The Third Eye
POV: Prestige / Mystery Third Part
"You're too quiet, Prestige. And when you go quiet… something's wrong."
Prestige looked up from her barely touched cappuccino, her eyes flickering to Nadine's glossy red lips wrapped around a straw. The café's warmth was a lie wooden interiors, golden lighting, friendly chatter but inside her, it felt like she was sitting in a walk-in freezer. Numb. Quiet. Suspicious of everything.
She forced a chuckle. "I'm fine. Just exhausted. Dan's been working late, and the office has been brutal."
"Uh huh." Nadine wasn't buying it. She leaned back in her chair, folding her arms across her black leather jacket. "I know that face. That's the he-did-something-but-you-don't-have-proof-yet face."
Prestige stared into her coffee, the foam swirling like secrets.
"I don't know," she murmured. "It's probably nothing. Just a gut feeling."
"Your gut?" Nadine leaned in, eyes sharp. "That same guy that knew Sandra was stealing from the PR account? The guy that told you that your ex was flirting with his cousin's fiancée? Girl, don't ignore that gut."
"I might be paranoid."
"You might be too trusting."
That stung.
Prestige reached for the gold bracelet on her wrist Dan had given it to her after a long business trip. She used to wear it like a promise. Now, it felt like a chain.
Just as she opened her mouth to change the subject, her phone buzzed. She glanced at the screen.
1 New Voice Note.
Sender: Unknown.
Her blood turned cold.
"Another client?" Nadine asked.
"No. It's… it's just a number. No name. No display pic."
Nadine raised a brow. "Play it."
"I don't know if"
"Prestige. Play. It."
Her finger hovered for a second longer before she pressed play.
A digitally altered voice played through the speaker. Cold. Mechanical. Measured.
"Ask Dan who he first kissed on the yacht…"
The voice note ended in static.
Silence fell between them.
Prestige felt like the floor had vanished beneath her. She blinked. "What… what was that?"
Nadine leaned forward, her voice a whisper. "What yacht?"
"He told me… I was the first. He said he'd never brought anyone else there." Her voice trembled. "He said it was ours."
"Lies come gift-wrapped too, babe," Nadine said darkly.
Prestige stared out the window beside her. The café glass reflected her face but something in it looked off. Like her reflection knew something she didn't.
Something inside her shifted.
The third eye was opening again.
Later That Night
Dan's side of the bed was empty.
The clock read 1:46 a.m.
Prestige sat up, slowly, heart pounding with a rhythm she couldn't control. She told herself he was probably on a call with a client overseas. He worked in mergers and acquisitions. Long hours. Time zones. Silence.
But tonight, the silence wasn't peaceful.
It was hiding something.
She slid out from under the covers, padded silently down the hallway, and paused outside his home office. The door was slightly ajar. She leaned close, every nerve on fire.
Inside, Dan's voice drifted out, muffled, but laced with warmth.
"...No, she doesn't know. I've kept our little secret. Trust me."
Prestige froze.
There was a pause. Laughter.
His laughter.
He hadn't laughed like that with her in weeks.
A sharp pain stabbed her chest. She backed away too quickly. Her elbow knocked a frame off the hallway shelf. It landed with a dull, echoing thud.
Silence.
Then footsteps.
Dan opened the door, surprised to see her. "Babe?"
She forced a yawn, pretending to be half-asleep. "Sorry. I was getting water."
He eyed her, then nodded. "Okay. Let me join you."
She shook her head. "It's okay. I'm going back to bed."
He hesitated, then kissed her forehead. "Don't stay up worrying. I love you."
She didn't respond.
She just walked away.
Flashback (Three Months Ago)
They were on that same yacht, the one he'd claimed was theirs alone.
Prestige had worn a silk dress. Dan had cooked her pasta from scratch, fumbling in the yacht's tiny kitchen. They laughed. He had kissed her forehead and said:
"No one's ever seen this side of me. This boat… this moment… is all yours."
Now, that same memory choked her like a lie dressed in lace.
The Next Morning
She called the number.
Straight to voicemail.
She ran a reverse lookup. Nothing.
She checked with the telecom service agent. "This number is a one-time virtual line, ma'am. It no longer exists."
Vanished. Just like that.
She sat in her car, staring at the screen for what felt like forever.
Her phone buzzed again.
Unknown Number:
"Memories lie. Reflections don't. Watch him closely."
Two Days Later Charity Gala, Downtown London
The gala was packed with London's elite publishers, politicians, influencers with filters and fake laughs.
Prestige had worn the midnight-blue gown Dan said made her look "otherworldly." Tonight, she didn't feel like a goddess. She felt like bait.
Dan arrived separately. Said he had to meet a client first.
Kate arrived fifteen minutes after him.
That alone was enough to twist Prestige's stomach.
They worked together. Fine.
They laughed. Sure.
But something about Kate's body language was too fluid. Too practiced. Too familiar.
Prestige watched from the shadows of the ballroom's reflective glass panels. She didn't blink. She didn't smile.
And then just for a moment it happened.
In the polished glass wall, she saw Dan's hand reaching for Kate's. His fingers wrapped around hers, and his thumb gently brushed the back.
It was soft. Intimate. Thoughtless in its sincerity.
Her entire body stiffened.
She turned sharply.
In real time Kate had stepped back. Laughing. Dan was sipping champagne. No trace of what had just happened.
But her reflection had seen it.
And her reflection never lied.
Thirty Minutes Later – Balcony
Prestige stepped out for air.
The city skyline glittered, indifferent to her spinning thoughts.
Her phone buzzed again.
Unknown Number:
"Now you see why he never told you about the yacht?"
Her throat dried. Her chest heaved.
The door behind her creaked. Dan appeared, casual, smiling.
"There you are. I've been looking for you."
She turned, hiding her phone.
"You were busy," she said, her voice like ice wrapped in velvet.
He came closer. "You okay?"
She studied him. The tux. The polished smile. The scent of his cologne.
All perfect.
Too perfect.
"Have you ever been here before?" she asked suddenly.
Dan blinked. "The hotel? A couple of times for work."
"No. I mean… this rooftop. With someone else."
He tilted his head. "Why?"
She shrugged. "Just wondering how many places we've been that weren't just ours."
Dan's smile faltered.
"Prestige… where's this coming from?"
She stepped back. "Don't lie to me. Not tonight."
He exhaled, stepping forward again. "Look. I don't know what's going on in your head, but I love you. That's real."
But love doesn't need that many secrets, she thought.
And she didn't say another word.
Later That Night(Home🏡)
Prestige stood in the bathroom, washing off her makeup.
The message replayed in her mind like a ghost:
"Ask Dan who he first kissed on the yacht…"
She opened the medicine cabinet and froze.
Inside was a silver lighter.
Not Dan's.
It had Kate's initials engraved on it.
Mystery POV: Unnamed Third Party
They sat in a dark room lit only by two monitors.
One screen showed Dan's office. The other showed the yacht's hallway from a hidden camera feed dated ten months ago.
On the screen, Dan and a woman Kate stood close. Laughing. Drinking.
Then came the kiss.
Soft. Intentional. Lasting.
They paused the frame, zoomed in, and whispered to no one:
"You made your choice, Dan. But you forgot to record everything."
Back in her apartment, Prestige sat alone. Her heart in shambles. Her mind is spinning.
She heard the elevator ding outside.
Footsteps.
A knock.
She opened the door slowly… and gasped.
It wasn't Dan.
It was Kate.
Mascara smudged. Lips trembling.
"I need to talk to you," Kate whispered. "About Dan. And what he's hiding. Because… I think we've both been playing."