David
David was in the middle of r eplying to an email when he heard her voice. “David," Natalia called out, her tone
sharp and unmistakable. He looked up, and there she was, standing in the middle of the office as though she
owned the place. Natalia was dressed immaculately, her fitted blazer and pencil skirt hugging her figure in a
way that turned heads. Heads that now swiveled between her and David, curious and disbelieving. His stomach
sank. Not here. Not now. "Natalia," he said, his voice low, his eyes darting around the office. “What are you
doing here?” She strode toward him, her heels clicking on the tiled floor, cutting through the murmurs and soft
clatter of keyboards. Her eyes were fiery, her jaw tight. She wasn’t here to mince words. "You cost me
everything," she hissed, standing over his desk, her voice venomous but low enough to ke ep from outright
shouting. “My job, my r eputation—you destroyed it all.” David stood slowly, his colleagues watching out of
the corners of their eyes, some not even bothering to hide their gawking. He felt the heat of their judgment
already, like a thousand pinpricks against his skin. “Natalia,” he started, his tone pleading. “Let’s not do this
here.”
“Oh, but we are,” she snapped, leaning closer. “You think you can ruin my life and walk away from this
unscathed? You think just because you’re pathetic and crawling back to your wife that I’m going to let you off
the hook?” The words landed hard. He couldn’t meet her gaze, his self-pity boiling over. “I love my wife,” he
said quietly. Natalia laughed, the sound bitter and cold. “Are you serious?” She leaned in, her voice dropping
but no less cutting. “It was never about you, David. You were a means to an end. It was always about Lena.
Hurting her, getting what I deserved at work, proving that she’s not as perfect as everyone thinks.” Her words
sent a chill through him. He’d always suspected that Natalia’s feelings had little to do with him, but hearing her
say it so blatantly drove the truth home. He’d been a pawn in her game, and worse, he’d allowed it. He’d let his
ego and his weakness blind him, and now he was standing in the ruins of his life because of it. “I know,” he
said, his voice hollow. “I know I’m pathetic.” Natalia’s eyes flashed, her lips curling into a sneer. “Pathetic
doesn’t even begin to cover it. You had everything—your wife is brilliant, successful, respected by everyone.
And you threw it all away? For what? A few cheap thrills? You’re even dumber than I thought.” David
swallowed hard, his gaze dropping to the floor. “You’re right,” he said quietly. “I’m stupid. Weak. A fool.” He
glanced up at her then, really looking at her for the first time in what felt like forever. Natalia was stunning,
undeniably so. Her figure, her glossy hair, the curve of her lips—all of it was carefully designed to draw
attention, to command desire. But as he looked at her now, all he could feel was the cold emptiness of it.
She didn’t hold a candle to Lena—not her warmth, her intelligence, her strength, or the way her smile could
light up a room. He’d been a fool to ever think Natalia was worth risking Lena for. “I don’t know what I was
thinking,” he muttered, half to himself. “You’re right. I had everything, and I threw it away. For nothing.”
Natalia rolled her eyes, clearly uninterested in his self-pity. “Save it,” she snapped. “I don’t care about your
guilt or your self-loathing. You’re not worth my time, and honestly, you never were.” With that, she turned on
her heel, her sharp movements drawing the attention of everyone in the office as she stormed out. The click of
her heels echoed long after she’d disappeared through the glass doors. David sank back into his chair, the
weight of the moment crushing him. When he looked up, he saw the stares of his colleagues—disgust,
disappointment, and even a little pity. One of them, Greg, didn’t bother to hide his disdain. “You cheated on
Lena?” Greg said, his tone flat, his expression twisted in disbelief. David didn’t answer. He didn’t have to. His
silence was answer enough. “Unbelievable,” Greg muttered, shaking his head as he walked away. Around the
office, the murmurs grew louder, the judgment in their voices clear. Lena’s name was spoken with respect, with
admiration. His was laced with scorn. He stared at his desk, his fists clenched. Natalia’s words still rang in his
ears, sharper and more painful than any insult he could have hurled at himself. She’d been right. About
everything. He’d destroyed his life, betrayed the best woman he’d ever known, and all for something that was
meaningless.
