Sinful Affairs
They felt wrong in my hands now like something rotten I’d been pretending was gold.
The fireplace was cold, but the lighter in my drawer wasn’t.
I struck the flame. I watched it flicker in the dim light.
For a moment, I hesitated the way a man does when he knows he’s about to destroy something he’s built his entire life around.
Then I set the corner of the first page on fire.
The paper curled, blackened, and burned.
Clause by clause, it vanished the lies, the signatures, the safety of control.
The firelight reflected in the glass, flickering against the window. Outside, the estate grounds stretched wide and empty. Inside, the only sound was the soft crackle of paper turning to ash.