of tea that had long since gone cold.

"You'd be surprised..." She murmured almost absentmindedly. "...how much truth hides in plain sight."

A chill ran down my spine.

I had always assumed Susan's strange comments were because she was mentally unwell. Whenever she said unusual things, I smiled politely, changed the subject or tried to ignore her.

But now, her words didn't sound random anymore.

They sounded deliberate and calculated. As if she knew far more than she ever admitted.

I looked at her differently. Like I really looked at her.

Was she truly as fragile as everyone claimed? Or had we all simply accepted that version of her because it was easier?

My thoughts spiralled.

Martha's reaction to Lewis.

Martha leaving home just to meet Derek outside.

The conversation inside the car.

The kiss… Or whatever I'd seen.

Susan's warning.

Every single piece felt disconnected.

Yet somehow, I couldn't shake the feeling that they belonged to the same puzzle. A puzzle everyone else already understood.

Everyone except me.

For the first time since this whole mess had begun, I realised something that made my stomach twist.

I had spent days suspecting Becky, wondering if she was behind the anonymous blogs.

…Trying to understand Andrew… Trying to understand Lewis.

Meanwhile, the biggest secrets weren't hiding at school. They had been living much closer to me all along.

I glanced at Susan again.

She quietly sipped her tea as though she hadn't just turned my entire world upside down with one sentence.

"Pretend you didn't see anything until you've seen enough."

The words echoed inside my head.

And at that moment, I made a decision.

I would stop asking careless questions. I would stop reacting the instant something looked suspicious.

Instead, I would watch. I would listen. I would notice. Because suddenly, everyone around me had become a suspect.

Martha.

Derek.

Even Susan.

And the most frightening thought of all...

Maybe Susan wasn't the confused woman everyone believed she was. Maybe she'd been seeing the truth all along. And we were the ones who had been too blind to notice.