The Lies He Told Me (Grace and Antonio)

Part 4:6

I walked out of the airport, my dad on one side and my mom on the other. our faces lit up with smiles. It was a world away from Antonio's situation.

At that very moment. Antonio was on the floor, his world crashing down. He tried calling me again and again.

Antonio had a reminder set on his phone for my birthday every year, and this year was no exception.

On the 27th, early in the morning, he was woken up by his alarm while staying in Alicia's guest room. He got up as usual, ready to head out for groceries to celebrate my birthday. The gift, a custom-made bracelet, was all set. But when he walked into

the living room and saw Alicia, he hesitated. That was because I hadn't apologized to Alicia yet.

He was puzzled. I was usually so compliant, so why was I being so stubborn this time?

Feeling uneasy at Alicia's place for half a day and getting no messages from me, he decided to head home.

When he opened the door to the house he knew so well, the decor made him doubt if he went to the wrong place.

He left and entered again, but the house was still the same, with the same cold colors from seven years ago. In a daze, he searched every room for any trace of me

He searched high and low but couldn't find anything that was mine.

"What's going on?"

me, only to be met with a recorded voice that drove him nearly crazy. He tried to message me on social media,

weren't for his vivid memories of the past seven years, he might have thought I was just

he recalled a tracking app we used for couples. He opened it,

I had used the app to approach him half a month

that something significant had happened

in

hitting

at a hotel

I was on my feet all night, toasting, until my legs felt like jelly. I ducked into a guest room to catch my breath. Just

shouted, but

of me, and I tiptoed toward the door. The moment I opened it, I was pulled in with

short, and I stared at the man

was soaking wet, holding me up against the wall, his

It took

to

look

my

then he