Tell Your Partner The Truth
“So you’re abandoning me, after everything I’ve done for you?”
This is a collaborative choose your own adventure story. Click here for the chapter guide. Go back to chapter 1 by Linden Schneider here. Return to the previous chapter here.
Your partner leans out of the bedroom door, eyes narrowed. “Who are you talking to?”
Sweat coats the palm of your hand as you grip your phone, but honesty is the best policy. “This person named Valli called me. I don’t know or remember them, but they claim that they — used to be my lover back in Las Vegas after my ex cheated on me.”
Your partner’s eyes widen. “That’s a lot to take in. What the hell?”
Before Valli can respond to what you just said, you turn your phone on speaker.
Indeed, Valli harangues, “Huh! You can’t even own up to what you did with me a long time ago. I know lovers can be fickle and changeful, but I thought you would be different. I respected your need for distance, now that you found your spouse and built a cushy home together. But what about me? So you’re abandoning me, after everything I’ve done for you?”
Your partner looks totally dismayed. “Who are you?” they say. “And what do you want?”
“I want to see your spouse again,” Valli hisses. “Don’t worry. I won’t spirit them away, not unless they want me to.” A chortle. “But I need to see them again, before — ”
“Before what?” your partner demands, their hands shaking.
Valli sighs dramatically. “Before I do something I’ll regret.”
A pause. “Is that a threat?” your partner asks. Their voice is thin and dangerous.
Valli snorts. “Interpret it how you will. My life isn’t worth living anyway…”
“What are you doing?” you interrupt, panic rising. “I don’t recognize you, and I still don’t know if you’re a scammer or not. But are you seriously threatening to commit suicide if I don’t meet you?”
A soft laugh. “I might.” Silence. “Or, I could do something even worse.”
Your partner shakes their head at you. “Don’t do it.”
What do you do?
- Go see this Valli. No matter what, you don’t want somebody’s death on your conscience.
- Just hang up and ignore Valli. With how extreme their threat is, clearly they’re a scammer, probably looking for a lot of money from you.
