GRACE

“Who is Grace?”

Daniel didn’t answer.

He just stared at me.

His face had completely changed.

“Who told you that name?” he asked quietly.

“I asked you first.”

He rubbed his forehead.

“Amara…”

“Who is Grace?”

He looked around to make sure no one was listening.

“Let’s not talk here.”

“No.”

My voice surprised even me.

“We’ll talk here.”

He sighed.

“I’ve never lied to you.”

“Then tell me.”

For almost a minute, he said nothing.

Finally, he spoke.

“Grace wasn’t my girlfriend.”

I waited.

“She was my friend.”

“Just a friend?”

“Yes.”

“So why do you look like you’ve seen a ghost?”

He looked down.

“Because Grace is dead.”

I felt my anger disappear instantly.

“What?”

He swallowed.

“She died last year.”

I couldn’t speak.

Daniel sat down on a nearby bench.

“I’ve never told anyone in fellowship the full story.”

I slowly sat beside him.

“She was one of my closest friends. We studied together almost every day.”

He paused.

“People thought we were dating.”

“Were you?”

He shook his head.

“No.”

“What happened?”

His eyes became wet.

“She was depressed.”

I looked at him in surprise.

“I didn’t know.”

“Almost nobody knew.”

He gave a bitter laugh.

“She smiled all the time. She attended classes. She posted pictures online.”

He stared into the distance.

“Everybody thought she was okay.”

“But she wasn’t.”

I remained silent.

“One night she called me.”

His voice became heavy.

“I was working a night shift because I needed the money.”

“I saw the call.”

He closed his eyes.

“I told myself I’d call her back after work.”

He took a shaky breath.

“I never got the chance.”

My heart sank.

“The next morning…”

He stopped speaking.

I reached for his hand without thinking.

“They found her in her hostel.”

Tears rolled down his face.

“For months I blamed myself.”

“You couldn’t have known.”

“I know that now.”

“But back then…”

He laughed painfully.

“I kept asking myself one question.”

“What if I had answered?”

Neither of us spoke again for a long time.

The evening breeze blew across the empty walkway.

Students passed by without realizing that someone’s old wound had just been reopened.

Finally, I asked softly,

“So… why would someone tell me to ask about Grace?”

Daniel wiped his face.

“I don’t know.”

“Did Grace have family here?”

“No.”

“Friends?”

“A few.”

He frowned.

“But nobody who would send anonymous messages.”

Something still didn’t add up.

The story explained Daniel’s pain.

It explained why he’d looked afraid.

But it didn’t explain the messages.

Who was watching us?

And why did they want me to know about Grace now?

Just then, my phone buzzed again.

Unknown number.

One new message.

“He told you she died.”

A second message arrived before I could breathe.

“Now ask him why she called him eleven times that night.”

I slowly lifted my eyes to Daniel.

He was already looking at me.

And somehow…

He knew exactly what the message said.

What do you think? Is Daniel hiding something, or is someone deliberately using Grace’s death to destroy his relationship with Amara?

To be continued…