Page 145 of Once in a Lifetime, Part 2

Anna looked ahead. Mano did the same. His fingers moved restlessly on his lap, his body tense.

“Look, Mano… I wasn’t planning to bring this up. But since I ran into you… I think we should talk.”

His eyes shifted, though his head stayed still. “About what?”

“I know you and Ody spend a lot of time together now. He used to say, ‘I’m going out with Steve and Chris,’ and lately it’s always, ‘I’m going out with Mano.’ You’ve gotten really close…”

Mano’s stomach dropped. His mind went blank.

She knows.

“I know you’re probably not gonna answer me honestly,” she went on. “I get that. But I still have to ask.” She turned to him. “You’re around him a lot. So you’d know.”

Mano forced himself to meet her eyes.

“Has he met someone else?”

He held still, but his eyes betrayed him, a small twitch he couldn’t control. He looked away.

“Is there someone else?” Her voice softened, the hurt clear now.

“How… did you come to that conclusion?” he asked, his gaze returning to hers.

She sighed, turning away. “For over a month now, he’s been different. Distant. Colder. He’s not the same with me anymore.” She paused. “I’m sure there’s another girl.”

Mano clenched his jaw, his expression staying neutral. “If you’re that sure, why don’t you talk to him?”

“Because…” She shook her head, taking a breath. “I don’t want to lose him. If he’s not telling me, then maybe she doesn’t matter.”

A punch to the gut would’ve hurt less than those words.

She looked back at him, her eyes shining.

Mano couldn’t hold her stare.

“I’m just trying to act like everything’s normal. Like before. Maybe if I don’t change… He’ll come back to me.”

Mano went still. “So when you’re together… you pretend everything’s fine?”

She glanced at him, uncertain. “I know it’s stupid talking to you about this. You’re his friend. But yeah.” Her voice wavered. “I act like nothing’s wrong while I’m falling apart. I don’t know what else to do when he won’t talk to me.”

Their eyes held.

When he won’t talk to her? He didn’t try? Ody lied to me?

“I guess you’re not gonna answer me,” she said. “You’re his friend, not mine.”

“He didn’t try to talk to you?” Mano asked. The question slipped out before he could stop it.

Anna went still. Something in his question made her pause. He wasn’t asking out of curiosity. He knew something. The realization drained the color from her face. She blinked, staring at him, hoping she’d misunderstood. “…He tried. Yesterday,” she admitted.

Relief hit him, sharp and immediate. Then guilt followed, just as fast.

“But I didn’t let him.”

Mano let out a slow breath and stayed quiet.

“I could tell from the way he started… what he was about to say.” She looked down, her eyes glassy. “I keep telling myself I want him to be honest, but when it actually happened…” She swallowed. “I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t hear him say he doesn’t love me anymore.”