Dax

I was never a loving man.

Not even when I married her.

I remember our wedding day perfectly. Everyone said we made a perfect couple. She was beautiful, elegant, impossible to ignore. And I… I was convinced I could give her everything she needed, even though I didn't know how to love the right way.

So I did the only thing I knew how to do.

I bought him the world.

Jewelry other women only saw in magazines. Custom-made dresses. New cars whenever she got bored with the old one. Trips, dinners, unlimited credit cards. If she looked at something for more than two seconds, it was hers the next day.

I never cared about money when it came to her.

What did matter to me… was that constant feeling of emptiness.

Because he never looked at me as if he really wanted me there.

Not a sincere "thank you." Not a hand on my chest. Not even the feeling that he was waiting for me when I came home.

Eventually I stopped trying.

Work became easier than my own marriage. Meetings were easier than conversations with my wife. At least at the company I knew what to expect from people.

And then Izelle appeared.

She was young. Beautiful too, yes… but different.

He wasn't asking for anything.

The first time he brought me coffee at the office, I thought he was just trying to be nice like everyone else. But then he started staying after work. We talked about simple things. He asked me how my day had been. He listened to me.

God… it had been years since anyone had listened to me.

And that's where it all began.

It wasn't love.

Or at least that's what I try to tell myself.

It was dependency.

It was arriving home tired and finding someone smiling at me. It was feeling hands straightening my tie. It was hearing "you should rest" said with genuine concern.

Izelle filled spaces that had been empty inside me for years.

Even if only for moments.

Even though I knew perfectly well that it was wrong.