SECRET AFFAIR WITH MY BROTHER-IN-LAW

CHAPTER FIVE: ECHOES IN THE DARK

The air in Ariella’s room felt heavy—too warm, too still.

She lay on her side, legs curled, arms folded beneath her head, trying to pretend everything was normal. But nothing about tonight was normal.

Her eyes burned as she stared at the wall, her chest rising and falling with quiet, uneven breaths. She wore what she always wore to bed—soft cotton shorts and a thin-sleeved top—but now she couldn’t help feeling exposed. His eyes had seen too much. Not her bare skin, but something else.

Something private.

Lucian.

She hadn’t expected anyone to be downstairs. Least of all, him—with Susan wrapped around him, kissing him like the past few months hadn’t happened. She had meant to grab water and go back to bed like any other night. But instead… she had walked into something that didn’t belong to her. And he had seen her.

Really seen her.

And he hadn’t looked away.

That was what haunted her.

Not the kiss. Not the laughter. Not even Susan’s hand curled around his chest. It was the way his gaze had followed her—quietly, sharply, like a man who had seen something he wasn’t supposed to.

And something in her had responded.

Heat pooled beneath her skin. Her throat tightened.

It’s nothing, she told herself, turning onto her back. You just caught him off guard. That’s all.

But the look in his eyes hadn’t been confused.

It had been clear.

Too clear.

And it scared her.

Because deep down, a part of her hadn't hated it.

Upstairs, the master bedroom was dim, the air scented faintly of jasmine and warmth.

Lucian lay on his back, one arm beneath his head, the other resting on Susan’s waist. The sheets were tangled loosely around them. Their skin still carried the lingering heat of what had just passed between them.

They had made love—or something close to it. It wasn’t rushed. It wasn’t aggressive. It was... familiar. Physical. A way to patch the distance that had built over time. At the bar, Susan had kissed him, whispered apologies, traced her fingers over his chest, and guided him back upstairs.

And he let her.

For a little while, it had felt good. Felt like something was healing. She knew him—his body, his rhythm, his unspoken wants. And he knew her. He’d closed his eyes and let the memory of who they used to be guide his hands.

Afterward, she curled into his side, her voice soft. “I’ll try, Lucian. I mean it.”

He looked down at her. Her lashes fluttered gently against her cheeks, her breath already slowing. “I know you will,” he murmured.

“I don’t want to lose this. Lose us,” she added sleepily.

He sighed, pressing a kiss to her temple. “I’m not trying to stop you from being successful, Susan. I admire that about you. Always have. But I also want my wife present. Not just in the same house—but in this... with me.”

“I’ll do better,” she whispered. “I’ll find the balance.”

And then she was asleep—

Lucian turned his face toward the ceiling, hoping sleep would take him.

It didn’t.

Instead, it brought Ariella.

Her image returned sharper now—the way the light had touched her body at the bottom of the stairs, how the thin fabric of her top had clung to her breasts like silk on water. He remembered the faint outline of her n*****s, the soft swell barely hidden beneath the translucent cloth.

It wasn't intentional. She hadn’t meant to be seen like that.

That was what made it worse.

She hadn’t been seductive.

She had been… innocent.

Pure.

And yet, his mind had wandered where it shouldn’t. His thoughts strayed to curves he had no right thinking about. His chest rose sharply with a breath he didn’t want to take.

His brows furrowed. He dragged a hand down his face.

She’s nineteen, he growled to himself. She’s just a girl.

And not just any girl. Susan’s sister. His sister-in-law. A guest in his home. Vulnerable. Trusting.

You’re not that man, he told himself.

But guilt was a strange thing—it didn’t ask for permission to sit beside you at night. It just did.

Lucian turned his face toward the wall, away from Susan, and closed his eyes.

Sleep eventually came.

But it did not come gently.