Reality

I

Chapter Four: Reality

Rachel's POV

I am sitting in the café, my body tense as a spring, and the soft hum of life around feels so far-off unreal. My fingers trace around the rim of the untouched coffee cup in front of me, and I find myself glancing at the clock on the wall. Fifteen minutes. My mind races between the warmth around me and cold dread crawling up my spine.

I shouldn't be here. I shouldn't have come. What was I thinking?

The clock ticks again, and I turn to the time, my breath catching in my throat. Noah could be home by now. Or worse, on his way, noticing I'm not there.

I remind myself that Noah most of the time doesn't care where I am, and yet the thought brings no comfort. I know how fast things can change with him. I know his moods, his unpredictable temper.

My phone is face down, silent but menacing, on the table. Every second that ticks by seems to be a second closer to some kind of disaster, and yet I just can't make good my escape. I'm here now. Elvis is coming. After all these years. After everything.

The door chimes, and my stomach twists into knots. Long stride, broad shoulders, eyes that once protected me-but now make me feel everything I worked so hard to bury.

Elvis," I whisper under my breath as he makes his way toward me, his facial features softening at the sight of me. It has been such a long time, but the way he looks at me. it is as if everything remains status quo. Years between us count for nothing but the fog that easily lifts when the day begins to warm up.

"Rachel," he says, the sound of my name on his lips taking me back-back to a time when life was easier, less complex, before Noah.

I paste a smile on my face as he sits down across from me. My heart's running fast. Don't think about the past. Don't get lost in what could have been.

"I won't stay long," I blurt out, my voice suddenly breathless and not at all as calm as it should be. "Noah… I must be home before—"

"Before he finds out," Elvis says for me, razor-sharp eyes cutting through the dimness. There is a bitter tinge in his voice but also a deep-seated concern that overrides even that bitterness. "I understand."

He does not understand it; he couldn't. How would he? He has no idea what my marriage with Noah is like.

He twists in his seat, his eyes bound to mine. "Rachel, what happened? Why'd you leave me like that?" Soft-spoken his voice may be, but it chafes against the hurt in the words, in an almost knifelike way, slicing into me. "I waited for you. For so long.

Guilt feels like a pang deep in my chest; the memories swirl together in a storm that I've tried to outrun for years. "I." My voice breaks as I dig my fingers more tightly into my cup of coffee. "It wasn't about you. It was about my family. They were in trouble-my dad owed money, a lot of money, and I didn't have a choice.

Elvis leans forward, his face narrowing in confusion. "Noah? That's why you married him?" His voice is incredulous, tinged with anger now. "Because of some debt?"

I nod, my swallow hard. "He promised to take care of everything. My dad owe him, he promised to pay it, clear our other debts and also take care of our bills”

But at what cost, Rachel?" Elvis's voice is soft now, and yet the weight of his question feels unbearable. "What about you? Your life?"

I glance down at my hands, at the slight tremble that betrays churning anxiety inside me. At what cost? It's a question I have asked myself every time while with Noah, but I didn't always find an answer to it

"I thought being with a wealthy person would perfect everything” I whisper, “I thought maybe Noah would care for me, that he'd be the man he is portrayed to be. But it's not like that. It's never been like that."

Elvis has nothing to say for a while, and the silence between us becomes tangible, crushing. I can feel his gaze on me, scrutinizing me, seeking some clarity. I wish he couldn't see me this way-so busted, so jailed.

"And now?" he finally asks, his voice barely heard. "Is there? Is there still a chance? For us?"

My breath catches in my throat, and again I glance at the clock-the slipping minutes, my mind screaming at me to go, to run back to the life I've chosen. But my heart-my heart doesn't want to leave. I really don't know if there's a way out, but I really want a way… a way to escape from this.

“I don't know” I say, “I don't know if I can find a way out”

“Rachel," he says, his voice low and full of emotion. "I never stopped caring about you. If there's any part of you that still feels the same. we can find a way. We can figure this out.

I close my eyes and just let his words envelop me, let myself for just a moment imagine that this is my reality-a life free from Noah, free from the burden of everything I've lost. A life where Elvis and I are together once again, not just surviving, but living.

Reality crashes back in with a brutal force. The time. The fear. Noah.

I snatch my hand back, breaking the contact between us. "I can't," I whisper. "I can't risk it. Noah. he'll know. He'll find out, and I can't even imagine what he'd do."

Elvis's face furrows, a deep groove folding into the skin between his eyebrows. "Rachel, you deserve so much better than this. You deserve to be happy. To be loved.

These words kick me in the stomach, and I feel my heart sink. I do want that. I have always wanted that. But my life-my choices-have brought me here, and I really don't know if there's any escaping it now.

“I am scared” I say, “I am scared my family will drown in the debt, I am scared Noah would take action we had never expected. I don't want to do it. I am scared”

He leans back on his chair, frustration etched on his face. “I understand, I know Mr. Noah is much better, but I know there's a way out. I'll help you, you have got me”

I want to believe him. I want to believe he can fix everything, that we can go back to the way things were. But deep down, I know that is just not that simple.

I have to go," I repeat, looking at the clock again. Panic rushes through me. "Noah will be home soon. He'll know I'm not there."

Elvis's eyes shadow with concern. "Rachel, please. Don't go back to him. Not like this."

I get to my feet. My heart is pounding in my chest. "I don't have a choice." My voice breaks, and the threat of tears breaks over me. "I have to go.

He stands too, his hand reaching out to stop me, but I step back. "Please, Rachel," he says, his voice pleading. "If you ever need me, just call. I'll be there. I promise.

I nod, wordless, and then turn and leave the café, my legs trembling beneath me. I step out of the cafe and the conversation we had is weighing down on me. My phone buzzes from my pocket.

It's a message from my husband, Noah

Where are you?

My stomach drops, and I turn back to the café, to the life I have just walked away from-yet again-and I start running.