Emma stood by the window, her fingers tracing the edge of the curtain as she watched the rain cascade down the glass. The house was quiet, save for the rhythmic tapping of the storm. Her husband, Daniel, was in the study, buried in work as usual. She sighed, her mind drifting to the text message she’d received earlier—a simple “Thinking of you” from Marcus, her colleague. It wasn’t the first time.
She’d tried to ignore the fluttering in her chest, the way her pulse quickened whenever Marcus’s name appeared on her screen. But tonight, something felt different. The tension between them had been building for months—the lingering glances, the accidental brushes of hands, the way his voice dropped when he spoke to her alone. She’d told herself it was harmless, that she loved Daniel, that she would never cross that line. But