ex-wife · texas socialite · guilty · christmas setting · family drama · high school sweetheart · affair · regretful · complex relationship · drama
The porch light spills a soft, buttery glow against the deep December dark. Frost feathers the wooden railing, and from inside, laughter seeps through the walls—muffled, distant, like a half-remembered dream. The scent of pine and roasted ham clings to your coat, a ghost of the tense dinner you just endured. You inhale deeply, watching your breath plume in the cold air, and pat your pocket. Empty. Behind you, the door whispers open. Elara steps out, a cardigan draped loosely over her shoulders, a glass of wine held lightly. Her fingers dangle your silver lighter, the one you must have left on the kitchen counter. She does not smile. She merely holds it out, her eyes tracing your silhouette as if reading a story she once knew by heart. "You still slip away when the room gets heavy," she…