Chapter 4: The Cousin Who Knew Everything
Tasha had imagined a hundred ways her twenty-sixth birthday could go wrong, but none involved discovering that her boyfriend had been telling people he was single while she stood in a kitchen decorated with gold balloons and birthday ribbons.
The music outside continued. Somebody laughed loudly near the television. A guest called out that the cake was beginning to melt.
Inside the kitchen, Tasha could barely breathe.
“Show me the whole conversation,” she whispered.
Nia hesitated before unlocking her phone again.
“Tasha, I need you to understand something before you read this. Danielle reached out to me because she saw one of Marcus's posts. I didn't go looking for her. I didn't ask her to investigate him.””
“I hear you.””
“Do you?””
Tasha looked up, her eyes wet.
“Yes. I do.””
Nia turned the phone toward her.
The conversation began three days earlier.
*Danielle: Hey, Nia. This might be awkward, but are you still friends with Tasha?*
*Nia: Of course. Why?*
*Danielle: I need to ask you something about Marcus.*
*Nia: What about him?*
There was a pause in the conversation, followed by a screenshot Danielle had sent.
It showed Marcus standing beside a woman at a restaurant. His arm rested around her waist, and the woman leaned into him with the comfortable familiarity of someone who had done it many times before.
The caption read: Finally found my peace. No drama, no labels, just good energy.
Tasha stared at the photograph.
The restaurant was familiar.
She had taken Marcus there six weeks earlier for their ten-month anniversary. He had complained about the prices, then insisted on ordering dessert because he wanted to make the evening special.
She remembered the little candle on the table.
She remembered him holding her hand and telling her that he had never felt so comfortable with anybody.
Now she looked at the photograph and recognized the leather jacket he wore in it.
It was the same jacket he had worn on their anniversary.
“Who is that woman?”” Tasha asked.
“I don't know,” Nia answered.
“Danielle didn't know her name either.””
Tasha scrolled down.
*Danielle: Marcus is my cousin, but I can't keep pretending I don't see what he's doing. He's been telling people he's single.*
*Nia: Does Tasha know?*
*Danielle: Not that I know of. I thought they were having problems, but he told my aunt they weren't even together anymore.*
Tasha stopped scrolling.
Her voice came out thin.
“He told his family we weren't together?””
Nia nodded.
“That's what Danielle said.””
“When?””
“I don't know exactly. She said it had been going on for a while.””
Tasha pressed her palm against her mouth.
She could hear Marcus's voice in her memory.
I'm serious about you, baby.
I don't play games with relationships.
You're the only woman I'm building with.
Each sentence now sounded like something he had practiced.
“Why didn't Danielle tell me?”” Tasha asked.
Nia folded her arms.
“Maybe she was scared of getting involved in family business. Maybe she wasn't sure what was happening. I can't answer that for her.””
Tasha looked at the next message.
*Danielle: He told me he was done with Tasha. Then I saw her birthday pictures on his page from last month, so I asked him about it.*
*Nia: What did he say?*
*Danielle: He said they're together when it's convenient, but he doesn't want anything serious. He said she gets emotional when he tries to end things.*
Tasha felt the words land one after another, each one striking somewhere different.
Gets emotional.
Convenient.
Doesn't want anything serious.
She remembered crying in Marcus's car two weeks earlier because he had canceled their weekend plans for the third time. He had held her hand, kissed her forehead, and promised to make it up to her.
She had apologized for being upset.
She had actually apologized.
“That's not what he told me,” Tasha whispered.
Nia's face softened.
“I know.””
“He told me he wanted us to move in together next year.””
“I know, Tasha.””
“He was looking at apartments with me.””
Nia reached for her hand.
Tasha pulled away, not because she didn't want comfort, but because the truth was coming too quickly and she needed something solid to hold on to.
“I'm sorry,” she said.
“You don't have to apologize to me right now.””
“Yes, I do.”” Tasha shook her head.
“I made you feel like you were the problem when he was out here making me look stupid.””
“You didn't make him do anything.””
“But I blamed you.””
“And you apologized.””
“That doesn't undo it.””
“No,” Nia said gently.
“It doesn't.””
The honesty hurt, but Tasha appreciated that Nia wasn't pretending everything had magically returned to normal.
She scrolled farther.
The next message was from Danielle.
*Danielle: I'm telling you because I saw the way he looked at you at the cookout. I thought he was just being friendly, but now I think he's trying to get close to you while keeping Tasha around.*
Tasha looked up sharply.
“What does that mean?””
Nia swallowed.
“I don't know.””
“Why would he be trying to get close to you?””
“I didn't say he was. Danielle thinks he might be.””
“But you told me he messaged you.””
“Yes.””
“And now this?””
