FORBIDEEN OBSESSION

I was still warm from the bathroom steam, towel wrapped tightly around my body. My apartment was silent — a silence that normally made me feel safe. Tonight, it sounded. hollow. I reached for my phone, ready to scroll aimlessly before getting dressed, when the screen burst to life with a notification.

A mail.

My eyebrows furrowed. The senders address was obscured and covered by a mess of random letters and numbers. This text within had nothing but a link.

My first instinct was to delete it. But my finger hesitated. In spite of better judgment, I clicked.

The video downloaded with lightning speed — no buffering warning — just sound.

Low moans. A man's low groan and a woman's soft wails. My gut twisted as my eyes adjusted to the poorly lit on-screen action.

And then I halted.

The voice of the woman — I'd heard it my entire life in every possible mood: laughing, scolding, crying. It was the voice of my mother.

My heart clenched, and I nearly dropped the phone. But I could not avert my eyes. The man was half-obscured, just the side of his jaw and broad shoulders visible. Their forms merged into one another in a movement that left nothing to the imagination regarding what they were doing.

"Oh my God…" My breathing was stifled, hand covering mouth.

Why? Why would she. and with whom?

I hung up the video, my fingers trembling so hard I almost let the phone slip again. I urgently wanted to call her. My thumb rested on her name but the phone went directly into voicemail.

"Pick up… please, pick up."

Nothing. I called my dad. Same thing. Sienna, my sister — unreachable. It was as if the entire family had gone off the grid.

My heartbeat pounded in my ears. I needed to talk to someone.

I called Liam.

No answer.

I called again. Nothing. My grip on the phone was firmer.

The worst part of being betrayed was silence.

I remembered — he had my car. It was the only way I could get around town. My keys were in his hands. My patience broke. I got my money out of my wallet and took a taxi.

The ride to Liam’s felt longer than usual. Every turn of the wheels gave me too much time to think — about this video, about what it would do to my family, about why my boyfriend wouldn't answer.

The taxi stopped in front of the house , and his car — my car — sat in the driveway. Hope flickered for a moment. At least he was home.

But the front door was locked.

My jaw clicked shut. I dug through my bag for the spare key I'd insisted on keeping with me "just in case." Well, this was definitely one such case.

The door groaned open. I stepped in, my eyes scanning the room as of Liam would just appear.

I made my way further into the living room, and then I spotted them.

Liam. Shirtless. Bending over the couch. And Sienna — my step-sister — wearing a bra and panties, her mouth glued to his.

I didn't breathe for an instant. The image seared itself on my mind.

They leapt back when they noticed me.

"Elena—" Liam's voice was surprised, panicky as he pushed Sienna off his lap.

I did not let him complete. I looked around the room until I spotted my car keys on the coffee table. I crossed the room and retrieved them and headed towards the door.

"Elena, wait—"

I slammed the door before he could touch me.

The night air hit me in the face, cold and cutting, but nothing was able to take away the hurt burning a path through my chest. Two betrayals in one night. My mother with a stranger. My boyfriend with my sister.

I drove on autopilot, my hands wrapped tightly around the steering wheel, so hard that it hurt. I didn't want to cry yet. Crying was breaking. And I wasn't allowed to break until I could find a way to muffle the hurricane raging in my mind.

I noticed the dim neon glow of a bar in the distance. It was not the type of establishment I ever went to, but that was maybe the point. I needed somewhere that didn't remind me of anyone I knew. Somewhere that I could drown out all that I'd seen.

Inside, a smell of whiskey, wood polish, and something slightly sweet hung in the air — perfume, perhaps. Music vibrated low, lights low enough so that people's faces remained only shadows.

I ordered a drink. Another one. I wasn't even drunk yet, and I didn't care.

And then I saw him.

Sitting by himself at the far end of the bar.

He was older — late thirties, early forties. His hair was dark, with just enough silver around the temples to give him that dangerous edge. Broad shoulders bulked out his black shirt, and his stance was one of quiet arrogance. I could even see the ridge in his jaw from across the room.

My eyes met his once. I looked away, and then back. He was still staring at me. Not that sly, predatory stare — just measuring me up, as if deciding if or if not I was worth his while.

I didn't want to think. I wanted to feel something other than betrayal.

I slid off my stool and walked towards him.

"Hi," I said, leaning against the bar slightly.

His gaze raked over me — not unasily, but in a manner that made me fiercely aware of every inch of my body.

"Hi." His voice was deep, rich.

I hadn't even hesitated before spilling, "My boyfriend cheated on me."

He raised one of his eyebrows. "Sorry to hear that."

"I want to cheat back." The words came out harsher than I intended.

He stared at me for what felt like forever. "You're serious."

"Yes."

A dry smile toyed with the corner of his lip. "No names. No strings. One night."

I nodded. "That's all I'm asking for."

Within minutes, we were walking toward the VVIP lounge section — a section hidden behind black curtains and guarded by a slack-jawed doorman.

Once he was inside, the music muted, the lighting even darker. His hands on me before I even had time to think. The kiss deep, urgent — nothing at all like Liam's. Soon, clothes went flying about and a soft moan escaped my lips with each thrust of his.

Feeling his warmth in me brought me back to my senses but he just stood up , got dressed and left the room.

No goodbyes. No long looks. Gone.

I sat there, freezing, my body slowly cooling, my mind whirling.

Who was the guy in the video with my mom? Why had she done it? Why had Liam? And why Sienna?

I pulled out my phone and sent the only text Liam was worth:

“We're done. Return the keys to the car and the house I bought for you. Don't contact me again.”