**Chapter 4: The Shadow of the Past**

The next morning, I woke up to the sound of my phone buzzing on my nightstand. I groggily reached over to silence it, but my eyes widened as I saw a text from an unknown number: "He's not who you think he is." My heart skipped a beat as I sat up in bed, my mind racing with questions. Who was sending me these mysterious messages? And what did they mean? I tried to shake off the feeling of unease and focus on the day ahead. I had plans to meet my friends for brunch, and I didn't want to be late. As I got dressed and headed out the door, I couldn't help but feel like I was being watched. I glanced over my shoulder, but there was no one there. At brunch, my friends were chatting excitedly about their latest gossip, but I couldn't concentrate. My mind kept wandering back to the text message and the uncertainty that had been growing inside me since my boyfriend's conversation with his ex-girlfriend, Sarah. As we finished our meal and prepared to part ways, my best friend, Rachel, pulled me aside. "Hey, is everything okay?" she asked, concern etched on her face. "You seem a little distracted today." I hesitated, unsure of how much to share. But Rachel was one of the few people I trusted with my deepest secrets. "I got a weird text message this morning," I said, showing her the message on my phone. Rachel's eyes widened as she read the message. "That's creepy," she said. "Do you think it's from Sarah?" I shook my head. "I don't know, but I'm starting to feel like there's something going on that I don't know about. My boyfriend's ex-girlfriend is trying to contact him, and now I'm getting these mysterious messages." Rachel put a reassuring hand on my arm. "We'll get to the bottom of this," she said. "But in the meantime, can I ask you something?" "Anything," I replied. "Are you sure you're ready for this?" Rachel asked, her voice low. "I mean, you're really into him, and if there's something fishy going on..." I felt a pang of defensiveness, but Rachel's words struck a chord. Was I really ready for this? Was I prepared to face the possibility that my boyfriend might not be who I thought he was? As I walked home from brunch, I couldn't shake off the feeling that my world was about to be turned upside down. The sun was shining, but I felt a dark cloud looming over me, casting a shadow over everything. When I arrived home, I saw my boyfriend's car parked outside. He was sitting on the couch, his laptop open in front of him. He looked up as I entered the room, and a smile spread across his face. "Hey, how was your day?" he asked, getting up to greet me. I hesitated, unsure of how to respond. Part of me wanted to confront him about the mysterious messages and his ex-girlfriend, but another part of me wanted to trust him and believe that everything was okay. As we sat down together on the couch, I took a deep breath and decided to take a chance. "I got a weird text message today," I said, my voice barely above a whisper. His expression changed, and he looked at me with a mixture of concern and curiosity. "What did it say?" he asked, his voice low. I showed him the message on my phone, and his eyes scanned the screen before looking up at me. For a moment, we just stared at each other, the tension between us palpable. "Who do you think sent it?" I asked, my voice shaking slightly. He hesitated before responding, "I don't know, but I think we need to talk about something."