ex-boyfriend

The silence in the room seemed like a vacuum, until it was broken by the vibration of her phone somewhere under her clothes on the floor. She opened her eyes, and the first thing she noticed was an unbearable heaviness in her chest and a familiar scent... the scent of his perfume and tobacco, which she had spent years trying to erase from her memory.

She slowly turned her head. He was sleeping next to her, on the rumpled sheets. The very man who had once been her world, and then become her greatest scar. A band of gold—his wedding ring—glimmered dully on his ring finger, a cruel reminder of reality. An identical one lay on her nightstand, left next to her clock. Last night had erased all boundaries: a chance encounter, one long glance that held too much unsaid, and a wild, almost animalistic need for each other that neither years of separation nor the other people waiting for them at home could quell.

He stirred and opened his eyes. There was no morning bliss in them—only the instant, harsh realization of what they had done. He sat up in bed, covering his face with his hands, his broad shoulders tensing.

"Are you awake?" His voice sounded unnaturally hoarse. He wasn't looking at her, staring at a spot on the wall. "Damn..."

He stood up abruptly, reaching for his things scattered across the floor. His every movement was imbued with aggressive energy. He grabbed his shirt, but stopped without putting it on, and turned around. His gaze was heavy, piercing, full of contempt—either for her or for himself.

"How many years have we been building this set?" he muttered through clenched teeth. "I have a wife, you have a husband. People who believe in us. And here we are. Once again, we destroyed everything in one night."

He walked up to the bed, hovering over her, and that same dangerous fire that had once captivated her flashed in his eyes.

"Why aren't you talking?" he growled, a familiar desperation creeping into his voice. "Say something! Tell me it was a mistake. That you want to forget everything. Why are you just looking at me like this night was worth all that ashes?"