And now, all he had left was regret.
* * *
David sat at his desk long after the office had emptied for the evening. The muted glow of his computer screen
cast pale light across his hands, which were folded tightly together. His mind wasn’t on the project he’d been
working on. It hadn’t been all afternoon. Instead, Natalia’s explosive visit r eplayed in his head, each sharp word
and accusing glance ricocheting off the walls of his thoughts. He had been a fool to think the fallout from
Natalia’s outburst would fade away quietly. The moment she stormed out of the office, the whispers had
begun—some hushed, some not. His colleagues’ glances had shifted from casual to calculating, their voices
carrying fragments of pity or disgust as they passed by his desk. He could feel the judgment radiating from all
sides, and it left him raw. But now, sitting in the eerie quiet of the deserted office, the full weight of her actions
hit him. Natalia had not only dragged their mess into his workplace; she had tainted whatever professional
credibility he had left. Clients had been in the building. Colleagues who respected him—or at least tolerated
him—had watched the drama unfold. And every single one of them now knew about his betrayal, his weakness,
his failure. It was a mess he couldn’t clean up. A mess he had helped create. David leaned back in his chair,
rubbing a hand over his face as the memory of another workplace visit clawed its way to the surface—the day
after Lena caught him. He had shown up at her office, unannounced and desperate, like a man drowning. He’d
thought then that if he could just talk to her, if he could explain, maybe she’d forgive him. But now, looking
back, he could see it for what it was: selfishness.
What had he been thinking, walking into her professional world with his shame and guilt in tow? That building
was her domain, her achievement, the symbol of everything she’d worked so hard for. And he had stormed in,
uninvited, bringing his betrayal with him, asking her to face it in front of her colleagues. He hadn’t been
thinking about her at all—only about himself, his need to be heard, his need to grasp at whatever slivers of their
relationship might have remained. He thought of the look on her face that day—the mixture of fury, pain, and
cold restraint. He remembered the way she hadn’t been able to stifle the sobs, the way he had made her ruin her
composure in front of her team. She had walked away from him, but not before her coworkers had seen them,
and seen Lena break. At the time, he’d convinced himself he was fighting for their marriage. But now, with the
clarity of hindsight, he saw it for what it truly was: another violation. He’d betrayed her in their home, and then
he’d trespassed into her career—the one place she should have felt untouchable. And now Natalia had done the
same to him. She’d barged into his workplace and dismantled whatever professional respect he’d had left. It
was poetic justice, he supposed. A bitter taste of what Lena had endured because of him. David stared at his
hands, his jaw tight. He couldn’t even be angry at Natalia for what she’d done. This was his doing. His choices,
his failures, had given her the power to walk into his life and set fire to it whenever she pleased. And the worst
part? He’d done the exact same thing to Lena, thinking he was justified in doing so. He let out a bitter laugh, the
sound ringing out in the empty office. “What the hell is wrong with me?” he muttered to himself. For all his
apologies and self-pity, he hadn’t learned fast enough. He hadn’t seen how de eply his actions cut, not just at
home but in the professional worlds they both lived in. He’d dragged Lena into the mud, and now he was
getting dragged through it himself.
David leaned forward, resting his elbows on the desk and his head in his hands. The damage was done—there
was no undoing it, no erasing the whispers, the judgment, the pitying glances from his colleagues. But maybe,
just maybe, there was still time to ensure that Lena never had to deal with this kind of fallout again. That was
something he could control. He didn’t know how, exactly, but the thought gave him something to hold on to.
Something to ke ep him from drowning in his guilt. He’d made a mess of things, and now he had to clean up
what he could—even if it was too late for Lena to ever see him as anything more than the man who had failed
her.