THE TRUTH ABOUT THAT NIGHT

I looked at Daniel.

My phone was still in my hand.

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

I didn’t show him the message.

I didn’t need to.

The look on his face told me he already knew.

“Did she really call you eleven times?”

He closed his eyes.

“Yes.”

I felt a lump rise in my throat.

“Eleven times?”

He nodded.

“I told you I was working.”

“So you saw the calls?”

“Yes.”

“And you ignored them?”

“I didn’t ignore them.”

His voice cracked.

“I kept telling myself I’d call back in a few minutes.”

“A few minutes became the whole night.”

Tears filled his eyes again.

“When I finally finished work, it was almost 5 a.m.”

He laughed bitterly.

“I was even angry.”

“Angry?”

“I thought she was overreacting to whatever problem she had.”

He rubbed his face.

“I had no idea…”

He couldn’t finish the sentence.

I looked down at the message on my phone.

Suddenly, it didn’t feel like someone was exposing a secret.

It felt like someone was reopening a wound.

“Did anyone blame you?” I asked.

He smiled sadly.

“I blamed myself enough for everybody.”

Just then, my phone rang again.

The same unknown number.

This time, I answered immediately.

“Who are you?”

Silence.

Then the same female voice.

“Did he tell you the whole story?”

“What do you want from us?”

“He didn’t kill Grace.”

I frowned.

“I never said he did.”

“But he has spent one year pretending he has forgiven himself.”

The line went quiet.

Then she added,

“He hasn’t.”

The call ended.

I stood there, confused.

Daniel looked at me.

“What did she say?”

I hesitated.

Then I told him.

He sat down slowly.

“I know who it is.”

I blinked.

“You do?”

He nodded.

“It’s Grace’s roommate.”

“What?”

“Her name is Bisi.”

“Why is she doing this?”

He sighed deeply.

“Because the last time she saw Grace alive…”

He looked away.

“…I was the person Grace was trying to reach.”

I finally understood.

Bisi didn’t hate Amara.

She wasn’t trying to steal Daniel.

She believed Daniel had failed someone she cared about.

And now, seeing him happy again felt like a betrayal.

The next evening, I couldn’t stop thinking about Bisi.

Part of me felt sorry for her.

Another part wondered if she was still grieving.

I decided to do something Daniel didn’t know about.

I found Bisi’s department through another student.

After waiting almost an hour outside the building, I finally saw her.

She looked nothing like I’d imagined.

She wasn’t angry.

She looked… tired.

When she saw me, she sighed.

“I knew you’d come.”

“You know who I am?”

She nodded.

“Daniel’s new girlfriend.”

“I’m not here to fight.”

“I know.”

We sat on a nearby bench.

For a while, neither of us spoke.

Finally, Bisi broke the silence.

“I don’t hate Daniel.”

I looked at her.

“I hate that he refuses to stop punishing himself.”

“What do you mean?”

She looked at me with tears in her eyes.

“Grace didn’t call him because she wanted him to save her.”

I frowned.

“Then why?”

“She called because she trusted him.”

Bisi swallowed.

“And after she died…”

She wiped her eyes.

“…Daniel disappeared.”

“He stopped answering calls.”

“He stopped coming around.”

“He stopped talking to everyone who reminded him of her.”

I thought about what Sandra had told me weeks ago.

He shuts people out.

It was true.

That wasn’t just how he handled relationships.

It was how he handled pain.

As I stood to leave, Bisi called my name.

“Amara.”

I turned.

“If you really love him…”

She smiled sadly.

“…don’t let him suffer alone the way he did last year.”

I nodded.

“I won’t.”

That night, I called Daniel.

“I know where you are,” I said.

There was silence.

Then he asked quietly,

“Where?”

“In the place you’ve been hiding since Grace died.”

He didn’t answer.

Because he knew…

I wasn’t talking about a location.

I was talking about his heart.

Do you think Daniel deserves a second chance with his past, or has he been carrying guilt that was never really his to carry?

To be continued…