FORBIDDEN DESIRE

His arms wrapped around my waist, pulling me flush against him, and before I could even gasp, his lips were on mine. It wasn’t gentle, not at first. It was desperate, hungry, like a man who had been wandering in the desert for years and had finally found water. It was all the words he couldn’t say, all the feelings he had buried deep inside, crashing to the surface all at once.

 I melted against him, my hands fisting in the fabric of his suit jacket, kissing him back with everything I had kept locked away for three years. Every quiet night, every stolen glance, every sigh I had swallowed—they all poured into that kiss. It was wrong. It was forbidden. He was another woman’s husband. But in that moment, nothing else existed. Not the world outside. Not the scandal waiting to happen. Not the consequences that would inevitably follow. Just him. Just us.

 Dahan-dahan niya akong inilayo hanggang sa mapasandal ang likod ko sa mesa. Ang mga papel ay nahulog sa sahig, ang ingay ay halos hindi ko na marinig. Binuhat niya ako nang madali at inilapag sa ibabaw ng mesa. Ang kanyang mga kamay ay hindi lumalayo—ang isa ay nasa batok ko, ang isa ay nasa baywang ko, parang takot na baka mawala ako kung bibitaw siya.

 Nang humiwalay siya sa akin, pareho kaming humihingal. Ang aming mga noo ay magkadikit at ang kanyang mga mata ay madilim, puno ng damdamin—pagnanasa, takot, pagkamangha, at isang bagay na parang pag-asa. Pag-asa na maaari rin pala kaming magsama.

 "We shouldn't be doing this," he murmured, but his thumb traced over my bottom lip, slowly, reverently, as if memorizing the shape of it. "I’m a married man, Ysha. I have no right to touch you like this. No right to feel this way."

 "Then why did you?" I asked, my voice trembling.

 He lifted his head, his gaze searching mine with an intensity that made my heart race. "Because for the first time in my life… I feel alive. And I’m terrified that if I stop, I’ll go back to being dead inside."

 His lips found mine again, softer this time, slower—less frantic, more certain. A kiss that tasted of promises and secrets, of a future that was impossible yet suddenly felt more real than anything I had ever known. His hands roamed gently over my arms, my shoulders, as if he wanted to make sure I was actually there, that I wasn’t just a figment of his lonely imagination.

 Inilagay ko ang aking mga daliri sa kanyang buhok at hinila siya palapit sa akin. Isang mababang ungol ang lumabas sa kanyang bibig—isang tunog na nagugustuhan ng akinb puso. Hinalikan niya ako nang mas malalim. Alam ko na anuman ang mangyari mula ngayon, hindi na ako makakabalik pa. Tumawid na kami sa linyang hindi na maibabalik.

 When we finally pulled apart, the room was quiet again, but the silence was different now. It was no longer empty. It was filled with everything we had just given each other.

 Timothy rested his forehead against mine, his breathing slowly evening out. "You have no idea what you’ve done to me," he whispered, his voice thick with emotion. "I tried so hard to keep my distance. I told myself it was wrong. That I would only hurt you."

 "Maybe I don't mind getting hurt," I said softly.

 He pulled back slightly to look at me, his eyes shining with a fierce protectiveness. "But I do. I care too much about you to ever see you hurt. And if we do this… if we step into this… it won’t be easy. There will be storms. People will talk. They will tear us apart if they can."

 "I’m not afraid," I told him, and for the first time, I realized I wasn’t lying. Not when he was holding me like this. Not when he was looking at me as if I were the only thing that mattered in his entire world.

 Kinuha niya ang kamay ko, hinalikan ang likod ng aking palad habang ang mga mata ay hindi lumalayo sa akin. "Kung gayon, hayaan mong ako ang magprotekta sa iyo sa gitna ng bagyo. Dahil anuman ang mangyari... hindi na kita bibitawan. Hindi na."

 Outside, the city lights flickered to life, unaware of the world that had just shifted inside this office. A married man and the woman who loved him, standing on the edge of a precipice, knowing that once they fell, there would be no turning back.

 And as Timothy pulled me into his arms again, resting his chin on top of my head, holding me as if I were the most precious thing he had ever owned, I closed my eyes and let myself fall.

 Because loving him was wrong. But letting him go… that would be the greatest mistake of all.

Ang paghampas ng pintuan ang gumising sa akin. Mabilis akong humiwalay kay Timothy, parang batang nahuling nagnanakaw. Ang puso ko ay halos sumabog sa dibdib dahil sa matinding kaaba at ang mga labi ko ay parang dinaanan ng bagyo. Nagkalat na kasi ang lipstick sa galid nito.

Agad akong tumalikod at inayos ang aking damit, habang siya naman ay mabilis na umikot pabalik sa kanyang upuan habang kinukuha ang mga nahulog na papel, at pilit na ibinabalik ang kanyang sarili sa pagiging malamig at seryoso. Ngunit nakita ko ang panginginig ng kanyang kamay habang inilalagay ang mga dokumento sa mesa. 

"Timothy?" A voice called out from outside the door. Sharp, clear, and familiar.

 Sofia.

 My eyes widened. I felt as though a bucket of ice-cold water had been poured over me. This was reality staring me in the face. His wife. The woman who legally owned him. The woman who had every right to touch him, call out to him, and love him openly—while I... I was just a secret. A sin hidden in the shadows.

The door opened, and Sofia Velez walked in. She wore an elegant red dress, her hair perfectly styled, her face beautiful yet hard. As she entered, her sharp eyes immediately swept over me—taking in my messy hair, my flushed cheeks, and my lips, which still bore the unmistakable evidence of being kissed.