SCENE 1 — THE QUESTION ANTHONY DIDN’T EXPECT

The evening was quiet. D’Nisha stood near the living room window, her arms crossed, while Anthony casually checked something on his phone. She had been thinking about what happened earlier, and she wasn’t ready to let the matter go.

D’NISHA
Anthony, I want to ask you something again. And this time, I need you to be completely honest with me.

ANTHONY
(Slightly irritated)
What is it now? I already explained everything to you. Why are we going over the same thing again?

D’NISHA
Because I still don’t understand why you were looking at Jas the way you were. You might think I didn’t notice, but I did.

ANTHONY
D’Nisha, seriously? I wasn’t looking at her. Maybe my eyes went in her direction for a second, but that doesn’t mean anything. You’re making a big deal out of something that never happened.

D’NISHA
I never said you couldn’t look in someone’s direction. I’m asking why you seemed so interested in her.

ANTHONY
I wasn’t interested! You know what? I can’t even look around anymore without having to explain myself.

D’NISHA
You don’t have to get defensive if there’s nothing to hide.

ANTHONY
I’m not hiding anything. I love you, and I don’t know how many times I have to say that before you believe me.

D’NISHA
I hope that’s true, Anthony. Because I don’t want to be the last person to discover something that concerns my own relationship.

ANTHONY
There’s nothing for you to discover. Can we please move on?

D’Nisha didn’t respond. Anthony assumed the conversation was over. He believed his explanation had worked. But D’Nisha wasn’t convinced—and she had no idea that he was already thinking about Jas again.

SCENE 2 — A SECRET MESSAGE

Later that afternoon, Anthony found himself alone in his car. He looked around before opening his phone and searching for Jas’s contact. He hesitated for a moment, then typed a message.

A few minutes passed. Anthony checked the screen repeatedly. Finally, Jas replied.

Jas read the message and thought about it. She remembered the unusual attention Anthony had given her earlier. She also knew that D’Nisha was his partner. Still, she decided to respond.

Anthony sent her the address. He then locked his phone and placed it beside him. For a moment, he sat silently, thinking about what he wanted to do. This wasn’t going to be an ordinary meeting. He had something in mind, and he wasn’t ready for D’Nisha to find out.

SCENE 3 — JAS ARRIVES

A little later, Jas arrived at the agreed location. Anthony was already waiting outside. He immediately noticed her approaching and stepped forward.

JAS
Hi, Anthony. What’s going on? Your message made it sound like something important was happening.

ANTHONY
(Smiling)
Nothing bad. I’m glad you came.

JAS
You said you wanted to discuss something. So, what is it?

ANTHONY
Actually, I was thinking we could go somewhere else. It’s better if we talk somewhere more comfortable.

JAS
Somewhere else? I thought we were meeting here.

ANTHONY
I know. But I have another place in mind. Come on, it’ll only take a few minutes.

JAS
Anthony, I hope you understand that I don’t want any misunderstandings. Especially with D’Nisha.

ANTHONY
Why would there be a misunderstanding? We’re just having a conversation. You’re overthinking it.

JAS
I’m not overthinking anything. I just don’t want to get involved in something that could create problems between you two.

ANTHONY
There’s no problem. D’Nisha and I are fine.

He opened the car door for her. After a brief hesitation, Jas got inside. Anthony walked around to the driver’s side, started the engine, and drove away. Neither of them noticed a car parked a short distance away. Someone had been watching.

SCENE 4 — D’NISHA DISCOVERS THE TRUTH

Meanwhile, D’Nisha had been trying to put Anthony’s earlier behavior out of her mind. But something didn’t feel right. Anthony had told her he needed to take care of a few things, yet he hadn’t explained where he was going.

She wasn’t planning to follow him. However, when she unexpectedly noticed his car leaving the area, she recognized something unusual. Then she saw Jas getting into the passenger seat.

D’Nisha froze.

D’NISHA
(Whispering to herself)
Wait a minute. Is that Jas?

She looked again. There was no mistake. It was Anthony’s car, and Jas was sitting beside him.

D’NISHA
So that’s what he meant by having nothing to hide?

She quickly got into her own car.

D’NISHA
I knew something wasn’t right. First, he denies everything, and now he’s secretly meeting her?

She started the engine and followed at a distance. Her mind was racing with questions. Why had Anthony contacted Jas? Why hadn’t he told her about the meeting? And most importantly, where were they going?

