My sin.

Jude

I wake up to the unsettling warmth of another body beside me. My chest tightens as I slowly turn my head. There she is. A woman. Lying peacefully on my bed as if she belongs there. Her dark hair spills over my pillow, her breathing steady, her lips slightly curved in satisfaction.

For a brief, desperate moment, I pray I am imagining things. That I am still caught in some nightmare. But as the fog of sleep lifts, everything from last night comes crashing back, shattering any illusion of innocence.

Isabel. I remember her walking into my house, the way her voice sounds when she says she wants to talk. I remember her eyes, burning with a mixture of desperation and something far more dangerous. I remember her lips pressing against mine. And worst of all, I remember giving in.

The memory cuts through me like a blade. My stomach churns, bile rising in my throat. I have done it. I have betrayed the one woman who has ever loved me truly, deeply, Seline. Even in my anger for what she did to me, I feel like I have betrayed her.

I have sinned in the worst possible way. My hands tremble as I shoot up from the bed. Rage, guilt, and disgust all fight within me, suffocating me.

“Isabel, get up,” I shout, my voice sharp and raw as I shake her shoulder.

She stirs slowly, her lashes fluttering open. She looks at me with calm, almost satisfied eyes, as though nothing bad had happened. As though she hasn’t destroyed everything sacred in my life.

“What is the matter, Jude? Why are you yelling?” she asks softly, tilting her head, her voice too calm, too steady.

My jaw clenches. My hands curl into fists. “I want you out of my house. Right this instant.” I can’t bear to look at her, not with Seline’s face haunting me in the back of my mind.

Isabel pushes herself upright, letting the sheets fall around her carelessly. She doesn’t even look ashamed. Instead, she gives me a half-smile, as though she has won some twisted game.

“After everything that happened between us, you’re chasing me away?” she asks, her voice laced with mock hurt. “Jude, you can’t treat me like this. Not after last night.”

I swallow hard, anger sparking through the heavy fog of guilt. “How do you expect me to treat you, Isabel? We are not together. What happened last night was a mistake, a disgusting mistake. It should never have happened, and it will never repeat itself. Now get out.”

Her eyes harden, the false sweetness melting into something cold and sharp. “A mistake?” she repeats slowly, her voice icy. “That’s what you’re calling it?”

I ignore the venom in her tone and grab my phone from the nightstand, desperate to put a barrier between us. I turn toward the washroom, needing space, air, anything to escape her suffocating presence.

But her voice follows me, cutting deep into my conscience.

“You may call it a mistake, Jude, but the truth is, you wanted it. You gave in. Don’t act like I forced you. You kissed me back. You touched me. You can’t erase that.”

Her words stab at the wound already bleeding inside me. My knees weaken, and I grip the doorframe for support. She is right. I gave in. I can’t deny that.

I step into the washroom and shut the door behind me, my reflection staring back at me from the mirror. My eyes are bloodshot, my face pale, my lips trembling.

I have sinned.

And the worst part is, I can’t take it back.

Images of Seline fill my mind. Her smile, her laugh, the way she looks at me with love and trust. The thought of her finding out about this tears me apart. She betrayed me once, yes, but my betrayal is far worse. Sleeping with her best friend isn’t just wrong, it’s unforgivable.

I grip the sink, my knuckles white. My breath comes out in ragged gasps. “What have I done?” I whisper, my voice cracking.

Isabel’s voice comes muffled through the door. “You’ll realize it soon, Jude. You and I… we belong together. Seline doesn’t deserve you the way I do.”

I squeeze my eyes shut, wishing I could block her out. Every word she speaks is poison, seeping deeper into my conscience. I hate her for it. But most of all, I hate myself.