The next morning, the sun hung pale in the sky, as if watching from a distance—powerless to intervene.
Everyone gathered in the living room, trying to reclaim some semblance of calm. Serena brewed coffee, Julia read aloud in a low voice, Jack quietly cleaned his weapon, and James—though more composed than the night before—remained silent, observing the others with troubled eyes.
The doorbell rang.
They exchanged glances. No one expected visitors... This time, it was James who rose to answer.
He opened the door to find a plain brown envelope on the doorstep—no sender, no signature. He carried it inside.
Then he gently pulled away and followed Georgia... as if something was pulling him without resistance.
James (puzzled):
"What's this? No one's out there... Just the envelope."
Julia (teasing):
"Open it. Maybe it's from your secret lover."
James (laughing darkly):
"Hahaha—very funny. Didn't know you had a sense of humor."
He unfolded the letter inside. As he read, his expression shifted from neutrality to suspicion... then to outright fury.
James (voice trembling with rage):
"Who wrote this garbage? Who?!"
Mido stood and approached.
Mido:
"What's wrong?"
James thrust the letter at him. It contained eerily precise personal details:
"You know she doesn't trust you, don't you? Christina's been watching you this whole time... She said she's afraid you'll repeat her past betrayal. Be careful, James. Some wounds never heal."
Mido read it coldly, then folded the paper and lit it with his cigarette.
Mido (calmly):
"It's a cheap trick... meant to sow doubt."
But the spark had already ignited.
James (glaring at Christina):
"Did you actually say this? That you're afraid I'll 'repeat' a betrayal that never even happened?!"
Christina (stunned):
"What? James, I didn't write this! Whoever did wants to hurt us!"
Julia (intervening):
"No one in this house is naïve... Who else would know these details?"
Unseen, Georgia watched from the staircase—her face still, her eyes alight with silent triumph.
She whispered to herself:
Georgia:
"Just one letter... One seed, and the cracks begin. They'd tear everything apart with their own hands.
Doubt seeped between them like fire through dry straw, silent at first, then devastating. Words were few, but glances were many, volleying the unspoken, gnawing at what little trust remained.
Jack stood apart, watching, his brow furrowed—yet his right arm was wrapped tenderly around Sarah, who hid her fear behind a fragile smile.
Sarah (whispering, pleading):
"Love… tell me I can still rely on you."
Jack met her gaze with steady confidence, pulled her close, and said firmly:
"Of course, my queen. I'll kill anyone who dares harm you."
Sarah smiled, rose onto her toes, and kissed him—soft, romantic, a kiss that felt like the first stone of a bond utterly unlike the surrounding chaos.
Across the room, Serena sat on the couch beside Mido. His legs were stretched over the glass table, smoke curling from his cigarette, eyes half-lidded as if the world couldn't rouse him.
She studied him, then murmured:
"You're so calm it's like you don't care… but I know you. There's a storm in you—and only I hear it."
Mido (exhaling slowly):
"Storms don't frighten me, Serena… I teach the wind how to scream."
She laughed lightly, plucked the cigarette from her fingers, and took a drag:
Serena (eyes glinting):
"I just don't want you to ignite that storm for anyone but me."
Mido (leaning in):
"Jealous?"
Serena (glancing at Christina, then Julia):
"Christina talks to you too much… Julia laughs at your jokes—even the unfunny ones."
Mido (whispering):
"No one makes me laugh but you. No one silences me but you."
His hand covered hers, love's heat seeping through but not enough to quell her jealousy.
In the corner, James and Christina stood face-to-face, the letter's poison still ticking in his mind like an undetonated bomb.
James (voice tight):
"Did you really say that? Tell me now—did you doubt me?"
Christina (frustrated):
"No! I never said a word. "I don't know where those words came from—you know I love you!"
James (louder):
"But I can't unseen that letter. It had details we only knew. Who told them?!"
Christina (seething):
"You think I betrayed you? After all I've done!"
James (looking away):
"I think there's someone among us… watching… playing us."
Before she could reply, Christina turned—and saw Georgia gliding past the curtain, a smirk on her lips as she whispered:
"Bravo, doubt… And so the fall begins."
James stormed out of the room, but Christina couldn't take it anymore. In a reckless moment fueled by longing, she lunged at him fiercely, wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing him with a passion so deep it seemed meant to erase every disappointment, every doubt, every moment spent apart.
Her eyes glistened with tears as she glared at him, her voice trembling with anger:
"You know I'm crazy about you, you idiot!"
