Chapter 57: The women in the haunted house

( this Chapter and most Chapters going forward would be told from a third person’s pov until I announce otherwise so please do not get confused ok )

"Susan?"

For a moment, Raina genuinely wondered if she was hallucinating.

The noise of LaLa Land seemed to blur around her.

Children ran between attractions carrying oversized stuffed animals. Somewhere overhead, a roller coaster thundered along its tracks before plunging into a chorus of screams and laughter. Halloween decorations covered nearly every corner of the park. Fake cobwebs hung from lampposts. Pumpkins lined the pathways. Employees dressed as monsters wandered through the crowds, startling tourists and posing for photographs.

Yet none of it registered.

Because standing a few feet away was Susan.

Susan turned and smiled.

"Hi."

The smile looked friendly.

Almost warm.

That was what made it unsettling.

"What a surprise," Susan said lightly, her gaze drifting from Ethan to Raina. "Of all places."

Beside her, Ethan blinked.

"Yeah... honestly, I wasn’t expecting to see you here."

"Neither was I," Susan replied.

Liar.

The certainty arrived instantly.

Raina didn’t know how she knew.

She just did.

Susan’s eyes never stayed on Ethan for long. They kept drifting back to her.

Watching.

Studying.

Measuring.

As if this encounter had very little to do with Ethan at all.

"Ethan," Susan continued, "you remember introducing me to your girlfriend."

"Of course." Ethan smiled awkwardly. "Raina."

Susan’s gaze settled fully on her.

"Oh, I remember her quite well."

Something about the way she said it made Raina’s skin crawl.

Still, if Susan wanted to play games, she wasn’t about to lose.

"Well," Raina said pleasantly, slipping her arm through Ethan’s, "I can’t say it’s nice seeing you again."

Susan raised an eyebrow.

"No?"

"No."

Raina glanced around the sprawling amusement park.

"Of all the parks in the state, you somehow ended up at mine."

Then she looked at Ethan.

"That’s a bit strange, don’t you think, babe?"

Ethan immediately sensed danger.

"Uh..."

His eyes bounced between the two women.

"Yeah."

Raina smiled.

"A bit strange?"

Ethan swallowed.

"Very strange."

"Good answer."

For the briefest moment, irritation flickered across Susan’s face.

Small.

Controlled.

But definitely there.

Before either woman could continue, a man’s voice interrupted.

"Dear, would you survive without butter?"

A tall man approached carrying two drinks and an empty popcorn bucket.

"Because apparently the popcorn stand has declared war on butter."

Then he noticed Ethan and Raina.

"Oh."

He stopped.

"People."

Susan rolled her eyes.

"Yes, Garrett. People."

She slipped her arm through his.

"This is Ethan and his girlfriend, Raina."

Garrett immediately offered a hand.

Unlike Ethan’s natural awkwardness, Garrett seemed effortlessly social.

The type of person who could walk into a room full of strangers and leave with five new friends.

"Nice to meet you both."

"You too," Ethan replied.

"Likewise," Raina said.

"And this," Susan said, squeezing Garrett’s arm slightly, "is Garrett."

A brief pause followed.

"My boyfriend."

Raina caught the emphasis immediately.

The word wasn’t meant for Garrett.

It was meant for her.

Ethan looked surprised.

"Boyfriend?"

Susan tilted her head.

"Funny."

"What?"

"You didn’t mention your girlfriend."

The jab landed exactly where intended.

Raina felt irritation flare.

"Oh, I suppose we’re similar in that regard," Susan continued. "Keeping our relationships separate from work."

Her eyes locked with Raina’s.

The message couldn’t have been clearer.

Garrett looked between them.

The man wasn’t stupid.

The tension practically had its own heartbeat.

"So..." he said carefully. "How do you all know each other?"

"We—"

Before Ethan could answer, Raina cut him off.

"I don’t know her personally."

Everyone looked at her.

Raina smiled sweetly.

"But she used to date my boyfriend."

A beat passed.

Then she added:

"Long before I came along."

Ethan exhaled in relief.

Garrett looked relieved too.

Susan looked disappointed.

Interesting.

"Right," Garrett said. "That’s significantly less alarming than what I thought you were about to say."

Raina smiled.

"I’m full of surprises."

"That much is obvious," Susan murmured.

The tension returned instantly.

After another uncomfortable silence, Susan looked toward Ethan.

"Would you mind if I borrowed Raina for a few minutes?"

Ethan frowned.

"For what?"

Susan shrugged.

"I thought we could clear the air."

"The office incident."

Nobody believed that.

Nobody.

Ethan looked toward Raina.

"You don’t have to if you don’t want to."

Oh, that’s adorable.

He thought this was optional.

Raina smiled.

"I’m game."

"Perfect."

Susan pointed toward one of the darker sections of the park.

"How do you feel about haunted houses?"

The haunted attraction occupied an entire corner of LaLa Land.

Artificial fog drifted across the pavement.

Orange lights flickered behind cracked windows.

Mechanical ravens perched atop dead trees while fake gravestones littered the grounds surrounding a massive gothic mansion.

Actors dressed as monsters wandered nearby, jumping from shadows to scare passing tourists.

The atmosphere should have been ridiculous.

Instead, it felt strangely appropriate.

Because by the time they arrived, neither woman was pretending anymore.

Susan stopped beside a display of severed heads mounted on wooden spikes.

Without hesitation, she picked one up.

Raina stared.

Susan noticed.

"What?"

She held the prop beside her face.

"Don’t tell me you’re afraid of fake severed heads."

Then she examined it.

"The craftsmanship is impressive."

Her smile returned briefly.

"It almost looks real."

"What do you want, Susan?"

The smile vanished.

Susan carefully returned the prop to its stand.

