Updated Feb 20, 2026 • ~6 min read
LUCIA
I should end it. That’s what I told myself every morning. Today’s the day I’ll tell West the truth. Today I’ll stop this madness. Then he’d text me.
West: Good morning beautiful. Coffee later?
And I’d say yes. Every single time.
It had been two weeks. Two weeks of coffee dates and long walks and late-night phone calls. Two weeks of falling deeper into this lie. Two weeks of falling for Westley Archer.
WESTLEY
She was perfect. That was all I could think every time I saw her. Carmen was perfect.
But it was more than that. She was different than before, softer somehow, more present. The old Carmen was always looking ahead, planning the next thing, never quite satisfied with now. This Carmen lived in the moment. She listened when I talked about my projects. She asked questions. She actually cared.
“What are you thinking about?” she asked. We were at Golden Gardens, watching the sunset over Puget Sound.
“You,” I said honestly. “How happy I am that you came back.”
She looked away. “West…”
“I know. I know we’re taking it slow. I know you need time. I’m not trying to rush anything.”
“It’s not that.”
“Then what?”
She was quiet for a long time. “What if I’m not who you think I am?” she finally said.
“What do you mean?”
“What if the person you remember—the Carmen from before—what if she’s gone? What if I’ve changed so much that I’m basically a different person?”
I took her hand. “Then I’ll fall in love with who you are now.”
She looked at me with tears in her eyes. “You can’t say things like that.”
“Why not?”
“Because it’s not fair.”
“To who?”
I thought she was going to say “to me.” Instead she whispered, “To you.”
LUCIA
I was drowning. That’s what this felt like. I was drowning in feelings I shouldn’t have for a man who didn’t even know my name.
Paloma met me at the coffee shop after my shift. “You look terrible,” she said.
“Thanks.”
“I’m serious. When’s the last time you slept?”
“I don’t know. Three days ago?”
She slid a folder across the table. “What’s this?”
“Everything I could find on Carmen.”
I opened it. Old addresses. Phone records from before she disappeared. A few names of people she used to know.
“How did you—”
“Don’t ask.”
I stared at the documents. Somewhere in here might be a clue, something that leads me to Carmen. If I could find her, if I could explain, maybe she could fix this. Maybe she could talk to West and—
And what? Tell him his fiancée left him for witness protection? Tell him I’ve been lying to him this whole time? Tell him the woman he’s falling for isn’t even real?
“You’re doing it again,” Paloma said.
“Doing what?”
“Spiraling.”
She was right.
“I can’t do this anymore.”
“Then don’t. Tell him the truth.”
“I can’t.”
“Why not?”
“Because I love him.”
The words hung in the air. Paloma stared at me.
“Lucia…”
“I know. I’m pathetic.”
“You’re not pathetic. You’re human. But this has to end before someone gets hurt.”
“Someone’s already going to get hurt.”
“Then make sure it’s not you.”
Too late.
WESTLEY
I brought Carmen to my current project site—the community center in Beacon Hill. It was almost finished.
“This is incredible,” she breathed, looking up at the vaulted ceilings.
“Yeah?”
“West, this is… you built this?”
“Designed it. A lot of people built it.”
“Don’t be modest. This is amazing.”
Pride swelled in my chest. The old Carmen never came to my project sites. Said she didn’t understand architecture. Found it boring. This Carmen looked at my work like it was art.
“Come here,” I said, leading her to the windows. They overlooked the entire neighborhood, and you could see Mount Rainier in the distance. “When we were planning this, I kept thinking about permanence. About building something that lasts. That means something.”
She was quiet beside me. “Is that what you want?” she asked. “Permanence?”
“With the right person? Yeah.”
I turned to look at her. She was already looking at me.
“Carmen, I—”
My phone rang. Jonah. I ignored it. He called again immediately.
“You should answer,” Carmen said quietly.
I stepped away and picked up. “Jonah, I’m kind of in the middle of—”
“We need to talk. About Carmen.”
My stomach dropped. “What about her?”
“Not over the phone. Can you meet me?”
I looked back at Carmen. She was running her fingers along the window frame, lost in thought. “I’m with her right now.”
“That’s the problem, West. I don’t think you are.”
LUCIA
West came back looking pale.
“Everything okay?” I asked.
“Yeah. Jonah wants to meet up later.”
“About what?”
He hesitated. “He’s been asking questions. About you.”
My blood turned to ice. “What kind of questions?”
“I don’t know. He wouldn’t say.”
This was it. Jonah knew. Or he suspected. And he was going to tell West.
“Maybe I should go,” I said.
“Why? We just got here.”
“I just… I don’t feel great. Headache.”
Another lie. I was drowning in them.
“Let me drive you home.”
“No. I’ll take the bus. You should go talk to your brother.”
“Carmen—”
“Please, West.”
He looked hurt, but he nodded. “Okay. I’ll call you later?”
“Yeah. Later.”
I kissed his cheek and left before I fell apart.
WESTLEY
I watched her go. Something was wrong, but I didn’t know what.
I drove to Jonah’s place in Fremont. He opened the door before I could knock.
“We need to talk about Carmen,” he said.
“You said that already.”
“I hired a private investigator.”
Anger flared in my chest. “You did WHAT?”
“I needed to know—”
“Needed to know what? That’s my life, Jonah. My relationship.”
“And she destroyed you last time!”
We were both shouting now. “She came back!”
“Did she? Or is that just what you want to believe?”
I stared at my brother. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”
Jonah ran a hand through his hair. “Something’s not right about her, West. I can feel it.”
“That’s not a reason to hire a PI.”
“The PI found something.”
My heart stopped. “What?”
Jonah pulled out a folder. “Carmen Santos. Your Carmen. She’s not in Seattle.”
“What are you talking about? She’s right here.”
“No. Carmen Santos is in Phoenix. Has been for three years. Living under a different name.”
The room tilted. “That’s impossible.”
“I have proof. Photos. Documents. Everything.”
He opened the folder. And my entire world shattered.
Reader Reactions