As the weeks went by, Raine settled more and more into her routine of cooking, cleaning, and living in Tristan's vast, empty house. She had grown accustomed to the quiet, the only noise in the background coming from the soft hum of music through her earbuds while she worked. In those rare moments when she would see Tristan, he would be off to work or buried in his own business, barely acknowledging her presence. She had no complaints, though. She was just doing her job—after all, that was the agreement.
But recently, something strange had caught her attention. Tristan, who used to leave for work hours before anyone else in the office, had started changing his schedule. His once strict routine of getting up at dawn and leaving early had shifted. For the past month, he'd started leaving the house right when he needed to, at the exact time he should have been at the office, and even leaving a bit later than usual, something that was entirely out of character for him.
Raine had noticed this odd change, and it intrigued her. She didn't know why, but something about Tristan's new pattern of behavior made her suspicious. She couldn't quite put her finger on it, but there was something off. She found herself watching him a little more closely, wondering why he had altered his schedule. It was almost as if he was trying to avoid something—or perhaps someone.
One morning, as Raine was going through the household budget for food, she noticed something else that made her pause. The food expenses had steadily increased. She had been given a set allowance for ingredients, but she'd noticed the costs were creeping higher and higher over the past month. It didn't make sense. She hadn't changed the quantity of food she was cooking—so what was the reason for the jump?
Her fingers hovered over her phone, and she found herself texting Nick, the ever-present link between her and Tristan's complicated life.
"Hey, Nick," she began typing, "I've been looking at the food budget, and it's a lot higher than it was a month ago. I'm guessing it's because of the extra food I've been preparing for Jeff, the gardener, in the mornings, right?"
Nick didn't respond immediately, and Raine sat there, waiting for his reply. She wasn't sure why she had added Jeff's name in there—maybe it was just because she'd been seeing him around more lately, helping out in the garden and doing maintenance work. It was a harmless mention, really.
As Raine waited, she realized that she hadn't thought much about Jeff. He was just the gardener, after all. But the more she thought about it, the more she realized that he was the only person who seemed to be around when Tristan wasn't. Jeff was always there, quietly doing his work without causing much of a stir, but still—something seemed off. Why had he started getting extra food in the mornings?
Raine sighed as she finally put her phone down for a moment. It wasn't like her to overthink things, but lately, all of these small details were starting to form a larger puzzle, and the pieces didn't seem to fit. Still, she wasn't one to dwell on things for too long. She was just doing her job, and she didn't need to overcomplicate things.
Soon, Nick's message finally came through, confirming her suspicions but in a more casual, teasing manner than she expected.
"Yeah, I noticed that too," Nick replied. "The food budget is higher, probably because Jeff has been eating more in the mornings. But don't worry, I've got it covered. I'll sort it out."
He paused for a moment before continuing. "As for Tristan, I think he's been trying to avoid someone. You know, with the whole schedule change and all that. He's been acting different."
Raine furrowed her brow at the text. Avoid someone? Tristan had always been a bit of a mystery, but she couldn't think of anyone in particular who would be a reason for him to avoid them.
Still, she found herself thinking about it, piecing together Nick's words with the growing sense that something just wasn't right. The food budget, Jeff's increased presence, Tristan's odd schedule changes—they were all connected somehow, but she couldn't make sense of it. She wasn't exactly one to make assumptions, but everything seemed a little too coincidental to ignore.
Raine shook her head, trying to dispel her thoughts. She had no reason to suspect anything, really. Jeff was just the gardener, and Tristan was… well, Tristan. He had his quirks, but nothing more than that.
Meanwhile, Tristan himself had been feeling an unusual sense of discomfort over the past few days. He had done his best to keep his identity hidden, but with each passing week, the situation was becoming more difficult to manage. He had gotten used to the charade, but as time went on, the guilt of lying to Raine started to weigh on him. He knew she had to be figuring it out—he'd been acting too strangely, and the small details were beginning to build up.
Today was no different. Tristan had just come back from a long day of business dealings, his mind still tangled in thoughts of the family troubles he had been dealing with. It had been a particularly stressful week, with problems both in the business world and within his own family. But the moment he stepped into the house, a strange sense of peace washed over him.
He had done his best to avoid Raine, keeping to his own routines, but today, something felt different. It wasn't that he wanted to avoid her—it was just that he knew he couldn't keep pretending forever.
He was just about to retreat to his study when Nick, ever the troublemaker, walked into the room, holding a book in his hand. Tristan didn't even get a chance to say anything before Nick tossed the book at him.
"Here," Nick said, a smirk playing on his lips. "You're so focused on hiding your little secret, Tristan. But everyone can see right through you."
Tristan barely reacted as the book hit his chest. He glanced up at Nick, his expression a mixture of frustration and embarrassment. He had been trying to keep the truth hidden, but it was becoming increasingly difficult. The guilt gnawed at him, and it was getting harder to manage the charade.
"You're not helping," Tristan muttered, his tone laced with annoyance.
Nick just laughed, raising his hands in mock surrender. "Hey, I'm just here for the fun of it. But I think you've been found out, my friend."
Tristan's face turned a shade of red he didn't care to admit, and he threw the book at Nick in a fit of frustration. Nick ducked, grinning as he picked up the book, holding it out with a mock bow.
"Guess I'll just leave you to your 'business,'" Nick said, a teasing lilt in his voice as he made his way out of the room.
Tristan sat down at the table, his hands gripping the edge as he tried to compose himself. The guilt was becoming overwhelming. How much longer could he keep this up? And what was going to happen when Raine found out the truth?
But for now, he didn't have the answers. All he could do was wait and hope that somehow, the pieces would fall into place without anyone else noticing.
Raine was still oblivious to everything. But soon, everything would come to light. And Tristan knew there was no way to stop it.
The question was, would he be ready to face it when the time came?