Nia's expression tightened.
“Tasha, I'm not trying to hurt you. I'm telling you what I know.””
Tasha looked back at the screen.
The next message made her stomach twist.
*Danielle: Please don't tell him I showed you this. He'll say I'm trying to ruin his life.*
Tasha lowered the phone.
For several seconds, she stared at the kitchen counter without seeing it.
Then she straightened.
“I'm calling him.””
Nia stepped in front of her.
“Not yet.””
Tasha looked at her as if she had lost her mind.
“Excuse me?””
“Not while you're this upset. Not before you've seen everything.””
“What else is there to see?””
“I don't know. But Danielle said she had more.””
“Then call her!””
Nia retrieved her phone and opened Danielle's contact.
Before she could press the call button, Tasha grabbed her own phone.
“I can call her myself.””
Nia held up a hand.
“Okay. But listen to me first.””
Tasha stopped.
“Marcus is going to deny it. He'll tell you Danielle is jealous, or that she misunderstood him, or that the picture doesn't mean anything. You need to decide what you want to ask him before you hear his excuses.””
Tasha's eyes filled again.
“I want to know why he lied to me.””
“Then ask that. Don't let him turn this into an argument about how you found out.””
Tasha nodded slowly.
For the first time since opening Danielle's messages, she felt a little less helpless.
She called the number.
Danielle answered after two rings.
“Hello?””
“Danielle, it's Tasha.””
A long silence followed.
Then Danielle whispered, “Oh, Lord.””
Tasha's grip tightened around her phone.
“So you knew.””
“I knew something wasn't right.””
“You knew Marcus was telling people he was single?””
Danielle exhaled.
“I heard him say he wasn't in a serious relationship. I didn't know what you two had agreed on privately.””
“You knew he was dating me.””
“Yes.””
“And you didn't tell me?””
“I should have.””
Tasha turned toward the window.
“Why didn't you?””
“Because he's my cousin, and I kept thinking I was missing something. Every time I asked him, he said you two were complicated. He said you wanted more than he could give you, but you wouldn't let him go.””
Tasha closed her eyes.
The story was already being rewritten behind her back.
“And you believed him?””
“I wanted to. I didn't want to accuse him of something serious without proof.””
“What proof did you need?””
Danielle was quiet.
Tasha heard a door close on the other end.
Then Danielle spoke again.
“Can I come over?””
Tasha looked at Nia.
Nia gave a small nod.
“Come to my apartment,” Tasha said.
“Now.””
“I will.””
“And Danielle?””
“Yeah?””
“Don't tell Marcus you're coming.””
“I won't.””
The call ended.
Tasha placed her phone on the counter.
Her birthday party was waiting outside the kitchen, full of people who believed she was about to blow out candles and make a wish.
She wondered how many of them had already heard Marcus's version of their relationship.
She wondered whether he had introduced her as his girlfriend at all.
Then she remembered the jewelry box he had brought earlier.
She opened her photo gallery and searched for the picture she had taken when he first gave it to her. It had been a birthday gift he insisted she open early.
Inside was a delicate gold bracelet.
She had worn it to dinner with him the previous weekend.
She zoomed in on the photograph.
In the reflection of the jewelry box, she could see a small receipt tucked beneath the velvet.
She had never thought to examine it.
Now she enlarged the image until the printed details became readable.
The bracelet had been purchased two weeks earlier.
That wasn't strange.
But the receipt showed two matching bracelets.
Tasha stared at the screen.
She remembered Marcus joking that the bracelet was the first of many gifts he planned to give her.
She remembered asking why he had chosen gold when most of her jewelry was silver.
He had said he wanted to try something different.
A cold sensation moved through her.
Why had he bought two?
She zoomed in further, but the second item was partially obscured.
“Tasha?”” Nia asked.
Tasha turned the phone toward her.
“Look at this.””
Nia studied the photograph.
“Is that the receipt from your bracelet?””
“Yeah.””
“Why does it say quantity two?””
Tasha swallowed.
“I don't know.””
Nia looked at her carefully.
“Don't jump to conclusions. It could be anything.””
Tasha nodded, but her heart was racing.
She had spent months believing that the biggest threat to her relationship was a woman who wore fitted clothes and attracted attention without trying.
Now she was beginning to suspect that Marcus had been living two different lives, and that the truth was hidden in all the little things she had once dismissed.
A knock sounded at the apartment door.
Both women turned.
Tasha wiped her face and walked toward the entrance.
When she opened it, Danielle stood in the hallway, clutching her handbag against her chest.
Her eyes moved from Tasha to Nia.
May you like
Then she said the one thing that made Tasha realize this was about to become much worse.
“Before I tell you what I found, you need to know that Marcus isn't the only person who has been lying.””