Where My Heart Was Hidden novel Chapter 2

As always, Daniel leaned over to buckle Elizabeth's seatbelt for her. Noticing the redness around her eyes, he spoke gently, his voice laced with reassurance.

"The video was an accident. I'll take care of it and make sure it's wiped clean. You're not in a good state today. Let me take you home so you can rest."

Elizabeth pressed her lips together, but his earlier words echoed in her mind. Before she could stop them, tears spilled uncontrollably down her cheeks.

Daniel paused, clearly caught off guard.

He reached up to wipe her tears, then almost as if something had just occurred to him, he opened the car door.

"Wait here a second, I need to buy something."

As the door shut behind him, Elizabeth noticed he'd left the wrong phone behind.

His phone sat in the cup holder between them. Almost without thinking, she picked it up and typed in Cheryl's birthday.

The screen unlocked instantly.

At the top of his WhatsApp chats was Cheryl's name.

In their most recent messages, Cheryl had asked him if he could cut things off with Elizabeth before she came back home.

Daniel had replied, "She's just a toy. I was never really with her."

Elizabeth's chest tightened painfully. Fighting back the burning in her nose, she scrolled further up.

For the past two years, while Cheryl had been abroad, Daniel had called her every single night without fail, always around 8:00 pm—the same time he always told Elizabeth he was in board meetings and couldn't be disturbed.

On top of that, he had been sending Cheryl money every month—six-figure transfers, clean and direct, with no note attached.

And Cheryl knew how to play it sweet too.

Every now and then, she'd send him selfies, asking for compliments, and Daniel would reply with cute animal stickers—ones Elizabeth had never seen before—telling her not to wear so little, to stay warm, to take care of herself.

Staring at the chat history, Elizabeth finally understood. She had never truly known Daniel at all. The kindness he'd shown her, the tenderness, the care—it was only a sliver of the love he gave to Cheryl.

Daniel returned to the car with a small box of emergency contraceptive pills.

He gently stroked Elizabeth's hair, his voice soft, careful, just like always.

"Last night was a little rushed. I didn't take the right precautions. Take this, just in case."

Elizabeth clutched the box so tightly her knuckles turned white. Her lips were pressed together so hard that they nearly bled.

If she hadn't heard it with her own ears, she might still have believed Daniel actually cared about her.

But now, she was wide awake.

When the car pulled up in front of the villa, Daniel leaned in to kiss her goodbye like he always did. But this time, Elizabeth turned her head away and fumbled with her seatbelt.

Daniel's eyes darkened. He pulled her into his arms, holding her tight.

"Still upset about the video?" he asked.

Elizabeth said nothing.

"I didn't film it. The hotel manager's already been fired."

Verify captcha to read the contentVerify