I Shared a Photo of My Partner and Me on Facebook for the First Time & Instantly Received a Message: ‘You Need to Get Away from Him. Right Now

I got to Bayou Bakery early. My heart was pounding as I sat at a small table near the window. The smell of coffee and fresh pastries did nothing to calm my nerves. Every time the door opened, I jumped, expecting to see someone mysterious with the answers to all my questions.

But ten minutes passed. Then twenty. Nothing.

I stared at my phone, wondering if this had all been some kind of cruel joke. Just as I was about to leave, the door swung open again, and my heart nearly stopped. It was Mark.

“Ellie?” His voice was cautious, confused. “What are you doing here? I thought you were meeting your mom.”

My throat went dry. “I… I thought you were at work. What are you doing here?”

He walked over and sat down across from me, his eyes scanning the room. “I got a message. Someone told me to come here. They said I needed to see something about you.”

My head was spinning. “You got a message? About me?”

He nodded, his face full of uncertainty. “Yeah. I didn’t believe it at first, but then you started acting weird. I didn’t know what to think.”

I stared at him, my pulse racing. This whole time, he had been receiving the same kind of messages I had. It didn’t make any sense. Why would someone do this to us?

Before we could say another word, the door to the bakery opened again. I looked up, and there was Andrew, one of our mutual friends, grinning like a fool. He walked straight over to our table and pulled up a chair like he had been waiting for this moment all along.

“Surprise!” he said with a smirk.

Mark and I just gaped at him, completely bewildered.

“Andrew, what the hell is going on?” I demanded, my voice shaking with anger.

Andrew leaned back in his chair, his grin widening. “Relax. It was just a prank. Well, more like a test.”

“A test?” Mark’s tone was ice-cold. “You scared the hell out of us, Andrew. Why would you do something like that?”

Andrew shrugged, looking a little less smug now. “I’ve seen too many relationships fall apart because of rumors, lies, and social media drama. I wanted to see if you two really trusted each other.”

I felt my blood boil. “You sent those messages? You made me think Mark was dangerous, and now you’re sitting here like it’s no big deal?”