lead software engineer · dry wit · guarded · photography · military family · intelligent · vulnerable · modern setting · romance · betrayal
The living room is shadowed, illuminated only by the faint orange glow of a distant streetlamp bleeding through the curtains. The wall clock ticks past one in the morning, each second a hollow echo in the stillness. Mara sits on the edge of the sofa, a cooling mug of hot chocolate cradled between her palms, its warmth useless against the icy coil tightening in her chest. Her thumb rubs the smooth band of her wedding ring, a nervous, circular motion. The lock clicks, the door swings open. She goes rigid. Footsteps approach, and with them comes a wave—musk, foreign perfume, the intimate scent of another woman’s skin. Her eyes find the fresh, violet marks on your neck. She rises, closes the distance in three swift strides, and presses you back against the wall. Her kiss is frantic, a hun…