Hailey's POV

Unknown number.

I stared at the screen. It had to be Calix. He said he would call me. My heart was racing just thinking about what he might tell me. How did he know me? Why did he keep calling me Nana?

I answered.

"Hello?"

Nothing. Just silence. I could hear breathing on the other end, but no one was talking.

"Hello? Is anyone there?"

Then the line went dead.

I waited, thinking he would call back. But my phone stayed silent. I tried calling the number back, but it didn't work. The number didn't exist.

I lay in bed for hours, staring at the ceiling. My mind kept replaying the moment Calix saved me, his hand healing itself, the way he looked at me like he knew me and the half-heart mark on my shoulder that appeared overnight.

It didn't make sense. None of it made sense.

Around three in the morning, I gave up trying to sleep. I got out of bed and went downstairs to get water from the kitchen.

I found Evans there.

He was sitting at the kitchen table in the dark, a cup of tea in front of him. He looked like he hadn't slept either.

"Can't sleep?" he asked.

"No." I sat down across from him. "You?"

"No." He poured me a cup of tea from the pot. "Bad dreams."

We sat there in silence for a while. It was the first time we'd been alone together since the night at the bar. The first time I felt like we were just two people, not a fake couple pretending for the world.

"Hailey," Evans said softly. "I've been thinking."

"About what?"

"About us. About this marriage." He looked into my eyes. "I want to do this properly. I don't want separate rooms anymore. I don't want to pretend. I want to try making this real like we discussed the other day."

My heart skipped a beat. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, I want to be a real husband to you. Not just for show. Actually try." He reached across the table and took my hand. "I know it's complicated. But I care about you, Hailey. I always have. I want a real marriage with you."

I should have said no. Everything inside me was telling me something was wrong. There were too many unanswered questions. Who was Calix? Why did he call me Nana? What did the mark on my shoulder mean?

But when Evans looked at me like that, with those eyes that used to make me feel safe, I couldn't say no.

"Okay," I whispered. "Let's try."

He smiled and squeezed my hand. "Really?"

"Really."

Things changed after that night.

Evans started treating me like a real wife. He would wake up with me in the morning and make breakfast. He would walk me to the car and kiss my forehead before I left for work.

He called me during lunch just to hear my voice. He picked me up from the office and took me to dinner at fancy restaurants. He told me I was beautiful. He told me he wanted to spend his life with me.

It was everything I'd ever wanted.

But there was something off about it all. It felt too perfect. Too fast. Like he was trying to convince me of something. Like he was trying to make me forget about the questions I had.

One evening, we were having dinner at home. Evans had cooked for me. We sat at the dining table with candles burning between us.

"I've been thinking about the future," Evans said. "About us having a family."

I almost choked on my wine. "A family? Evans, we've been married for less than a month."

"I know. But I want that with you. Kids, a real home, a real life together." He reached across the table and held my face in his hands. "I love you, Hailey. I think I always have."

He kissed me then. Softly at first, then deeper. When we pulled apart, I was breathless.

"I love you too," I heard myself say.

And I meant it. God help me, I meant it.

That night, Evans came to my room. He didn't ask permission. He just walked in like he belonged there.

"Move in with me," he said. "Sleep in my room. Let's stop pretending there's any distance between us."

I should have asked more questions. I should have demanded answers about everything that had happened. But instead, I let him take my hand and lead me to his bedroom.

We didn't sleep that night. We talked and kissed and held each other like we had forever. Like there were no secrets between us. Like our marriage was real.

In the morning, I woke up in his arms. He was already awake, watching me sleep.

"Good morning," he whispered.

"Morning," I said, smiling.

But as I looked at him, something flickered in my mind. A memory of Calix's face. The way he called me Nana and the healing hand.

"Evans?" I asked. "Do you know anyone named Calix?"

His whole body went stiff.

"No," he said quickly. Too quickly. "Why?"

"Just wondering."

But I was watching his face, and I saw the lie.

He did know Calix. He knew exactly who he was.

And he was terrified.