“Let me…”

Bella startles. Ethan’s voice is right behind her, low and warm, impossible to miss.

She freezes, her heart hammering against her ribs.

He stands in the quiet hotel hallway; no jacket, shirt open at the collar, hair tousled from dancing. He looks too alive, with no sign of exhaustion.

And dangerously close.

For a brief moment, she forgets where she is.

~~~ ~~~

Minutes Earlier.

The hotel hallway is drenched in silence, Bella feels it clinging to her skin, making every sound feel louder. She drags her suitcase behind her, her heels sinking into the plush carpet.

Faint laughter drifts up from the ballroom: clinking glasses, music, and joy that should sound sweet.

But it does not.

Her cheeks ache from the smiles she forced all day. It is Sophie’s wedding day: the speeches, the photographs, and the bittersweet ache of watching her daughter step into a new life. Beautiful, yes. But painful.

“Damn,” she mutters, rubbing her cheeks. They still hurt.

“You did it, Bella. You survived.”

She exhales. “Tonight should just end already... in peace.”

Her keycard trembles in her hand as she fumbles with the lock. It slips, then slips again, and the light blinks red.

“Not again,” she breathes, trying once more.

Then comes the voice.

“Let me…”

She stops, her pulse racing. Then, she slowly turns.

Ethan stands right behind her, hand half-raised. His tie is gone, his sleeves are rolled up, and his eyes are slightly glazed from wine.

"Not here, he shouldn't be here," her conscience warns.

“Ethan,” she whispers. “You scared me.”

“Sorry.” He lets out a soft smile, nervous at the edges. “I saw you struggling.”

“I’m fine.” She fumbles with the card again. “You should be with Sophie.”

“I will,” he replied, not sounding convincing. He takes the card gently, grazing her fingers lightly. “Here, let me.” The touch sends quivers down Bella's spine.

The door clicks open on the first try.

He grins. “Guess it just needed a softer touch.”

Bella laughs, a little awkwardly. “Guess so.”

He rolls her suitcase inside before she can stop him. “You’ve had a long day,” he says. “You deserve to rest.”

“Ethan…” She tries to sound composed, but he is too close; the doorway feels smaller to her now.

Ethan looks at her intently.

“The proud mother,” he murmurs. “You were radiant tonight.”

“Radiant,” she repeats, smiling bitterly. “You make it sound easy.”

“It was. At least, it looked that way.” He smiles softly.

The air now feels charged and dangerous.

“You should go,” she says, her words lacking weight. “Sophie will...”

“Sophie’s asleep by now.” His gaze lingers. “She told me you looked beautiful walking her down the aisle.”

Bella’s chest tightens. “She said that?”

He nods. “She said, ‘Mom’s glowing tonight.’”

Her throat burns. “She’s kind.”

“She’s right,” he adds softly.

That does it.

The warmth in his tone, the weight of his gaze, and the way his voice drops at the end make Bella step back, shaking her head. “You shouldn’t say things like that.”

“Why not?”

“They sound like something else.”

“Maybe they are.”

There is silence that thickens within seconds. Her chest starts rising too fast. She needs him gone before she forgets who she is supposed to be or before the air burns her alive.

Her hand finds the edge of the door. “Thank you...” she whispers, stepping aside.

But her nerves betray her. The secret she buried slips free, spilling past her lips. Her ruin, her truth, slips out before she can stop it.

“Thank you… ‘Flaming Fire.’”

The words freeze the air.

Ethan freezes with it, colour draining from his face. “What did you just call me?”

Bella feels a knot in her stomach. “I... nothing. It’s nothing.”

He moves closer, disbelief written all over his face. “Say it again.”

“Ethan…” Her voice trembles. “Please...”

“Say it,” he whispers. “You called me ‘Flaming Fire’... No one knows that.”

Her back hits the wall. “You don’t understand.”

He laughs softly, wonder mixing with shock. “I understand too well now... You’re her... Oh, my God! ...you're her!”

Her pulse races so fast. “Ethan, stop.”

“You’re 'Mysterious Delight,'” he breathes. “All this time… it was you?”

“Ethan, please.” She tries to move past him, but his arm braces the wall. “It was a mistake,” she pleads. “I swear.”

His expression is mixed with hurt, disbelief, and something deeper. “Mistake because your mask is off? ... Or mistake because you didn't feel anything while in the shadows?" Bella remains silent. "Gosh!... it felt real, Bella."

