It started as a joke.
My best friend, Sabine, had just gone through a terrible breakup, and in an attempt to cheer her up, I suggested we visit a psychic. We weren’t believers—far from it.
But it seemed like the kind of harmless, silly thing that might distract her from her heartbreak.
The psychic’s shop was tucked between an antique bookstore and a bakery, the neon “Madame Vesper—Fortunes & Fates” sign flickering against the evening sky.
The moment we stepped inside, a wave of incense and something floral, almost decayed, filled the air.
A hunched woman in layers of scarves sat behind a round table, her fingers covered in silver rings that clicked as she gestured for us to sit.
Sabine nudged me. “You first,” she whispered with a smirk.
Rolling my eyes, I sat across from Madame Vesper. She studied me with piercing gray eyes before taking my hands. Her fingers were ice-cold.
“You do not believe in fate,” she murmured.
I shrugged. “Not really.”
Her grip tightened. “You should.”
A chill ran down my spine, but I forced a laugh. “Alright. So, what does my future hold? Fame? Fortune?”
Madame Vesper didn’t smile. She tilted her head as if listening to something only she could hear.
Then, in a voice lower than before, she whispered, “You are in danger.”
The playful mood vanished. I pulled my hands away. “Excuse me?”
Her expression darkened. “There is someone close to you. Someone you trust. But they have secrets. If you do not uncover them soon, you will suffer a great betrayal.”
I swallowed hard, my mouth dry. “That’s… vague.”
Her gaze didn’t waver. “Look closer at those around you. You are not as safe as you believe.”
A nervous laugh escaped me. “Okay, well… thanks?” I turned to Sabine, hoping she’d share my amusement, but she looked uneasy.
We left quickly, neither of us speaking. I wanted to brush it off, but something about the psychic’s voice, her certainty, unsettled me.
That night, I couldn’t sleep. My mind kept circling back to her words. Someone you trust. Secrets. Betrayal.
I tried to shake it off, but the paranoia crept in. I started watching the people in my life more closely.
My boyfriend, Elias, had been distant lately. My boss, Oliver, had been acting strange, avoiding eye contact. Even Sabine had been distracted.
A week passed. I told myself the psychic was a fraud, that I was being ridiculous. But then, I found the envelope.
It was tucked beneath a pile of mail on the kitchen counter—an official-looking letter addressed to Elias. I wasn’t the type to snoop, but something about it felt… off.
I opened it. And my world fell apart.
Inside was a DNA test. The results confirmed that Elias had a child—one I knew nothing about.
My hands shook. We had been together for three years. We had talked about marriage, about our future. And now, this?
I confronted him that night. At first, he denied it. Then, when he saw the letter in my hands, his face drained of color.
“It was before I met you,” he said quickly. “I didn’t know. She never told me until now.”
“Who is she?” I demanded.
His hesitation was all I needed to know.
Sabine.
I felt like I couldn’t breathe. The pieces clicked together—the secrecy, the strange looks, Sabine’s recent distraction.
My best friend. My boyfriend. And a child they had kept hidden from me.
I stumbled backward, the room spinning. “You lied to me. Both of you.”
Elias reached for me, but I recoiled. “Please,” he said. “I didn’t know.
And Sabine… she didn’t want to hurt you.”
I laughed bitterly. “She didn’t want to hurt me? Then why did she lie for three years?”
I walked out that night, the psychic’s words echoing in my head. You are not as safe as you believe.
I had dismissed her warning as nonsense. But she had been right.
And now, everything I thought I knew was a lie.
