WTH Mike?

Chapter 27 - Caught in Act

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Creeeak.

The door slowly swung open.

Eve stepped inside, still holding her bag, and stopped when she heard the hurried sound of breathing coming from the other side of the room.

Her eyes found Mike first.

Then Mia.

They were together on the massage table, half-dressed, their clothes scattered across the floor.

Eve's fingers tightened around the strap of her bag.

Mike turned.

The moment he saw her, all the color drained from his face.

"Eve…"

She stared at him.

For a few seconds, she couldn't understand what she was seeing. Her mind reached for a dozen excuses before the truth finally forced its way through.

Mike had been lying to her.

And Mia—the woman she had trusted—was the one he had been lying with.

The bag slipped from Eve's hand.

Thud.

Neither of them moved.

Eve's lips parted, but no sound came out. Her eyes burned as tears gathered, blurring Mike's face in front of her. She took a step back, shaking her head as though refusing to accept what was happening.

"Eve, wait."

Mike moved toward her.

She stumbled backward.

Her legs gave out.

Thud.

Eve hit her knees beside the doorway, one hand catching against the wall while tears finally spilled down her cheeks.

Mike stopped.

For the first time since she had entered the room, Eve looked directly into his eyes.

"Tell me," she whispered, her voice breaking. "Tell me this isn't what I think it is."

Mia twisted around just as Mike took another step toward Eve.

Her eyes followed him.

Then they settled on Eve, still on her knees by the doorway, tears running down her face.

The color drained from Mia's cheeks.

"What is she doing here?" she asked, her voice tight.

Eve gave a broken laugh. "So this is why you kept putting me off? You were already with her?"

Mia's gaze snapped back to Mike.

He stopped.

For a moment, no one spoke.

Then Mia noticed the way Eve looked at him. The tears. The hurt. The way Mike had rushed toward her without even thinking about Mia.

This wasn't some random woman.

Mia's stomach tightened.

"You two…"

The words barely left her mouth.

Mike opened his lips, but no explanation came.

Mia stared at him, waiting.

"Tell me I'm wrong," she said.

Mike remained silent.

Her eyes glistened, but she quickly blinked the tears away. She pulled her top over her head with trembling hands and stepped off the massage table.

Mike finally found his voice. "Mia, it's not—"

"Don't."

She raised a hand, stopping him.

Her gaze moved to Eve, then back to Mike. Jealousy burned through the hurt on her face, but she didn't leave. Instead, she stepped closer to him.

"You told me you didn't have anyone."

"I never said—"

"You didn't have to."

Her voice cracked.

Mia stood there, staring at him as if she were trying to decide whether she wanted to slap him or pull him back toward her.

Mike activated Silver Tongue.

[Silver Tongue activated.]

Mike pulled his clothes into place and took a slow breath. The room had become a mess of tears, anger, and questions, and both women were staring at him as if the next thing he said would decide what happened between them.

He activated the skill.

The change in his voice was subtle. It didn't sound louder or more forceful, but his words carried a strange clarity that made it difficult to look away from him.

"Eve, I know what you saw," he said. "And I know there isn't a sentence I can give you that will make it hurt less. But don't let the worst moment of your life decide everything that came before it."

Eve's trembling slowed.

She wiped her face, but another tear slipped down her cheek.

"You expect me to believe that?" she asked.

"No. I expect you to remember what was real."

Mike lowered himself slightly so he wasn't standing over her. "I wanted you, Eve. I still do. Whatever else happened tonight doesn't change the time we spent together, the things you felt, or the things you wanted from me."

Eve stared at him, anger still burning behind her wet eyes.

"You cheated on me."

"I did."

The admission made her blink.

Mike didn't look away. "I'm not going to insult you by pretending otherwise. I made a choice, and you walked in at the exact moment when that choice became impossible to hide."

Mia stood a few steps away, her arms folded tightly across her chest. She had been silent, but her eyes hadn't left Mike.

He turned toward her.

"And you have every right to be angry too."

Mia's expression hardened. "Do I? Because apparently I was just another secret."

"You weren't a secret to me."

"Then what was I?"

Mike hesitated.

That hesitation hurt her more than an immediate answer would have.

Mia's jaw tightened. "Exactly."

Mike took a step toward her, then stopped when she stiffened.

"You weren't nothing," he said quietly. "What happened between us mattered to me. I won't lie about that just because Eve is standing here."

Mia's anger faltered for half a second.

Mike looked between them. "That's the part neither of you wants to hear. There isn't a clean explanation. I wanted both of you. I knew that made me selfish, but I kept telling myself I could keep the two parts of my life separate."

Eve's fingers curled against the floor. "And now?"

"Now you both know."

Silence settled over the room.

Mia looked away first, swallowing hard. She was still angry, still hurt, but she hadn't walked away. Eve remained where she was, her tears slowly drying on her cheeks as she struggled with everything she'd just heard.

Mike let the silence linger before speaking again.

"I know you both have reasons to hate me right now. But if you're going to walk away, do it because that's what you truly want—not because you're too hurt to think straight."

Neither woman answered.

But neither of them left.

Then a faint blue glow flickered in front of Mike's eyes.

A translucent window appeared in the air.

[Persuasion successful.]

Mike looked from Eve to Mia, letting the silence settle before he spoke.

"I know you're both hurt. I know you're angry. And I'm not going to stand here and pretend I didn't cause this." His voice remained calm, each word carrying a quiet weight. "But there's one thing I'm not going to lie about anymore. I want both of you. I'm not choosing one of you over the other."

Eve's brows tightened. "After what you did, you expect us to just accept that?"

"No," Mike said. "I expect you to decide for yourselves what you want. But don't make that decision while you're still in shock."

Mia's fists remained clenched at her sides. She looked away, then back at him almost immediately.

Mike noticed.

"If you walk out now, you'll have questions you won't be able to answer," he continued. "You'll wonder what was real, what wasn't, and whether you left because you wanted to or because you couldn't stand looking at me."

Eve's breathing slowed. She hated how much sense his words made.

Mike stepped closer, stopping a few feet away from them.

"I'm not asking you to forgive each other," he said. "I'm not even asking you to like each other. I'm asking you to stay long enough to hear everything, then decide what happens next."

Neither woman moved.

Eve wiped the last tear from her cheek. Mia's anger was still there, but the certainty behind it had begun to crack. They were both watching him now, caught between what they knew they should do and what some stubborn part of them still wanted.

Mike's voice softened.

"You don't have to lose me just because you found out about each other."

The silence that followed felt different.

Eve looked at Mia.

Mia looked back.

Neither woman spoke, but neither reached for the door either.

Mike watched them carefully. The skill was doing its work, taking the raw anger in the room and giving it somewhere else to go. The betrayal hadn't disappeared. Neither had the jealousy.

But now there was doubt.

And beneath that doubt, a dangerous curiosity neither woman was ready to admit.

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