That feeling disappeared the next morning when Mia texted asking if I had spoken to Eric. Before I could answer, she urged me to examine the engraved keychain more carefully. I noticed a small sequence of numbers beneath the inscription that I hadn’t paid attention to the night before. After I sent her a photo, she revealed she had seen similar personalized gifts before, making me wonder if there was more to Eric’s story than he had shared.
Later, Eric messaged me, asking if I had enjoyed the date. I brought up the engraving, but instead of giving a clear answer, he offered a vague explanation and quickly changed the subject. His hesitation left me uneasy, so I asked Mia where she had heard about the matching keychains.
She admitted she had recommended Eric because she believed he was a good person, but had recently discovered he had been hiding important details from women he dated. The keychain was part of a pattern, making each woman feel special even though he had given nearly identical gifts before.
