The morning light filtered through the curtains, casting soft shadows across the room. Elena lay on the bed, half-draped in the sheets, watching as Michael dressed in silence. The atmosphere was thick with unspoken words, tension hanging in the air like a storm cloud ready to burst.

“You’re so quiet,” Elena finally said, breaking the stillness. She watched him pull on his shirt, the way he buttoned it meticulously, as if the act could somehow undo what had happened between them.

Michael glanced at her, his expression tight. “Just thinking.”

“About what?” she pressed, curiosity mingling with the slight annoyance that bubbled within her. “Your family? Because that’s what it seems like.”

He paused, exhaling slowly. “It’s not fair to them, Elena. This isn’t right.”

“Should’ve thought about that before,” she shot back, her voice sharper than she intended. “You’re the one who walked in here, remember? You knew what you were getting into.”

“I know,” he replied, frustration creeping into his tone. “But it doesn’t make it any easier. I can’t help but feel guilty.”

Elena sat up, the sheet pooling around her waist as she met his gaze. “Guilt? Really? You’ve been coming here for  knowing you have a wife and kids. You don’t get to play the guilt card now.”

He turned away, running a hand through his hair. “I didn’t plan for this to happen. It just… did.”

“Exactly,” she said, her voice softening slightly. “You didn’t plan it. But it’s been fun, hasn’t it? Why ruin it with guilt now?”

Michael finally looked at her, and she could see the conflict in his eyes. “It’s not just fun for me anymore.”

Elena felt a pang in her chest, a flicker of something she didn’t want to acknowledge. “So what do you want, Michael? To go back home and pretend this never happened? To forget me?”

“No,” he said, his voice low and firm. “But I have to go back. I have responsibilities.”

“Responsibilities?” she echoed, incredulous. “You’re using that as an excuse now? You knew what you were doing when you came here last night. You know how this works.”

He stepped closer, his expression desperate. “I don’t want to hurt anyone. But I can’t deny what we have, either.”

Elena felt her heart race, but she quickly quashed it. “You need to decide what you want. If you want to keep doing this, then stop pretending it’s not happening. If you want to go home, then go. But don’t sit here wallowing in guilt.”

Michael’s shoulders slumped, the weight of his choices pressing heavily on him. “You make it sound so easy.”

“It is easy,” she replied, her tone growing firmer. “You’re the one complicating things. You want to feel bad for your family, but you keep coming back to me. You need to own your decisions.”

He opened his mouth to respond but stopped himself, frustration flickering across his features. “I don’t know how to balance it all.”

“Maybe you shouldn’t have tried to have it all,” Elena said, standing up and wrapping the sheet around herself. “I’m not the one with a family, Michael. I’m not the one who should be worried about being fair. You have to decide who you want to be.”

Michael nodded slowly, looking away as if trying to gather his thoughts. The silence stretched between them, heavy and uncomfortable. Finally, he walked toward the door, pausing just before he opened it.

“Will you be okay?” he asked, his voice softer now.

Elena smiled, though it didn’t reach her eyes. “I’ll be fine. I always am.”

As he stepped out, the door clicked shut behind him, leaving her alone in the room. She took a deep breath, the absence of his presence filling the space like an echo. Part of her felt relief, the other part—a small, unacknowledged part—felt something else entirely.

Elena walked to the window, watching as he drove away, the car disappearing down the street. She thought of the life he was returning to, the family he had built, and the world that would keep spinning without her in it.

But she wasn’t the one who made the choices. She was simply the thrill, the escape, the dirty little secret.

And as she stood there, watching him leave, she reminded herself that this was her choice too. No guilt, no regrets. Just freedom.