After the whirlwind of her surprise dinner visit with Trent, Fallon's emotions were in disarray as she returned home to Matt. The weight of the secret she carried was a heavy burden, that threatened  to shatter the carefully constructed façade of her relationship.

As she stepped through the door,  Fallon was greeted by the familiarity of her surroundings. The living room, once a place of comfort, now seemed to hold a haunting reminder of her recent tryst with Trent. The sunlight streaming through the windows cast a golden glow over everything, yet it could not dispel the storm brewing within her.

Matt's voice echoed from the  bedroom, "welcome back," his words a welcome that should fill her heart with warmth. But the memory of Trent's touch on her body lingered, casting a shadow over her every thought. She slowly made her way to the bedroom and turned on the light. Matt gasped, his eyes not ready for the burst of light, "Geez Fal, just warn me would ya?"

Her eyes met Matt's gaze, and the weight of her own guilt threatened to pull her under. Her heart ached with conflicting emotions. She knew she owed her loyalty to Matt, he had more than earned it. But there was the stirring attraction that Trent had awakened.

"I'm sorry," she dug for a pair of pajamas in her dresser as she quickly discarded her clothes in the hamper. "And I'm sorry for being home so late." She crawled into bed, attempting to find a comfortable spot on her pillow.

"It's okay." Matt put his arm around her, his normal nightly routine until she found a comfortable space beside him. "Rough day at work?" She nodded silently. "Everything else okay?" She shook her head. 

"What's wrong?" He rubbed her back with his already conveniently placed hand. His touch seeking a connection that she couldn't fully reciprocate. She tried to lose herself in his embrace, but the memory of Trent's arms around her was a haunting presence that refused to fade.

Every word she exchanged with him felt like a thread in the web of deceit she'd woven. She struggled to meet Matt's gaze, her eyes flicking away as guilt and conflict waged war within her. The walls of their relationship, once so solid, seemed to crack and splinter under the weight of her secret.

"I just don't want to talk about it right now." She turned over to face away from him.

Trent's voice echoed in her mind, urging her to take a break from Matt and explore the possibility of a relationship with him. The idea was gnawing at her, stirring a maelstrom of doubt and desire. She wrestled with her feelings, torn between the comfort of the familiar and the allure of the unknown.

"Okay," he continued rubbing her back, his concern growing deeper. "I don't know what's going on lately Fal, but I love you. I wanna help you through it if you let me."

The pit in her stomach continued to grow, as she felt like she was shrinking. She so badly didn't want to hurt him. She wanted to just love him, have life go back to the way it was before Trent had showed up again. She found herself once again wishing she had ignored that text from him.