She watched as Anthony’s car continued down the road and eventually turned into a busy shopping district. D’Nisha slowed down and parked. She wanted to understand what was happening before confronting either of them. But what she was about to witness would make that decision much harder.

SCENE 5 — THE SHOPPING TRIP

Anthony parked outside an upscale shopping center. Jas looked through the window, confused.

JAS
Anthony, why are we here?

ANTHONY
I thought we could look around and pick up a few things.

JAS
Pick up a few things? What things?

ANTHONY
Come on, Jas. Don’t make everything complicated. Let’s go inside.

JAS
You invited me here because you wanted to talk. Now you’re bringing me shopping. I’m honestly confused.

ANTHONY
I told you I wanted to spend some time with you. What’s wrong with that?

JAS
The problem is that you’re in a relationship with D’Nisha. You should be thinking about how this looks.

ANTHONY
D’Nisha doesn’t need to know every single thing I do. Besides, I’m not doing anything wrong.

JAS
Then why didn’t you tell her you were meeting me?

Anthony didn’t answer immediately. Instead, he opened the car door and stepped outside.

ANTHONY
Can we just go inside? I don’t want to spend the entire afternoon arguing.

Jas eventually stepped out. They walked toward the entrance. Inside, Anthony began looking through several stores. He stopped in front of a clothing display and turned toward Jas.

ANTHONY
What do you think about this?

JAS
It’s nice, I guess.

ANTHONY
You should try it. I think it would look good on you.

JAS
Anthony, I don’t think this is a good idea.

ANTHONY
Why? I’m just asking for your opinion.

JAS
Because this isn’t what you told me we were doing.

ANTHONY
You worry too much. Relax. We’re just shopping.

JAS
You keep saying that, but I still don’t understand why you wanted me here.

ANTHONY
There’s something I wanted to show you. That’s why I brought you here.

Jas was about to ask what he meant when someone suddenly approached them from behind.

SCENE 6 — D’NISHA CONFRONTS THEM

D’NISHA
What exactly are you two doing here?

Anthony immediately turned around. His expression changed. Jas looked completely shocked. D’Nisha stood directly in front of them, her eyes moving from Anthony to Jas and then toward the shopping bags in Anthony’s hand. For a few seconds, nobody spoke.

ANTHONY
D’Nisha? What are you doing here?

D’NISHA
That’s an interesting question. I should be asking you the same thing.

ANTHONY
I can explain.

D’NISHA
Really? Because I’d love to hear this explanation. You told me you weren’t interested in Jas. You denied looking at her. You acted like I was imagining everything.

D’Nisha pointed toward Jas.

D’NISHA
And now I find you here with her, secretly taking her shopping?

JAS
D’Nisha, please. I didn’t know you were going to be here.

D’NISHA
You didn’t know? Then tell me something. Did you know he was bringing you shopping instead of having the conversation he promised you?

JAS
I actually asked him about that. He told me he just wanted to spend some time and show me something.

D’NISHA
Show you something? What exactly?

ANTHONY
D’Nisha, lower your voice. People are looking at us.

D’NISHA
You are worried about people looking at us? You weren’t worried about me when you secretly arranged this meeting!

ANTHONY
It wasn’t supposed to be a big deal!

D’NISHA
Then why hide it?

Anthony opened his mouth, but no words came out.

D’NISHA
Answer me, Anthony. Why did you contact her behind my back?

SCENE 7 — ANTHONY’S EXPLANATION

Anthony took a deep breath. He knew he needed to say something, but every explanation seemed to make the situation worse.

ANTHONY
Look, I didn’t tell you because I knew you would react exactly like this. You already had your suspicions, and I didn’t want another argument.

D’NISHA
So your solution was to hide the meeting?

ANTHONY
I wasn’t trying to hurt you.

D’NISHA
But you knew this would upset me. That’s why you kept it secret!

Jas finally decided to speak.

JAS
Anthony, I think you should tell her the real reason you brought me here. This situation is getting out of control.

ANTHONY
Jas, please. Let me handle this.

JAS
No. I don’t want to be caught in the middle of something I don’t understand.

D’NISHA
At least one person here is willing to admit that something isn’t right.

ANTHONY
You’re both making assumptions. I brought Jas here because I wanted to do something for her. That’s all.

D’NISHA
Something for her? And what exactly are you doing for her that you couldn’t tell me about?

Anthony remained silent.

D’NISHA
You know what hurts the most? It’s not even the