“Holy shit,” Viona whispered, snapping pictures furiously. “He’s actually hugging him!”
I could barely believe what I was seeing. Jake sat down across from Drake, leaning in close as they began to talk. At one point, Jake reached out and touched Drake’s hand, his fingers lingering there for a moment too long to be purely friendly.
“This is insane,” I muttered, shaking my head in disbelief.
Suddenly, Jake’s head started to turn in our direction. I grabbed Viona’s arm, yanking her down behind the plant.
“Shit!” Viona hissed. “Do you think he saw us?”
We held our breath, hardly daring to move. After a few tense seconds, I risked a peek around the plant. Jake was back to focusing on Drake, seemingly oblivious to our presence.
“I think we’re okay,” I whispered, letting out a sigh of relief.
We stayed hidden for the rest of Jake and Drake’s ‘date‘, occasionally sneaking glances and more pictures. After about an hour, Jake finally stood up to leave. We watched as he gave Drake another hug, this one lasting even longer than the first.
As soon as Jake was out the door, Drake made his way over to our table, a triumphant grin on his face.
“Well,” he said, sliding into the seat next to me and ripping off his wig, “I guess I still got it.”
Viona and I were too stunned to respond at first. We were already huddled around her phone, scrolling through the pictures she had taken.
“I can’t believe it,” Viona said, shaking her head. “It’s all here. The hugging, the hand touching… He even grabbed your ass during that last hug, Drake. There’s no way he can explain this away.”
I felt a mixture of emotions swirling in my chest–vindication, sadness for Amber, anger at Jake, gratefulness for Drake.
“What do we do now?” I asked, looking between Viona and Drake.
Viona’s face hardened. “We have to tell Amber. As soon as possible.”
“Are you sure?” I asked, hesitating. “Maybe we should wait, figure out the best way to break it to her…”
But Viona was already pulling out her phone. “No. She needs to know before she makes the biggest mistake of her life.”
Before I could protest further, she was dialing Amber’s number. It rang twice before Amber picked up.
“Hey, Vi!” Amber’s cheerful voice came through the speaker. “What’s up?”
Viona took a deep breath. “Hey, Amber,” she said, keeping her tone cool despite the circumstances. “Do
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Chapter 0223
was to trick him? To set him up?”
“We knew you wouldn’t believe us otherwise,” Viona explained. “We had to get proof.”
“So you played detective behind my back?” Amber snapped.
“We did it because we love you,” I insisted. “We couldn’t stand by and watch you marry someone who isn’t faithful to you.”
“We’re sorry it has to be like this,” Viona added. “But it was the only thing we could think of doing. And with the wedding coming up so soon, we were desperate.”
I nodded in agreement. “Look, we know that having Drake pose as this ‘Tyler‘ guy wasn’t the best way to go about it. But we only did it because we care about you; and Jake took the bait almost immediately.”
“And this can’t be the first time he’s hooked up with another guy,” Viona finished softly.
Amber was quiet for a long moment, staring down at the phone in her trembling hands. Viona and I exchanged nervous glances. When she finally looked up, there were tears in her eyes. “I can’t believe this is happening,” she whispered.
I moved to sit next to her and put an arm around her shoulders. “I’m so sorry, Amber. We never wanted to hurt you. We just wanted you to know the truth.”
Amber leaned into me, her body shaking with silent sobs. Viona came to sit on her other side, rubbing her back gently.
After a few minutes, though, Amber straightened up and wiped her eyes. “You’re right,” she said, her voice a little stronger now. “Actually, I’m glad you two did this. I… I need to talk to Jake.”
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