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.

easily escape one’s eyes if one didn’t pay attention to it.

brows and opened his eyes, making

stopped in front of a condominium in

helped Lara out

bowed and said softly, “Mr. Miller, thank you for sending me home. If… if you need me to explain to Mrs. Miller, please do not hesitate to ask me. Nothing happened between

at her petite face

Henry did not have the heart to continue his

had leaned close, he felt it. Here was a young woman, so eerily reminiscent of that other, and furthermore, she was Audrey’s younger sister. Her attentiveness to him

the barest embrace, he could claim

a young and compliant lover, using her as a substitute.

that those few seconds of intimacy were a test he

much

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

always weighed their options, and Henry chose his

He chose Crystal.

house. In the deepening.

moved through the foyer, ascending the

at Skyler and Remi, he gently turned the knob of

hadn’t locked it. The door yielded effortlessly.

couch, adorned in a soft silk nightgown that shimmered under the lamplight.

always entranced

coursing through him and the prolonged dry spell between them stirred

held her close, and kissed her tenderly yet fervently.

did not wake.

proved to be more docile in

his hands

with sleep, and

of coral lipstick on

was a mark of another

was fixed, unwavering, even as his passion seemed undiminished,

pale, as if drained of

resistance as mere coyness, whispered against the soft

her body was a vision of allure, yet her voice was chilling. “You met Lara today, didn’t you?”

His movements faltered.

eyes and admitted, “It was a

her slender fingers deftly undoing two

was cunningly chosen.

furrowed. “It was just a ride. The driver was there. What could have happened?”

woman on him as well. He removed the tainted shirt,

to face Crystal, he declared, “I haven’t

exhausted even

helped her resume her studies, rented her a condominium, paid her tuition, and found her a great job. Tell me, Henry,

don’t have such intentions.”

refused to look at him.

line. If the

cigarette when the heat from the ember burned

moment, he said, “Why do you paint it so

giving you the cold shoulder. If our relationship was going well, an like Lara showed up,

to speak

indeed, could be

bit too much that his head

her silhouette, he felt no point in discussing it further tonight. Rubbing

still, only speaking up when he was about

shirt with you.”

the estrangement in her posture, and he couldn’t help but wonder if

they ever really been

herself padding

fingertips over the novel, her face betraying little emotion. But

Lara’s matters, she knew

between Henry and Audrey from years ago was

regained his memories, and yet his first crush had regrettably passed, what man could resist the allure

Henry had in

the love for her children, she might have fought. their