JacobI convinced myself it had ended. These slip-ups with Daniel. That I’d broken free. Yet, there I was, hand hovering over Daniel's door handle, heart thundering. I didn't want to leave. “Just one more time”. I told myself. The golden door knob was cold under my fingertips, yet my skin burned flames I couldn’t understand. Three days had passed since I'd last seen Daniel… three days of forcing myself to stay away, to focus on Nathan, on our upcoming wedding, on the life I was supposed to want. But here I was, like a fly drawn to the loo, knowing I’d get burned but unable to resist the pull. I was meant to be with Nathan. In a few weeks, I'd become his husband. He was the epitome of comfort, the reliable rock I yearned for in a partner. But doubt whispered through my veins. Nathan was safe. He was the kind of love that built homes and made families, not the kind that set them ablaze.When I was with him, I could almost convince myself that this was enough. That stability was
DanielOnce, I craved to shatter him. Now, all I wanted was for him choose me. To love me just as much as I loved him.He'd claimed it wasn't meant to happen. That he loved someone else. And I'd known. He didn't need to say the name every time we got together… Nathan lurked omnipresently, a shadow between Jake and me.Yet, Jacob kept coming back to me, unforced. He'd walk through my door, and each time, I'd lie to myself… this was it. The end. I would tell myself that he would never return. And I yearned to believe it. To accept the fact that he would never be mine. But truth be told, I wasn't supposed to be the 'other man'. Not anymore.Not after everything that had happened.After all the back and forth, the unspoken pleas for forgiveness, the way he'd let me touch him as if I was more than a mere slip-up… it didn't feel right.He'd say it was wrong. Yet, when my hands traveled down his back and his breath hitched, he didn't stop me. Instead, he drew me closer, biting my shoulder
JacobThe curtains held the sun at bay, but I was already dressed, shirt buttons mismatched, shoes lopsided. My trembling hands managed to button my shirt, a futile attempt to compose myself. I stifled the scream trying to claw its way out.He couldn't see my weakness. I would never let him see my weakness. Because if he did, then he would do anything in his power to exploit that… or try to walk all over me. Daniel lay on the bed, bare-chested, his hair a wild tangle. He bore no resemblance to the demon from my past. His eyes searched mine."Don't even…," I warned, voice shakier than intended. "Don't you dare say a fucking word? This is nothing but a screw-up, okay?"He stood up and stepped closer. I retraced my steps.My heart hammered like a drum, desperate to jump out of my chest."It was a mistake," I murmured, gazing at the floorboards. "End of story."His silence was a noose, tightening around my chest. But he knew better than to argue.Because when his fingertips grazed my
Nathan The dinner with Jacob was meant to be a getaway. Just a moment of peace from the all chaos. From all the drama happening around us… around him. The night at the hotel had stuck with me ever since. Jacob had convinced me he’d just gone there to have a chat with Daniel, and like a fool, I’d believed him. Because what was our relationship without trust? And I trusted him. He might have gone to the hotel, but that didn’t mean he did something with Daniel. Jacob would never do something like that. Not to me. Not after all these years of being together. The drama with Daniel, was merely a fleeting moment of confusion, and with time he would come back to his senses. He would realize what matters.That was what I wanted to believe, what I wanted for us, so this dinner was going to be a reminder of everything we shared. Only it didn’t last long, because Jacob was too focused on his phone to even notice his surroundings, let alone me. We’d gone back home, as quickly as we left,
Jacob Even though I’d somehow convinced Nathan that what he saw at the hotel was just Daniel and I talking, and that Will suddenly barging in and spewing all that was a total misunderstanding.Nathan still felt me pulling away. And it hurt like hell. His gaze grew more concerned every time I stepped back from his embrace. He knew something was off, though not all the juicy details.Our bond was fraying, and it was all my fault. The distance grew like a canyon between us, with every lie I spun and every secret phone check. Weeks ago when Daniel's text dropped like a grenade, I should've deleted it right away. Should've blocked him. But I stared at it, memories flooding back like a toxic river. The way his voice used to drop to a whisper when he was angry, the way his hands could be both rough and tender. The way he made me feel alive and terrified all at once. I told myself I wouldn’t respond. That I was stronger than this. But my fingers betrayed me, typing out a reply before
JacobThe voice was barely there, a murmur in the shadows, too faint to grasp at first. But it sliced through the thick tension like a dagger. I felt the hairs on my neck rise, my body stiffen without warning. Maybe I was hallucinating, losing it in this hellish maze of deceit and treachery. Maybe the adrenaline, the suffocating weight of Daniel’s presence, the way Nathan’s fury still crackled in the air… maybe it had all finally pushed me over the edge. But then it came again, clearer this time. “Jake.”A whisper, but unmistakable. I froze solid. In the doorway stood Will, my old friend, a memory from the past, but he wasn’t just a memory anymore. He was there, his face chalk-white, eyes wide with something I couldn’t pin down. Fear? Worry? Or was it just the weariness of the chaos that had become our lives? Which by the way was his fault, so whatever trouble he was in. I didn’t care. He looked like she hadn’t slept in days. His dark hair was tangled, his lips chapped, h