A Forbidden Affair - Resurfaced Emotions

When he came in, he waved to everyone.

Lena avoided looking at him.

“This is Lena. Lena, this is Jayden,” Mrs. Rosie said, pointing at both of them.

Jayden stepped forward, stretching out his hand for a handshake.

Lena paused.

Just for a second.

Then she accepted it.

His hand was warm.

She pulled away almost immediately, not giving him a chance to say anything more.

They went back to what they were doing like nothing had happened.

After they were done eating, they all went inside to choose a book to read.

They had a system.

Everyone would write a genre on paper, and whichever had the highest vote would be picked.

Today, they chose a book titled The Birthday Girl.

It was about a girl named Jordan whose life was falling apart. She moved in with her boyfriend and somehow ended up falling in love with his father.

Messy.

Complicated.

When they were done reading, Mrs. Rosie clapped her hands lightly.

“So,” she said, looking around. “What do you guys think about the dynamics of their relationship?”

Sarah spoke first.

“I think the plot is interesting,” she said confidently. “It shows how deeply someone can betray even the closest people to them.”

Jayden glanced toward Lena.

He noticed the tension on her face before he spoke.

“Sometimes people don’t get to control what happens,” he said calmly. “No one plans a betrayal. It just happens.”

His eyes stayed on her.

Lena felt it.

But she didn’t look back.

“But they could have prevented it,” Sarah argued. “I mean—her boyfriend’s father?”

Jayden rolled his eyes slightly. “They were in love. You can’t entirely blame people for their emotions.”

“I understand what you’re trying to say, Jayden,” George added, “but I think Sarah has a point. They could have come clean if that was what they truly wanted.”

There was a brief pause.

“Lena, you haven’t said a word,” Mrs. Rosie said, turning to her.

Now all eyes were on her.

She stiffened slightly.

For a moment, she wished the ground would just open up and swallow her.

She cleared her throat.

“Ehm… I…” she started, then steadied herself. “I think Sarah’s right. They weren’t supposed to have an affair in the first place. It was selfish on their part.”

She paused briefly.

“The father not thinking about his son… and Jordan not thinking about her boyfriend’s feelings.”

When she finished, she felt it.

Jayden’s stare.

Like he was waiting for her to look at him.

Like he was trying to say something without speaking.

But she ignored him.

Once the session ended, Lena didn’t waste time.

She was the first to step outside.

She grabbed her bag, said a quick goodbye, and headed straight for her car.

She just wanted to leave.

But as she reached for the door—

Jayden stepped in front of her.

She looked up, her brows furrowing instantly.

“What the hell is this?” she snapped.

“Lena, please wait,” he said quickly. “Can we talk for a minute?”

“Huh?” she scoffed. “I’m not in the mood for this.”

“Okay, just a second. I promise,” he added, trying to sound calm.

“There’s nothing to talk about,” Lena replied, her tone sharp.

“We left a lot of things unsaid.”

“And you think I care?” she shot back. “I don’t want to have a conversation with you.”

Jayden took a small step closer.

Before he could say anything else—

“Is everything okay?”

They both turned.

Sarah.

She looked between them, confused.

“Yeah,” Lena cut in immediately. “I was just having a light conversation with Jayden. But we’re done, right?”

Jayden didn’t say anything.

“Okay then, let’s go,” Sarah said, smiling lightly before heading toward the car.

Lena didn’t even look back at him.

She got in and started the car immediately.

Within seconds, she drove off.

“You guys seem like you know each other,” Sarah said, glancing at her.

“What?” Lena replied quickly. “No, we don’t.”

The response came too fast.

“We were just chatting,” she added.

Sarah nodded slowly.

But she didn’t look convinced.

After dropping Sarah off, Lena drove home.

Her grip on the steering wheel tightened slightly.

She couldn’t believe it.

She had finally started getting her life back on track.

Everything was becoming normal again.

And just like that—

He shows up.

Of all places.

Her book club.

She scoffed under her breath.

“How?” she muttered. “Since when does he even read novels?”

It didn’t make sense.

Nothing about it did.

Frustrated, she picked up her phone to call Chloe.

It rang.

No answer.

She tried again.

Still nothing.

“Great,” she muttered, tossing the phone onto the passenger seat.

Now she was even more irritated.

To clear her head, she grabbed her camera and stepped out for a walk.

The evening felt different.

She started taking pictures.

Random things.

People passing by.

Trees swaying slightly.

The sky.

Then she saw a couple.

The guy was chasing the girl playfully, both of them laughing like kids.

Carefree.

Lena paused.

Then scoffed lightly.

“Right,” she muttered. “Perfect timing.”

She didn’t take the picture.

Instead, she turned around.

That was enough of a sign for her.

She needed to go home.

When she got back, she headed straight to the bathroom.

A long shower.

Something to wash the day off her.

Afterwards, she picked up her phone.

A message from Chloe.

Finally.

She didn’t waste time.

She video-called her.

It rang for a bit before Chloe picked up.

“Hey girl,” Chloe said, smiling.

“You’re never with your phone,” Lena said, raising a brow.

“Oh, sorry about that,” Chloe replied. “I went out with Jason.”

Jason.

Chloe’s boyfriend.

They had been together for a while, and honestly, they were perfect together.

Lena liked that.

At least someone had it right.

“Why are you frowning?” Chloe asked. “What’s wrong?”

Lena sighed.

“Guess who I met today.”

“Girl, you know I don’t like guessing. Just say it.”

“I met Jayden.”

Chloe’s eyes widened instantly.

“Jayden? You mean Jayden Blake?”

“Yep,” Lena replied. “The one and only.”

“What did he come to do? How did he find you?”

“Chloe, calm down,” Lena said. “He didn’t come to see me. He joined my book club.”

Chloe blinked.

“Wow… that’s a lot.”

“You can say that again.”

“What do you plan to do?” Chloe asked.

“Is there supposed to be a plan?” Lena shrugged. “It’s simple. I avoid him.”

Chloe gave her a look.

“You know that’s not possible.”

“And why is that?” Lena asked.

“Duh. You guys are in the same book club. Eventually, you’ll have to talk.”

Lena hit her forehead lightly.

“Now I thought my life was becoming better.”

“Lena,” Chloe said gently, “I know the last thing you want is to talk to him. But in this situation, you have to.”

Lena frowned.

“Why?”

“Because the tension will be awkward,” Chloe explained. “And it’ll affect everyone else too.”

Lena sighed.

“I can’t even look him in the eye and you’re talking about conversation.”

“I know,” Chloe said softly. “But just calm down and think about it.”

Lena huffed.

“Fine. I’ll try.”

“Good.”

“I’ll talk to you later,” Chloe added. “I’m a bit busy now.”

“Yeah… bye.”

The call ended.

Lena lay back on her bed, her phone resting on her chest.

Her eyes stared at the ceiling.

Out of all the

places in the world—

It had to be her book club.

The one place she found peace.

The one place she genuinely made connections with people that were like family to her.