James looked at her, that lopsided smile—the one he only wore when he was truly himself—returning to his face. He kissed her quickly, but the kiss carried everything he couldn't say.
"Enough talking... just kiss me."
She took his hand, her gaze a mix of promise, apology, and hidden seduction.
"Come... let's go somewhere private. I'll make it up to you."
He tightened his grip on her hand, as if finding himself again, then turned to the others with a wry smile:
"I'm off to war. If you need me... wait till I get back."
Some laughed, others smiled quietly—but in the heart of the room, the laughter wasn't contagious.
Serena sat on the couch beside Mido, who seemed lost in his own world. His feet were propped on the glass table, a cigarette between his fingers, blowing gray smoke upward with indifference.
She glanced at him from the corner of her eye—not just with jealousy, but with betrayal... and threat.
"Do you like what you see?" she asked, her voice low but sharp.
Mido raised an eyebrow, smirked, and replied:
"Wasn't even looking."
She shifted closer, her hand sliding slowly toward his waist, trying to provoke a reaction.
"If Christina found her man... I want mine too. And you know I won't settle."
Mido lifted her hand calmly, pushing it away without force but with firmness:
"Don't even think about it. This isn't a competition."
"I can't take it anymore!" Her voice was rebellious, teetering on an explosion.
"I will have you... whether you like it or not."
Mido closed his eyes for a moment, then said with sudden quiet:
"I know you will... but I have a strange feeling tonight. And I'm not in the mood to anger Allah knowingly."
She stared at him, shocked and frustrated:
"But... Allah is Forgiving and Merciful, isn't He? That's what the Quran says."
He opened his eyes, holding her gaze for a long moment before replying:
"It's not about throwing yourself into sin with a smile, then hiding behind His mercy. That's exploiting His kindness. Some sins happen without intent... others you build slowly, savoring them. And that is far worse."
She fell silent, but her heart burned hotter.
"Change the subject... before I go to sleep with Georgia!"
He said it with a provoking smirk, exhaling smoke.
Serena shrieked:
"MIDO!!!"
She jumped up, grabbed a glass vase from the table, and hurled it onto the floor, shattering it at his feet. She chased after him, screaming:
"You're insufferable! No one rejects Serena! You'll regret this, you hear me?!"
Mido climbed the stairs slowly, laughing, then turned and called back:
"Maybe if you wait in line... your turn will come. Or not!"
Her screams grew louder, but Mido disappeared behind the wall, laughing arrogantly.
Georgia stood at the corner of the hallway, wearing a tight dress that revealed more than it concealed, her lips painted blood-red.
When Jack passed by, she gave him a confident look, a faint smirk, then crooked her finger, beckoning him closer.
He hesitated, glancing at Sarah, who held his arm, and muttered:
"I'm going to the bathroom."
Then he gently pulled away and followed Georgia... as if something was pulling him without resistance.
Night had draped its cloak over the house, and a heavy silence hung in the hallway leading to the bedrooms.
Jack pushed the half-open door and entered with slow steps, as if caution walked before him.
The light inside was dim, flickering crimson shadows dancing on the walls, the air thick with a cloying, unmistakable perfume.
On the bed, Georgia lay stretched out like a princess on her throne. A dark silk sheet barely covered her deliberately exposed curves.
A small smile curled her lips when she spotted him, and she called out in a voice like a whisper:
"You're late, Jack..."
He approached without a word, his gaze shifting between her eyes and the details of the room.
She sat up slightly, pulling the sheet a little lower, then reached out to touch his chest with deceptive tenderness.
"What's wrong? "Didn't you come here because you want me?"
Jack raised his eyes to hers, not answering immediately. Something strange stirred inside him—a vague feeling that this was about more than just desire.
"I feel like there's a price... "You don't seem like a woman who does anything without a reason."
Georgia laughed lightly, tilting her head with an elegant smirk.
"Clever as ever... "Yes, nothing comes for free, Jack."
He moved closer, sitting beside her on the bed as she leaned against his shoulder like a lover who'd found solace.
She whispered:
"I want you to get rid of Mido."
He didn't react with surprise, just stared at the opposite wall as if he'd expected this request.
She continued, raising a mocking eyebrow:
"A simple accident... Nothing suspicious. Make everyone think it was fate, not you."
A long silence passed before Jack finally smirked and murmured:
"I have a brilliant idea."
She pressed closer, whispering:
"I knew you'd agree..."
At that moment, everything seemed intimate—the warmth, the closeness, the words... But beneath it all, betrayal festered in the womb of the night.