“It was real.” The confession slips out, quiet and vulnerable.

He inhales sharply. “You felt it too?”

She is unable to speak.

He rakes a hand through his hair, eyes wide. “God! ... Bella… I thought I was losing my mind, falling for a ghost. Every message, every night... I thought she was just a dream.”

Her eyes sting with tears she tries to blink away. “You were supposed to stay a dream.”

They both stand there trembling.

Then Ethan lets out a low, bitter laugh. “Stay a dream? Oh, wow!”

“Please,” she whispers. “You need to go.”

But he refuses to move. His voice drops to almost a whisper. “Tell me you don’t feel it.”

Her lips part. She wants to lie but cannot.

Silence answers for her.

He exhales shakily, eyes burning. With visible restraint, he steps back toward the door. “Yeah… I should go. Before I make everything worse.”

“Ethan…” Her voice trails off.

He grips the handle, hesitates at her voice, and then he turns. “It was you,” he says softly. “God!…it was always you.”

And the door clicks shut; the click of the lock sounds sharp and final.

Ethan's voice is hoarse and trembling now. “You’re my 'Mysterious Delight'.... You’re her.”

Bella stumbles back, palms flat against the wall. “You don’t understand.”

“Oh, I damn well understand now.” He breathes shakily. “I thought I was losing my mind, craving someone who didn’t exist. But it was you. It’s always been you, Bella.”

“Ethan, stop.”

Instead of stopping, Ethan's hand rises and tremblingly cups her jaw. “God!… Bella.”

And his mouth crashes onto hers.

The kiss explodes: hot, wild, and desperate. Bella gasps, intending to push him away, but her hands betray her. They clutch his shirt, pulling him closer instead.

He groans against her lips. “You lied… why did you lie?” His words melt against her mouth. “I still want you.”

Her tears, unable to be held back, run down, but despite the running tears, her lips open to him again. He tastes of salt, whiskey, and everything forbidden.

“This is wrong,” she breathes, her voice a plea.

“We’re past wrong.” His mouth grazes her throat. “You felt it too.”

“Ethan...” she murmurs, guilt and longing tangled.

“Say it,” he whispers against her skin. “Say you want me.”

Bella’s eyes squeeze shut. Sophie’s radiant face flashes in her mind: her vows, her laughter. "Don’t do this," her conscience cries. But Ethan’s hands are already at her waist, his breath hot against her ear.

“Say it,” he repeats.

“Yes! “...yes, I want you, Ethan,” she whispers, and the dam bursts uncontrollably.

He lifts her effortlessly, mouths still locked. Her fingers knot in his hair. When her back hits the bed, she is already arching into him recklessly.

Clothes are shed in a frenzy, and buttons rip free, scattering everywhere. Then, skin meets skin.

Ethan’s body molds perfectly to hers, warmth radiating from him to her.

He kisses her like he is drowning: desperately and hungrily.

She gasps, shivers uncontrollably, his name falling from her lips like a sin she cannot stop repeating.

The world narrows to breath and fevered want.

His first thrust sinks pleasurably deep into her, and she cries out, a sound caught between pleasure and shame. Ethan groans her name with reverence and hunger, each thrust deep and relentless. The bed creaks under their desperate rhythm.

She clings to him, wishing time would freeze.

Then guilt lashes at her even as pleasure consumes her: Sophie’s veil, the vows, the laughter below. But everything burns away in the fire between them.

Ethan’s lips find her ear. “I love you,” he whispers. “I loved you before I knew who you were.”

Bella shatters, body and soul quivering beneath him.

Then comes the climax, a breathless release that leaves them tangled in sweat and silence. The world outside feels so far away now.

Ethan strokes her hair, murmuring, “What we were always meant to do, 'Delight.'” He plants soft kisses along her temple.

Bella’s eyes sting. She turns her face into the pillow, letting it soak up her tears.

“What have we done?” she whispers.

He kisses her again. “What we couldn’t stop.”

She wants to believe him, to stay in his warmth forever.

But she knows better. This is not destiny. This is ruin.

And yet, when his arms tighten around her, she finds herself not moving. She gives in again, their unending fevered want undoing them again and again.

Under the pleasurable heat from the fire burning them both, she realizes she is not stopping.

Definitely not tonight.