Chapter 16: Gifts and Guilt
The morning air inside Daniel’s apartment felt still, like it was holding its breath after the night before. The blinds were half-open, letting in ribbons of light that landed across the coffee table, the couch, and the small velvet box he’d been staring at since dawn.
He told himself it was just a gift — nothing more than a beautiful thing for a beautiful woman. But the truth gnawed at him: it was an offering, a silent apology for crossing a line he couldn’t uncross.
When Eve appeared from the bedroom, barefoot and wearing his dress shirt as though it belonged to her, the air seemed to shift. Her hair fell in tousled waves over her shoulders, her lips still slightly swollen from the way he’d kissed her last night.
“You’re up early,” she said, her voice husky from sleep.
“I couldn’t… sleep,” he admitted, though the pause in his voice was heavier than the words. “I have something for you.”
Her brows lifted. “For me?”
He gestured toward the coffee table. The velvet box sat there, small but deliberate. She crossed the room, took it in her hands, and opened it. The sight of the perfectly strung pearls made her inhale, though she masked it quickly with a soft smile.
“They reminded me of you,” Daniel said, moving behind her. He picked up the necklace, brushing his fingers lightly against her skin as he clasped it at the nape of her neck.
The pearls gleamed against her collarbones, and Eve tilted her head toward the nearby mirror, admiring the effect. Pearls were not a casual gift — they were intimate, permanent in the way they marked a person. And she knew Sienna would recognize them instantly.
“They’re… beautiful,” she said, fingers grazing the smooth surface.
Daniel studied her reflection in the mirror. For a moment, he looked almost proud — then guilt flickered behind his eyes, so quickly she wondered if she imagined it.
The sudden vibration of her phone broke the moment. She glanced at the screen and let her lips curl faintly.
“It’s your wife,” she said lightly, turning the device toward him.
Daniel’s jaw tensed. “Answer it.”
Eve swiped to accept the FaceTime call, angling herself so the sunlight streamed over her collarbones, the pearls catching every glint.
Sienna’s face filled the screen, framed by the warm, polished tones of her study. She offered a small smile. “Eve, I just wanted to check in… see how you’ve been settling after… everything.” Her voice was soft, but her eyes were quick — scanning, noting.
And then, as Eve had anticipated, Sienna’s gaze snagged on the necklace. The pause was slight, but telling.
Eve’s fingers rose to the pearls in an almost absentminded gesture. “Oh, this? I found it in one of the donation boxes at the community center. Must’ve been a mistake — I’ll make sure it gets back to whoever it belongs to.”
Sienna’s lips curved in a polite smile, but her eyes… her eyes didn’t believe her.
“I see,” Sienna murmured, her tone unreadable. “It looks… expensive for a donation box find.”
Eve tilted her head innocently. “People donate all kinds of things. I was surprised, too.”
Behind the camera’s frame, Daniel remained utterly still, watching the exchange with a tight jaw.
Sienna didn’t push, but there was a shift in her posture, an almost imperceptible sharpening. “By the way,” she said, her tone casual in the way that signaled it was anything but, “have you heard from Noah recently?”
Eve blinked, keeping her expression relaxed. “No, not in a while. Why?”
“I’ve been trying to reach him since yesterday. Calls, messages… nothing. His number isn’t reachable.”
Eve let her lips part just slightly, feigning mild surprise. “Maybe he’s traveling? Or in a bad reception area?”
Sienna’s gaze didn’t waver. “Maybe. But it doesn’t feel right.”
That statement hung in the air between them — heavy, edged with intuition.
Eve gave a small shrug. “I’ll let you know if I hear anything.”
Sienna studied her for a moment longer, her voice taking on a faint, almost imperceptible steel. “Do that. Immediately.”
The call ended, the black screen reflecting Eve’s own faint smile.
She turned to Daniel, who was still watching her as though he wasn’t sure if she’d just saved him or dug them both deeper.
“You handled that well,” he said finally, voice low.
Eve smiled faintly, brushing her fingers over the pearls again. “I always do.”
She lied to his wife, but it was smooth. A thought hit his chest faintly, why is he doing this? Is this really worth it?
Eve could read his face like a book. She learned about him probably thinking of what has happened between them. And on top of it, he has cheated on Sienna.
But Eve needs to play harder as her carelessness could make her loose him. And that's not how her plan would go ahead.
She quickly stepped towards him and pecked on his lips before walking past him toward the kitchen. Food is the way to his heart, especially the one made by her. Walking down the hallway, hips swaying slightly, but her mind was already somewhere else — on Sienna’s suspicion, on Noah’s sudden silence, on how the pieces were moving in her favor.
Daniel, meanwhile, remained by the couch, staring at the spot where Sienna’s name had lit up on the screen. There had been a time when the thought of deceiving his wife would’ve been unthinkable. Now, the lie had slipped out of Eve’s mouth as smoothly as if it were the truth — and he’d let it happen.
The necklace around Eve’s throat was supposed to be a gift. But standing there, Daniel realized it might be something else entirely: a noose, tightening with every passing day.
Daniel’s relationship with Sienna completely changed after a few months of their marriage. It was never like this before. But as the time passed everything
Far away, Sienna’s instincts were sharpening into certainty. And she wasn’t the kind of woman who ignored her gut.
Something was wrong — and she was going to find out what.