The Loyalty Text - S01 E09

Story 4 months ago

The Loyalty Text - S01 E09

Read Story: SEASON 1 EPISODE 9

Episode 9: The Loyalty Test

The room was so quiet that you could hear the rain hitting the roof. It sounded like thousands of tiny drumsticks playing a very sad song. The air inside the house felt very heavy and very thick. It felt like the air you breathe before a big storm comes to blow the trees down. Nia stood by the cold fireplace. Her hands were shaking. She was holding a small brown folder. Inside this folder was the truth. It was the truth that could either save her marriage or end it forever. She looked at Andre. He looked so tired. He looked like a man who had not slept for many nights. Then she looked at Kate. Kate was sitting in Nia’s favorite chair. Kate looked like she had already won a big prize. She had a small and mean smile on her face.

Nia took a very deep breath. She felt the cold paper of the folder under her fingers. She knew she had to be very brave now. She walked over to Andre and opened the folder. She took out some papers. These papers were printed messages from her phone. She handed them to Andre. Her voice was soft but very steady when she spoke. "Andre, please look at these," Nia said. "These are the very first messages I sent to Kate many months ago. I want you to read every single word. I want you to see how this all started."

Andre’s hands were shaking as he took the papers. He looked at the words on the pages. He saw the dates and he saw the times. He saw that Nia was the one who had sent the first message. He read the words Nia had written to Kate. In those messages, Nia had asked Kate to help her. She had asked Kate to come to the house and pretend to be lost. She had asked Kate to see if Andre was a loyal man. As Andre read the words, his face looked very sad. He saw that his wife had been the one to start this whole game.

"I am so sorry, Andre," Nia said. Tears were starting to fall down her face. "I did not ask Kate to fall in love with you. I did not ask her to try and take you away from me. I only asked her to test you. I did it because I was a coward. I was a very scared woman who did not know how to talk to her own husband. I was so afraid of losing your love that I did something very, very stupid. I should have just talked to you. I should have told you that I was feeling insecure. But I was too afraid to be honest."

Andre did not say anything yet. He just kept looking at the papers. He saw that Nia was telling the truth about the plan. He saw that the test was her idea. But then, Nia reached into the folder again. She pulled out another piece of paper. This was the most important one. This was the message she had found on her old account. It was the message that Kate had sent to her friend by mistake. Nia handed it to Andre.

"Now read this one," Nia whispered.

Andre took the new paper. As his eyes moved across the words, his face began to change. First, he looked very sad. Then, he looked shocked. His eyes went wide and his mouth opened a little bit. He read the part where Kate bragged about how easy it was to trick him. He read the part where Kate said he was a fool who believed anything she said. And then he read the part where Kate said she was going to steal the house and everything in it.

Andre’s face turned very, very red. He was no longer just sad. He was now very, very angry. He looked like a fire was burning inside his eyes. He slowly turned his head to look at Kate. Kate was now standing up. She was no longer smiling. Her face was turning a bright and angry red. She looked like a cat that had been caught stealing milk.

"Is this true?" Andre asked. His voice was very low. It was the kind of low voice that sounds very dangerous. It sounded like the growl of a big dog. "Is it true that you think I am a fool? Is it true that you only wanted to steal my house?"

Kate tried to laugh. It was a very fake and very nervous laugh. "Oh, Andre! Do not be silly!" she shouted. Her voice was very high and shaky. "She is lying to you! Nia made those papers up just to make me look bad! She is a scriptwriter, remember? She is good at making up stories! You cannot believe her! You saw the notes she wrote about you in her office! You saw how she thinks you are not good enough!"

Kate was trying very hard to keep her lie alive. She was desperate. She did not want to lose her prize. She wanted Andre to keep hating Nia. But Nia was ready for this. Earlier that day, while Andre was still at the hotel, Kate had come to the house to pack some more of Nia’s things. While Kate was in the kitchen, Nia had seen Kate’s bag sitting on the table. Nia had seen something sticking out of the side pocket. It was the rest of the pages from her notebook. Kate had kept them! She had hidden them so that Andre would never see the full sentences. Nia had taken them back when Kate was not looking.

Nia reached into the folder one last time. She pulled out the full, torn pages of her notebook.

She did not just have the small pieces Kate had shown Andre. She had the whole pages. She handed them to Andre.

"The notes were never about you being bad, Andre," Nia said.

The tears were streaming down her face like a river. "The notes were about my own guilt. Kate tore the pages so that you would only see the bad words. She wanted it to look like I hated you. But I never, ever hated you. I have loved you every single day since we met."

Andre took the full pages. He put the torn pieces next to the rest of the paper. It was like putting a puzzle together. Now, he could read the whole sentences. On the page where it said "crazy," he now read the full line: "I feel so crazy for testing Andre when he is such a good man." On the page where it said "testing," he read: "I hate that I am testing him because he deserves my trust." And on the page where it said "not good enough," he read the most important part: "I am afraid that I am not good enough for a man as wonderful as Andre."

Andre read the words over and over again. He saw the truth now. He saw that Nia was not mocking him. She was not laughing at him. She was just a woman who was very, very afraid. She was a woman who did not believe in herself. He saw how Kate had taken those honest feelings and twisted them into a mean lie. He saw how Kate had used his pain to try and steal his life.

The silence in the room was so thick that it felt like you could touch it with your hands. It was a very heavy silence. No one moved. The rain was still banging on the windows, but inside, everything was still. Andre looked at the papers, then he looked at Nia, and then he looked at Kate. He finally understood everything. He saw how he had been tricked by a woman he thought was his friend. He saw that Nia’s only crime was being afraid and being foolish.

Nia stood there, waiting. Her heart was beating so loud she thought the whole world could hear it. She had told the truth. She had shown the proof. She had admitted her mistake. Now, she had to wait to see what Andre would do. She looked at him with eyes full of love and hope. She hoped that their love was strong enough to survive the storm she had started. She hoped that he could forgive her for the test.

Kate was standing by the door now. She looked like she wanted to run away. The mean smile was gone. The greedy look was gone. She just looked like a person who had been caught doing something very bad. She knew that the game was over. She knew that her lies could no longer hide the truth. The suspense was so high that it felt like the house might explode. Everyone was waiting for Andre to speak. Everyone was waiting for the final word.

Nia found the missing pages in Kate's bag. Do you think it was a lucky mistake by Kate, or was it meant to be found?

Andre now knows that Nia's "mean" notes were actually about her own fears. Does this change how you feel about Nia's mistake?

Kate tried to say Nia made up the email. Why do you think some people keep lying even when the truth is right in front of them?

If you were Andre, what would you say to Kate right now after reading her message about stealing the house?