World Todai

It was a humid summer evening in the small town of Brindlewood. The kind of evening where the air felt thick and close, wrapping around you like a second skin. The sun had just dipped below the horizon, leaving the sky a bruised shade of violet, and the streets, still warm from the day’s heat, exuded the scent of asphalt and impending rain.

Tess Harper stood in the shadow of the old oak tree in front of her house, her fingers trembling as she held her phone. She had just sent the message, the one she had been contemplating for weeks, the one that could unravel the fabric of her life.

“Meet me at the pier. 8 PM. We need to talk.”

She knew he would come. He always did.

For years, Tess had lived a life of comfortable routine. Married young to Daniel, her high school sweetheart, they had built a life together that was stable, if unremarkable. Their love was a quiet, steady thing—safe, predictable, but lacking the spark that once ignited their passion. Over time, that spark had dimmed, replaced by the steady hum of daily life, and Tess found herself longing for something more, something different.

And then there was Jack.

Jack Sinclair had been a fleeting presence in Tess’s life since childhood, always there but never close enough to touch. They had gone to school together, their lives running parallel but rarely intersecting. It wasn’t until Jack returned to Brindlewood after years away that their paths finally crossed in a meaningful way. He had come back different, older, rougher around the edges. The boy she remembered was now a man, and with him came the kind of danger and excitement that Tess had always secretly craved.

Their affair started innocently enough—a few drinks at the local bar, stolen glances, and casual conversations that slowly edged toward something deeper. Tess knew it was wrong, knew that she was risking everything for a man who could never offer her the life she had with Daniel. But every time Jack touched her, every time his lips brushed against her skin, all reason fled, leaving only the burning desire to feel alive again.

And so it continued, their clandestine meetings fueled by lust and the thrill of the forbidden. They would steal away to the edge of town, where the old pier jutted out into the still waters of the lake, hidden from prying eyes. The pier became their sanctuary, a place where Tess could shed the weight of her responsibilities and lose herself in Jack’s arms.

But with every kiss, every whispered promise, the guilt gnawed at her. It was a slow, insidious thing, creeping in at the edges of her happiness, until she could no longer ignore it. Tess had never intended to hurt Daniel, had never meant for things to go this far. But now, standing in the gathering darkness, she knew she had to end it.

The sound of footsteps on the gravel path pulled Tess from her thoughts. She looked up to see Jack approaching, his tall frame silhouetted against the fading light. He moved with the confidence of someone who knew what he wanted, and as he drew closer, Tess felt her resolve begin to waver.

“Hey,” Jack said softly, stopping a few feet away from her. His voice was a deep, soothing rumble that sent shivers down her spine.

“Hey,” Tess replied, her voice barely above a whisper. She looked at him, taking in the familiar lines of his face, the way his dark hair fell over his forehead, the intensity in his eyes that had always made her feel like the only person in the world.

But tonight, that intensity felt like a weight, pressing down on her chest, making it hard to breathe.

“I got your message,” Jack said, stepping closer. “What’s going on?”

Tess swallowed hard, the words she had rehearsed so many times suddenly stuck in her throat. “We need to talk, Jack. This… whatever this is… it has to stop.”

Jack’s expression hardened, a flash of something unreadable crossing his face. “Stop? What do you mean?”

“This,” Tess gestured between them, her voice trembling. “Us. I can’t keep doing this. I can’t keep lying to Daniel, to myself. It’s not right.”

Jack was silent for a moment, his gaze piercing into her. Then, slowly, he shook his head. “Tess, I love you. You know that, don’t you?”

The words hit her like a blow, and for a moment, she felt as if the ground was slipping away beneath her feet. She had never expected him to say it, had never allowed herself to believe that what they had was anything more than physical. But now, hearing those words, she realized with a sickening lurch that she had been lying to herself all along.

“I… I love you too,” she admitted, her voice breaking. “But that doesn’t change anything. I’m married, Jack. I made vows, and I can’t just throw that away.”

Jack’s jaw clenched, his eyes darkening with a mix of anger and pain. “So, what? You’re just going to pretend this never happened? Go back to your perfect little life like nothing’s changed?”

Tess shook her head, tears welling up in her eyes. “No, I’m not pretending. I know things have changed, but that’s why I have to stop this before it goes any further. Before we do something we can’t take back.”

Jack stepped forward, closing the distance between them, his hand reaching out to cup her cheek. The touch was so familiar, so comforting, that Tess instinctively leaned into it, her eyes closing as a tear slipped down her face.

“Don’t do this, Tess,” Jack whispered, his breath warm against her skin. “We can make this work. I know we can.”

His lips brushed against hers, soft at first, then with more urgency. Tess felt herself melting into the kiss, her body responding to him in a way that made her forget, even if just for a moment, all the reasons why this was wrong. She kissed him back, her hands tangling in his hair, pulling him closer as the taste of him flooded her senses.

But as their kiss deepened, so did the weight of her guilt, pressing down on her with suffocating force. Tess broke away, her breath coming in ragged gasps, and took a step back, her heart hammering in her chest.

“I can’t,” she choked out, the tears now streaming down her face. “I’m sorry, Jack. I’m so sorry.”

Jack stood there, his hands falling to his sides, his expression one of shock and hurt. For a long moment, they just stared at each other, the silence between them heavy with all the things left unsaid.

Finally, Jack nodded, his face hardening as he took a step back. “If that’s what you want, Tess. But don’t think for a second that you can just walk away from this without looking back.”

With that, he turned and walked away, leaving Tess standing alone in the darkness, her heart aching with the weight of her decision.

As she watched him disappear into the night, Tess felt the sting of regret settle deep in her chest. She knew that ending things with Jack was the right thing to do, but that didn’t make it any easier. The taste of his kiss still lingered on her lips, a bittersweet reminder of the love she was leaving behind.

Tess turned and began walking back toward her house, each step feeling heavier than the last. She knew that when she got home, she would have to face Daniel, would have to look him in the eyes and pretend that everything was okay. But deep down, she knew that nothing would ever be the same again.

When she reached her front door, Tess paused, taking a deep breath before stepping inside. The house was quiet, the only sound the faint ticking of the clock on the wall. Daniel was in the living room, reading a book, just as he always did in the evenings. He looked up as she entered, a warm smile spreading across his face.

“Hey, there you are,” he said, closing the book and setting it aside. “I was starting to wonder where you’d gone off to.”

Tess forced a smile, the guilt twisting in her gut like a knife. “Just went for a walk. Needed to clear my head.”

Daniel nodded, completely unaware of the storm raging inside her. “Good idea. You okay?”

Tess hesitated for a moment, the truth clawing at her throat, desperate to be set free. But then she pushed it down, burying it deep inside where it couldn’t hurt him. “Yeah,” she lied, her voice barely above a whisper. “I’m fine.”

But as she sat down beside him, the weight of her secret pressing down on her, Tess knew that she would never truly be fine again. The taste of Jack’s kiss, the memory of his touch, would haunt her forever, a constant reminder of the love she had lost and the life she had chosen.

And in the stillness of that summer night, Tess understood that some regrets were destined to stay with you, lingering like the ghost of a kiss you could never forget.

#regret #kissing #lake