Maya's body trembled beneath Adrian's touch. His kisses burned against her skin, desperate and unrelenting. But tonight, she couldn't surrender fully. Not with Elena's laughter still echoing in her memory from earlier in the day.
Her best friend's smile haunted her even as Adrian whispered her name like a prayer.
Maya! he breathed, pressing his lips along her jaw. "You're all I think about. You're the only one who feels real."
Her heart cracked at the words.
She wanted them, needed them, but they came laced with poison.
Every kiss tasted of betrayal, every caress of stolen love. So she pulled back, tears springing to her eyes.
"Adrian… this is wrong. We're hurting her."
Maya couldn't bear the secret no more she has to let it out to feel free.
Adrian cupped her face, forcing her to meet his gaze.
"I can't stop. Don't you see?"
You're in me, Maya. You're the only thing that makes sense now and forever.
His passion smothered her guilt. For a moment, she let herself drown, lips parting under his once more, surrendering to the fire she couldn't resist.
Their bodies tangled, breathless, the night thick with heat.
But afterward, when the world stilled, when their sweat cooled and guilt crashed over her harder than ever. She lay beside him, staring at the ceiling, every nerve alive with shame.
She imagined Elena's face. Her trust. Her laughter. And it broke her. She started crying.
Adrian… she whispered, voice cracking.
"I can't keep this secret much longer."
He rolled onto his side, pulling her against him.
"Then don't think about it. Think about us. This is ours, Maya. No one else".
But she did think about it. Every touch, every kiss, every stolen night. It was eating her alive. And the taste of guilt was bitter than any poison. She feels like vomiting the truth.
Meanwhile, Elena's pieces began to align.
She saw the way Maya's eyes lingered too long when Adrian walked into the room. She noticed the subtle stiffness between them when they thought she wasn't looking.
It happened one late night, she found another clue.
Adrian's jacket draped carelessly over a chair. She picked it up, inhaled the faint scent clinging to the fabric. It wasn't her perfume. It was Maya's.
Her chest hollowed out, but she didn't collapse.
Instead, she pieced it together: the lipstick stains, the whispers, the cold kisses, the guilty glances and the faint scent.
The puzzle wasn't finished, but the image was already forming.
Her heart ached with betrayal, but she kept silent. Not yet. Because sometimes silence was sharper than words. And Elena intended to use it like a blade.