Then she turned.

Really turned.

Not Ethan’s client.

Not Garrett’s girlfriend.

Just Susan.

"I already told you."

Raina folded her arms.

"To ruin my life?"

Susan shook her head.

"To expose your life."

"Same thing."

"No."

Susan met her gaze.

"It’s really not."

For several seconds neither woman spoke.

Children laughed somewhere nearby.

A haunted-house actor screamed dramatically from inside the attraction.

Normal life continued.

Meanwhile, years of resentment stood face-to-face beneath fake tombstones.

"So what?" Raina asked. "You’re following us now?"

Susan laughed.

The sound carried no humor.

"You think I came here because of you?"

"Didn’t you?"

Susan didn’t answer.

Which was answer enough.

Raina shook her head.

"You’re obsessed."

The words struck a nerve.

Susan’s jaw tightened.

Barely.

But Raina saw it.

"You know what’s funny?" Susan asked quietly.

"What?"

"For years, I thought I was losing my mind."

The anger disappeared from her voice.

That somehow felt worse.

Susan looked away for a moment.

"I kept replaying everything."

Her fingers curled at her sides.

"Felix."

"The phone."

"You."

She laughed bitterly.

"I spent years trying to convince myself I was imagining things."

Then she looked back.

Her eyes had hardened.

"Turns out I wasn’t."

Raina said nothing.

Because there was nothing to say.

"And you know what the worst part is?" Susan asked.

Raina already knew the answer.

But she asked anyway.

"What?"

Susan’s voice cracked.

"You were my friend."

That one landed.

Hard.

"I defended you," Susan continued. "I trusted you."

A lump formed in Raina’s throat.

"You made me think I was crazy."

The accusation hung between them.

Heavy.

Painful.

Unavoidable.

Finally, Raina lowered her gaze.

"You’re right."

Susan blinked.

"What?"

"You’re right," Raina repeated quietly.

For the first time since the conversation began, uncertainty crossed Susan’s face.

Not anger.

Not hatred.

Uncertainty.

Raina swallowed.

"I hurt you."

Susan stared.

Raina looked away briefly.

"I really did."

The admission felt strange.

Uncomfortable.

But honest.

"Whether you believe me or not, I never meant for things to happen the way they did."

"No."

Susan immediately shook her head.

"No."

"I mean it."

"No."

The anger returned with full force.

"You don’t get to do that."

Raina frowned.

"Do what?"

"Apologize."

Susan’s voice cracked again.

"You don’t get to stand there and say sorry as if that fixes anything."

Raina lowered her eyes.

Because Susan was right.

Nothing could fix it.

Nothing ever would.

Then Susan delivered the blow.

"You don’t deserve him."

Raina froze.

Susan stepped closer.

"You know that, don’t you?"

Raina’s throat tightened.

"You know exactly what you are."

And there it was.

The thing Raina feared most.

Not Malcolm.

Not prison.

Not exposure.

Ethan.

Because Susan was saying out loud the thoughts Raina already tortured herself with every night.

That one day Ethan would know everything.

And when he did— 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

He would leave.

"So what happens after?" Raina asked quietly.

Susan frowned.

"What?"

"You expose me."

Raina met her gaze.

"You destroy me."

A pause.

"Then what?"

Confusion flickered across Susan’s face.

Then realization.

Raina saw it.

Susan hadn’t thought that far.

"Oh," Raina said softly.

Susan’s jaw tightened.

"Don’t."

"You haven’t thought about it."

"Don’t."

"What happens after I’m gone?"

Susan looked away.

For the first time, she didn’t have an answer.

Then Raina’s eyes narrowed slightly.

Another realization struck.

"Oh my God."

Susan stiffened.

"Don’t."

"You still love him."

"Don’t."

"You actually think you’ll get him back."

Susan said nothing.

That silence told Raina everything.

"Ethan isn’t in love with you anymore, Susan."

"You don’t know that."

"I do."

"No."

Susan stepped forward.

"No, you don’t."

Raina tilted her head.

"Ethan has always loved me."

The conviction in her own voice surprised even her.

Susan’s breathing became uneven.

"Look at the way he smiles when we’re together."

Raina remained silent.

"He didn’t even mention you."

Susan flinched.

"That has to mean something."

"No."

"It does."

"No, it doesn’t."

Raina took another step closer.

"You think you know Ethan."

"I do."

"No."

Raina shook her head slowly.

"You knew him."

Susan’s eyes narrowed.

"What’s that supposed to mean?"

"It means when he was struggling, I was there."

"It means when he couldn’t sleep, I was there."

"It means when he felt alone, I was there."

Susan folded her arms.

"You don’t know him."

Raina smiled.

A small smile.

The kind that unsettled people.

"I know him so well that sometimes I know what he’s thinking before he says it."

Susan looked away.

"And unlike whatever this is..."

Raina gestured between them.

"I didn’t spend years chasing a memory."

Susan’s head snapped back toward her.

"Ethan doesn’t love you."

Raina’s voice softened.

"He loves me."

"You are lying."

"I’m not."

"You are lying."

"When Ethan tells me he loves me," Raina said quietly, "I believe him."

The slap came so fast she never saw it.

Crack.

Pain exploded across her cheek.

Her head snapped sideways.

For several seconds neither woman moved.

Raina slowly touched her jaw.

It hurt.

A lot.

"Okay," she said quietly.

Susan stared.

"Okay?"

"I probably deserved that."

Which somehow made Susan even angrier.

"You—"

She raised her hand again.

"Raina!"

Both women froze.

Ethan was jogging toward them through the crowd.

Concern was written all over his face.

His eyes moved from Susan.

To Raina.

Then stopped on the red mark spreading across her cheek.

And his expression changed.

"What happened?"