“Fine…”, she eventually whispered, defeated.

“Everyone has a reason”.

“Fine…”, she repeated, “…The thing is… Carmen is becoming distant. She seems not to care anymore. She doesn’t seem motivated anymore. And it’s like… huh… I don’t know, it’s like she can’t be shaken”.

“Could she be depressed?”, Shane hinted arching her eyebrows.

“No, no…”, Melissa chimed in immediately, waving her hand in the air, “…You don’t know her. Carmen is full of life, she knows how to enjoy life, she laughs a lot, she’s passionate and warm and exuberant. She’s… oh, God”.

She closed her eyes and Shane just stared at her, her face unreadable.

“…I don’t even know what I am doing here”, Melissa mumbled to herself.

“Do you think she’s cheating on you?”, Shane asked softly.

“No. But I did”.

Shane sighed and relaxed her back against the chair.

“I see…”, she just muttered.

“And from that moment on, things have never been the same again”.

“That’s quite understandable, in my humble opinion”, Shane hazarded cautiously.

Melissa threw her a glacial gaze.

“You’re not entitled to give opinions on this matter”.

“I see”, Shane repeated with her lopsided grin.

Melissa ran her tongue on her lips and blinked.

“Look, I just want to test her. Okay? I just want to know if she still loves me or not. And the reasons why she’s still with me, the reasons why she didn’t let me despite I cheated on her”.

Shane ran her fingers through her hair.

“I know that I am not entitled to have opinions, but I’d almost say that you just want to know if she’ll ever get even with you. Maybe if she will, you’ll stop feeling guilty”.

Melissa clenched her jaw and stared at her.

“Maybe”, she conceded, “Or maybe not. Maybe I really love my girlfriend and all I want to know is if I’m the one for her. Maybe I just want to know if we are really meant to be together. Maybe I just want to know what makes her happy, how I can make her happy, maybe –“.

Shane stopped her with an abrupt movement of her hand and Melissa closed her mouth immediately.

That gaze. That look into Shane’s eyes was penetrating, piercing. And, again, that sting of fear tore her apart.