Chapter 2

He must've had a guilty conscience because, after I agreed, Blake immediately went into the kitchen, fussing over the seafood he’d brought from his hometown, saying he’d make me a gourmet shrimp dish.

I couldn't just blurt out everything Amber told me. After all, I still couldn't tell how much of her story was true or false, or how much truth this man in front of me was hiding.

Chat logs could be faked, pictures could be Photoshopped.

So, I decided to keep observing, to see how many more secrets Blake was keeping from me, and what they were truly up to.

But in the following days, the more attentive and affectionate Blake became, the more uneasy I felt.

After Amber intruded into my life, I often couldn't sleep a wink.

My mind replayed all the memories of how Blake and I first got together.

During my senior year of college, I worked part-time as an NPC at the most popular escape room venue in town, often playing ugly ghost roles because they paid better.

One time, I spent two hours on my makeup and put on a big red dress.

A couple entered the game. After I dramatically appeared in the mirror, my job was to chase them to prevent them from completing their tasks.

The girl was terrified and just sat on the floor, throwing a tantrum and refusing to play.

Since my task wasn't done, I continued to pretend to scare them.

The boyfriend got angry, came up and slapped me across the face, glaring at me like he was avenging his girlfriend.

That's when Blake appeared. He stopped the player and even slapped the guy back. "If you can't handle the game, don't play. What kind of person bullies an NPC? Where are your manners?"

After that, I added Blake on SnapChat, and we naturally became friends.

He was five years older than me. After getting a job as a programmer at a major tech company, he was never satisfied with the status quo and always wanted to open his own escape room business.

We talked about everything, and naturally, we became a couple.

He used his savings and took out a bank loan to successfully open "The Labyrinth Escape."

To help Blake, I even considered going home and swallowing my pride to ask my parents for money, but he said having me brainstorm ideas and design things was enough.

When I was applying for colleges, my parents secretly logged into my account and changed my design major to business administration, calling it "preparing me to run the family hotel someday."

Later, I pursued a double major in management and design in college but never took a dime from my family.

I even snuck off to get married to Blake, taking my documents without their knowledge.

Memories flashed through my mind, making it impossible to sleep.

When I went to the living room for a glass of water, I saw Blake's tablet on the table. I tried the password Amber had given me, and it unlocked easily.

Once unlocked, I found Blake's SnapChat still open. There was a pinned conversation, and the profile picture was identical to Amber's.

The SnapChat username was "Sweet Pea," but Blake had saved her as "My Kitten."

Blake and Amber didn't chat constantly, but he confided in her about all the major things.

Juggling his wife and his girlfriend – turns out my own husband was a real time management guru.

Learning of Blake's lies, my hands clenched into fists.