Chapter 220

Drake was quiet for a moment, his eyes darting back and forth across the tabletop in an expression I knew well as "deep thought." After several long moments, a sly grin spread across his face. “You know… I might be able to help with that.”

“How?” Viona and I asked almost in unison.

Drake leaned in conspiratorially. “Well, not to brag, but I’m pretty good at attracting almost anyone I want.” He shot me a loaded glance, causing my face to redden, before leaning back and shrugging. “That includes men. What if I were to, say… catfish Jake?”

Viona’s eyes lit up. “That’s fucking genius,” she whispered.

I, however, was more hesitant. I’d already learned my lesson about scheming with the whole Zoe debacle. To do the same with my friend… I wasn’t so sure. “I don’t know,” I muttered. “Isn’t that kind of risky?”

“Maybe,” Drake conceded. “But if it would protect your friend from marrying someone who’s potentially using her, isn’t it worth the risk?”

I had to admit, he had a point. Amber might be angry, but she would understand. Finally, with a sigh, I threw my hands up in exasperation. “Fine,” I conceded. “So how would this work?”

Drake pulled out his phone. “First, I’ll create a fake profile. Give me a minute.”

Viona and I watched as Drake’s fingers flew across his phone screen. After a few minutes, he turned the phone to show us. “Meet ‘Tyler,’ 28, fitness enthusiast and dog lover.”

The profile showed a handsome AI-generated man with sandy blonde hair and piercing blue eyes. “Wow, that’s so realistic,” Viona breathed. “I’d swipe right.”

Drake grinned. “That’s the idea. Now, let’s see if we can find Jake…”

It took a few minutes of searching, but eventually, Drake located Jake’s profile. My stomach twisted as I saw the images of Jake with Amber carefully cropped out.

“That bastard,” Viona hissed. “We should send her the screenshots.”

Drake shook his head. “No. Let’s see if we can get him to meet up first. If we just send her the screenshots of his Tinder profile, he might be able to claim it’s not actually him.”

“If we can get him to meet up, we can photograph him and show it to Amber,” I said.

Drake nodded. Without hesitation, he sent a message. When he was finished, he showed us the screen. The message read: “Hey there, handsome. Love your smile. Want to grab a coffee sometime?”

“And now we wait,” Drake said, setting his phone down.

We tried to make small talk while we waited, but the anticipation was palpable. After what felt like an eternity but was probably only about ten minutes, Drake’s phone buzzed.

We all leaned in as Drake opened the message. Jake had responded: “Hey, Tyler! Thanks for the compliment. Coffee sounds great. When were you thinking?”

“Holy shit,” Viona whispered. “He actually responded.”

Drake quickly typed out a reply, suggesting a café and time for the next day. Jake’s response came almost immediately, agreeing to the meeting. With the trap set, it was only a matter of time.

We finished our meal, feeling both nervous and sad for our friend. Promising to meet outside the coffee shop, we gathered our things. Viona headed out to the car, but I hung back for a moment to talk to Drake.

“Drake,” I said, pulling him aside. “Have you found any proof about Noah and Zoe yet?”

Drake’s face fell slightly. “I’m sorry, Hannah. I’ve been watching them like a hawk, but… nothing. No late-night visits, no suspicious behavior. Maybe they’re not cheating after all.”

I felt a strange mix of relief and disappointment. “But… he has to be. I’m sure of it.”

Drake placed a comforting hand on my shoulder. “Look, I’ll stay for one more week to try and find evidence. But that’s it, okay? If we don’t find anything by then, you might have to consider the possibility that Noah’s telling the truth.”

I nodded, feeling numb. As Drake walked away, my mind wandered back to the picture in Noah’s offering bundle—the one I was so sure he had put there himself. But if he wasn’t cheating with Zoe…

A small, nagging voice in the back of my head whispered a thought I’d been trying to ignore: that maybe Noah was telling the truth after all.

And if that was the case, then who put that picture there? And why? 2