Maya's POV
Like a possessed woman, I hurried home and ripped through my closet. What happened to it? Where was my old contact book from college? Somewhere, it had to be!
As I rummaged through boxes and old bags, clothes flew everywhere. I could hardly think because my heart was racing so much. Something from my past that could ruin me, was what Jessica found. However, what? How could it be so awful that she believed she could use it against me? Why hadn't I recalled it?
I finally located it at the bottom of an old shoebox. My tiny blue college contact book. Even though some of the writing was faded and the pages were yellow, it was there.
Alex Stone. And his old phone number from a decade ago.
I could hardly hold the book because my hands were shaking so much. What if the number was no longer functional? What if I was forgotten by him? What if my voice caused him to hang up?
Surrounded by the mess I had created, I sat on the floor of my closet and gazed at those ten tiny numbers that might be my only hope.
I picked up my broken phone and dialed before I lost my composure.
Once, the phone rang. Twice. Three times.
"Hello?" A deep voice responded. He was older than I thought, but unquestionably him.
"Alex?" I spoke in a whisper.
A pause occurred. "Maya? "Maya Chen?"
My cheeks began to well up with tears. "Yes. It's me."
"Oh my God. Maya! It's unbelievable that it's actually you!" He spoke in a friendly, animated tone. "How are you? How are things going? How is married life going for you?"
I was hit hard by the question. How was my married life going? I was being cheated on by my husband. My son desired a different woman to be his mother. I was going to lose everything.
"Alex," I said, my voice cracking. "I need help."
His voice instantly shifted from excitement to worry. "What's the matter? "Are you alright?"
"No. I'm not feeling well. I'm not feeling well at all."
"Tell me what's going on."
So I did. I told him everything. concerning Jessica and David. about how they had spent more than a year together. regarding Ethan's desire for Jessica to become his new mother. Regarding the divorce documents that would leave me with nothing. Regarding Jessica's scheme to make Ethan forget I was there.
Alex listened without interjecting. There was a long silence after I was done.
"Maya," he said at last, "I'm very sorry. None of this is fair to you."
"Alex, I'm at a loss for what to do. They want me to simply vanish. to sign documents and leave my own life behind."
"Are you going to?"
I was taken aback by the question. "What?"
"Will you allow them to prevail? Will you surrender without a fight?"
I remembered the girl from my college pictures. the computer science graduate who received honors. The person who refused to be pushed around.
My voice was stronger than it had been in years as I said, "No." "I refuse to give up. But I need assistance. I can't do it alone."
Alex said right away, "You don't have to do it alone." "I'm here. I'll assist you in any way you require."
"You don't get it, Alex. I have nothing. No job, no money, and no skills that anyone would ever want. For the past ten years, I have been a housewife. I'm not even sure if I can recall how to operate a computer."
Alex gave out a soft laugh. "Remember our senior project, Maya? The one in which you developed a program that cut down on the time it took to solve complicated equations by half."
"That was ten years ago."
"Skills like yours don't simply go away. Just so you know, I could use your brain right now."
My heart skipped a beat. "What do you mean?"
"I now manage a tech business. We use computer programs to assist other businesses in resolving issues. Over the years, it has gotten quite large."
"How big?"
"Big enough that I wouldn't have to worry about the budget when I hired the smartest girl in our computer science class."
I began crying once more, but it was a different kind of tear.
"I can't ask you to do that, Alex. What if I'm no longer good enough? "What if I've forgotten everything?"
"After that, we'll work it out together. Even though I've achieved success, Maya, I will always remember the people who were important to me during my time in college. You were important. You are still important."
Something that had been cold for so long inside my chest was warmed by his words.
"There's something else," I stated. "Jessica discovered an item from my time in college. Something she believes that if I fight back, she can use to destroy me. However, I can't recall what it might be."
Alex remained silent for a while. "Do you recall the evening before graduation, Maya?"
I felt sick to my stomach. "Which part?"
"The part where David broke up with you and you came to my apartment crying."
God, please. That had slipped my mind. Just before graduation, David and I got into a heated argument. He claimed he wasn't prepared for a committed relationship. He claimed that he needed time to come to terms with his life.
"I remember," I muttered.
"Remember what transpired after that?"
My face became hot. Now I remembered. I had been furious and hurt. I had consumed too much wine. Alex had been so kind and consoling. I had also given him a kiss. We had shared a bed.
"Alex," I said, my voice growing panicked. "If Jessica is aware of that evening..."
Alex concluded, "She might give the impression that you cheated on David while you were married." "Even though it occurred before your reconciliation."
"The timing would be unbelievable to David. He would believe I was telling lies. He would use it as evidence of my bad character. A bad mother."
"Calm down, Maya. We'll work this out."
However, I was unable to relax. I underestimated Jessica's intelligence. She had discovered the one secret from my past that had the potential to ruin my entire reputation.
"I have to leave, Alex. This was an error. I can't bring you along for the ride."
"Wait, Maya—"
"I apologize. I ought not to have called."
Alex said something that stopped me cold just as I was ready to hang up.
"I need to tell you about something that happened that night, Maya."
"What?"
He had an odd voice. Not the same.
"Jessica isn't aware of it because she discovered old letters or pictures."
My blood froze. "What do you mean?"
"I mean, she was informed by someone. Someone who was present that evening. Someone who has been monitoring you for years."
The room began to spin. "Who? Who was present?"
Alex's voice was hardly audible. "David."
"That isn't possible. David wasn't present. I was no longer with him. He was—"
"He returned to express regret. He caught a glimpse of us through the window of my apartment."
The phone fell out of my grasp and hit the ground with a clatter.
David had noticed us. David had never spoken when he saw me with Alex ten years ago. He married me despite the fact that I had dated his college rival. While keeping this secret from me, he had led me to believe that our love story was ideal and pure.
But why was Jessica only now learning about it if he had known all along?
My hands trembled as I picked up the phone. "Alex, why didn't David ever say anything if he knew?"
Alex's response caused my entire world to spin around.
"Maya, because he didn't just happen to see us that evening. He snapped photos.