I should have left.
But I didn’t.
When he kissed me, I stopped thinking about Robert.
I stopped thinking about my age.
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I stopped thinking about what morning would bring.
For those few hours, I wanted to forget everything.
The night was passionate, reckless, almost overwhelming for a woman who had spent years forgetting what it felt like to be wanted.
I laughed more than I had in months.
Eric kept telling me I was beautiful.
“Stop,” I whispered, almost embarrassed.
“Why?” he asked. “Because your husband forgot to tell you?”
Those words hurt.
But at the same time, they pulled me even closer to him.
At one point, Eric kissed the side of my neck much harder than I expected.
I flinched and pulled back.
“Easy.”
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He immediately stopped.
“Did I hurt you?”
“No… it was just a little too hard.”
We even laughed about it.
At the time, it seemed like nothing.
I had no idea that only minutes later, the entire night would end in panic.
I got up to get some water.
I took two steps.
Suddenly, a strange ringing filled my ears.
The room seemed to tilt.
“Eric…”
He turned.