Why Panic When It's Too Late?

"Zayn, why don't we have dinner at Dylan's tonight? He's actually a great cook," Nadine said.

Realizing she might have misspoken, she hurriedly added, "Well, he usually brings his own meals, but I tried his cooking once. And honestly, it was pretty good."

"Yeah, Zayn. You have to come! I'll get off work early and cook for you. I promise you'll love it!" Dylan said with a smug grin, looking right at me.

I knew exactly what he was up to. "Alright, I'll come."

He blinked, clearly surprised. He'd invited me over before, but I always declined and wasn't exactly thrilled about it. After all, he didn't mean anything to me. I simply didn't want to go to his place for dinner.

But now, I'd moved past it. Besides, I was leaving tomorrow, and I didn't want to start any conflicts with Nadine at such a crucial moment.

…

After Dylan requested an early leave to go home, Nadine did the same. She even took me shopping for a watch that cost 100 dollars.

"This is your birthday gift. I wanted to bring you here yesterday but didn't have time."

I glanced down at the watch on my wrist and remembered that Dylan once posted about receiving a watch, too—one Nadine had given him. He received a watch that was worth 10,000 dollars.

Nadine had always been generous with him.

It was bitterly ironic, but I still thanked her. Soon, I'd be gone. I wouldn't have to see her face ever again.

…

That evening, we went to Dylan's place. As soon as I walked in, I noticed a pair of couples' slippers by the door—one in blue, the other in pink.

Nadine slipped on the pink pair as if it were second nature.

Seeing me stare, she quickly shook them off. "I thought these were for me. I must have grabbed the wrong pair," she said.

I didn't look at her eyes. Instead, I just slipped into a fresh pair and stepped inside.

Dylan's apartment was gorgeous—freshly renovated, no doubt.

"Zayn, you're here! Feel free to look around. I just bought this place earlier this year. Oh, and Nadine was with me when I bought it. Paid the full million dollars for it," Dylan said casually while walking out of the kitchen.

Nadine's expression shifted instantly. "Oh, it was during Labour Day. I had nothing to do, so I went with him," she said.

Thinking back, she really did have nothing planned that day. But I'd noticed a huge withdrawal of a million dollars at the time from her mobile banking app.

When I asked where the money had gone, she told me, "I lent it to a friend. He'll pay me back soon."

I trusted her, so I never pressed further. But now, everything was falling into place.

As we sat down to eat, Dylan placed a trash can next to me. "Zayn, just spit the bones in here, okay?"

On instinct, I looked down and froze. Inside the bin was a used condom, along with its strawberry-scented wrapper.

"Oh, my girlfriend and I used that. Sorry, I forgot to clean it up," Dylan said, looking embarrassed. But his eyes gleamed with a strange pride. It was as if he was saying, "See? Your girlfriend's mine."

At that moment, Nadine was utterly disgusting to me.

Nadine looked uneasy, so she cleared her throat and urged us to eat.

Just then, my phone on the table lit up with a message from Alex Hughman.

"Are you really coming to Amenam? Great! I'll rent a place for you."

"What's this?" Nadine snatched my phone, staring at the screen in disbelief.