Chapter 15: Prepare Yourself Tonight

Pamela’s Point of View

One evening in a grocery store, the fluorescent lights overhead murmured softly as Joana and I slowly strolled down the aisle, our cart and us pushing it. It was one of those dull, lackluster nights where I finally began to relax a little bit. Joana, animated as ever, chattering beside me, commenting on the items we toss into the cart.

“So, how's it going, that apartment near to your workplace? Do you like it?” asked Joana, reaching for a box of pasta and tossing it into the recipe, altogether.

I try to force myself into a small smile. A weight is hanging round my neck: the secret.

“Yeah, it's… convenient,” I say.

That is what she thinks, that I live in a small apartment close to my work. Joana does not know the real story of Rowan or that we are engaged. Every time I try to tell her, I just can't do it. Maybe I fear how she'll react, or that she'll see through the cracks I have been trying to smooth over with this facade I have been maintaining.

She nods, unawa