Crystal's One Night of Love

Henry found himself engulfed in the constant swirl of his demanding job and the social obligations that came with it.

Frustrated, he drank, letting the intoxicating liquid cloud his thoughts more than he should have. The world seemed to sway as he staggered toward his car.

His driver, unfamiliar with his personal life, remarked as he opened the door for Henry, “Mr. Miller, you’ve had one too many. Miss Winters won’t be pleased. Women seldom are when their men are inebriated.”

Leaning into the plush upholstery of the backseat, Henry pulled out a cigarette, letting its familiar scent wrap around him.

He lit the cigarette. As the smoke danced from his lips, he murmured with a hint of irony, “As if she cares.”

Being married to Crystal felt as lonely as being single.

Crystal was indifferent toward him.

It had been a few months since they were intimate with each other.

She refused to let him touch her.

It was only normal for couples to fight every now and then. However, she had resolved to move to another room. It wasn’t just the lack of physical connection. Even a mere conversation with her felt like scaling a mountain.

Not wanting to wade into those deep waters, the driver simply resumed his place behind the wheel.

Just as he was about to depart, a mellifluous voice floated through the air. “Mr. Miller!”

Henry turned, and there, limping unevenly with a cane, was Lara.

She traced his gaze that landed on her injured leg. “The doctor says it’ll heal in a couple of months with no lasting damage.”

She flashed him a woeful smile, expecting, perhaps, even hoping, that he might have visited her during his wife’s cold spell.

Yet, he never did.

However, that was all right. If he wouldn’t come to me, I’ll just find a way to him.

Acknowledging her with a nod, Henry instructed his driver to drive away.

The driver nodded and turned the car around. Lara’s lips twisted into a smirk as the luxurious car pulled away.

She released her grip on the cane, crumbling to the ground in a display of vulnerability.

Henry caught sight of it. He furrowed his brows slightly and ordered to stop the car after a brief moment. of consideration.

The driver was stumped.

In an impassive voice, he ordered, “Help her into the car and send her back home.”

The driver replied hesitatingly, “Miss Winters won’t be pleased if she knows of this.”

Intoxicated, Henry said in a rather exasperated tone, “She won’t know if you keep your mouth shut. Besides, I’m only asking you to send her home.”

The driver bit his tongue and got out of the car to help Lara.

Lara sat beside Henry.

He closed his eyes and did not speak to her, but they were in such close proximity to each other that she could smell the faint scent of pine on him.

She stealthily turned aside to sneak a peek at him, drinking in Henry’s chiseled features.

His side profile was perfect, exuding an air of nobility.

Lara couldn’t help but eye in wonder at the luxurious interior of the car.

She pictured herself being together with Henry. Her cheeks were tinged pink as she leaned in to take in his heavenly scent, imagining herself underneath him…

Will his face contort in ecstasy as he presses down on me?

Lara felt warm tingles all over her body just thinking about it.

An audacious thought flitted across her mind as she leaned in and pressed a soft kiss on his pristine white shirt, leaving behind the faintest trace of her coral lipstick.

if one didn’t pay attention to

making Lara fumble to set her

stopped in front of

driver helped Lara out of the

intend to get out of the car. Lara bowed and said softly, “Mr. Miller, thank you for sending me home. If… if you need me

face and smiled

again, Henry did not have the heart to

that fleeting moment, when Lara had leaned close, he felt it. Here was a young woman, so eerily reminiscent of

the barest embrace, he could

compliant lover, using her

admitted to himself that those few seconds of intimacy were

was curious at how much

was Crystal, of her vulnerability when her eyes were closed, lost in her music. The surge of emotions he felt then couldn’t compare

weighed their options, and

He chose Crystal.

the Miller residence, as Henry stepped out of his car, he glanced up at the house. In the deepening. night, most of the

moved through the foyer, ascending the stairs at a leisurely pace.

he gently turned

it. The door

reclined on the couch, adorned in a soft silk nightgown that shimmered under the lamplight. Her skin pecked through, luminescent and delicate. She had fallen asleep

always entranced by

the prolonged dry

leaned down, held her close, and kissed her

did not wake.

be more docile in her dreams.

his hands began to

her eyes hazy with sleep, and met

hint of coral lipstick on

was a mark of another

fixed, unwavering, even as his passion seemed undiminished, his hands already working at the buttons of her nightgown.

Crystal’s face was pale, as if drained

soft spot behind her ears, “Still mad at me,

her body was a vision of allure, yet her voice was chilling. “You met Lara today,

His movements faltered.

looked into her eyes and admitted, “It was a chance meeting.

her nightgown, her slender fingers deftly undoing two of

coral shade was

“It was just a ride. The driver was there. What could

scent of another woman on him as well. He removed the

declared, “I haven’t betrayed our marriage.”

exhausted even

her eyes as she calmly said. “You did nothing, sure. You just helped her resume her studies, rented her a condominium,

don’t

look at him.

challenge your lawful wife. Your relationship with her has already crossed the line. If the driver hadn’t been there today, you would

lighting a cigarette when the heat from

said, “Why do you paint it so ugly,

been giving you the cold shoulder. If our relationship was going well, an like Lara showed up, I doubt that you’ll resist her

pained Crystal to speak

could be ugly.

a bit too

he felt no point in discussing it further tonight. Rubbing his temple, he said. “Let’s talk

when he was about

shirt with

glanced back, seeing just the estrangement in her posture, and he couldn’t help but wonder if she had ever truly loved

they ever really

Crystal found herself padding back

the novel, her face

taken an interest in Lara’s matters, she knew

Henry and Audrey from

crush had regrettably passed, what man could resist the allure of

what Henry

wasn’t bound by the love for her children, she