Two-timing

John stepped off the bus into Canberra’s crisp evening air. The card of Tina was still folded in his palm like a hidden ember. He slipped it into his pocket before anyone could notice. No one was looking at him. The voice of his wife still echoed from the earlier call. It showed her warmth and her trust. Yet the smile of Tina lingered stronger, brighter, and dangerous.

Image by Alessandro Alle from Pixabay

The card read simply: Tina – Consultant. Private number. No business logo, just her name and digits. Why had she given it? Curiosity? Invitation? Temptation disguised as accident? He could not tell but his pulse was ticking quickly as though he already knew.

At the hotel lobby he paced near the elevator. He was looking confused and mysterious. His thumb hovered over his phone. Call her? Text her? Or burn the card before guilt grew teeth? The human heart is a strange battlefield: one side anchored in vows and history and the other side restless for novelty and thrill.

He remembered their three hours of conversation. She easily laughed at his corporate stories. She would leaned closer when describing her own travels. Her perfume carried the faint scent of oranges. Innocent words had carried undertones or maybe he had imagined them. Still when she slipped the card into his hand her eyes had spoken without words: The choice is yours.

By midnight the choice tortured him. He dialed once but stopped before the last digit. He saw his wife’s face on their wedding day. He saw her faith in him like sunlight. He saw Tina’s eyes on the bus. It was like a promise of something reckless. His reflection in the hotel mirror looked split in two.

The next morning temptation pushed him again. He tucked the card into his wallet and rationalized: It is just a number. Nothing has happened yet. But carrying it felt like carrying a secret weapon that might explode. He cold not stop himself and at lunch he finally sent a text: Coffee later? – John.

Tina replied within minutes: Meet me near Lake Burley Griffin at 6 pm.

When he arrived she stood by the water. The wind was teasing her hair. There were no formalities but there was just a quiet smile that held more weight than words.

“You came,” she said.

“I almost did not,” he admitted.

She tilted her head. “Curiosity always wins.”

They walked along the lakeside path. Their conversation was circling safe topics at first such as travel, work, city life. But under the calm tension simmered. John felt the pull of possibility with every glance she gave him. Yet guilt gnawed every laugh with Tina felt like a theft from his wife. Finally Tina stopped. “You’re married. Why are you here?”

The question pierced deeper than accusation. He had no clever defense. He said “because part of me wanted to feel alive again”.

“And do you?” “Yes,” he said, “but it feels like drinking seawater. Tempting but wrong.”

Tina expression softened. “Then go back to her. Do not make me the reason you break something sacred.”

Her words startled him. He had expected seduction not honesty. “Why give me your card then?” She shrugged. “Because sometimes I like to test if people are stronger than their shadows. Few are. You might be. also a stronger”

Silence stretched between them but it was filled with the sound of rippling water. John realized the true battle was not with Tina but within himself. Two-timing was not a single act. It was a series of small betrayals. The beginning with the decision to hold onto that card. He pulled it from his wallet and tore it in half. “I don’t want to carry shadows anymore.”

Tina smiled faintly as if relieved. “Then maybe you are wiser than most.”

They parted with a handshake nothing more. John walked back to the hotel lighter. Indeed the shame still clung to him. That night he called his wife. He told her about the lake. He also told her about temptation about choosing her. Her silence frightened him more than any scolding. Finally she said softly “Thank you for telling me. That matters.”

The next day as the bus rolled back toward Sydney John stared at the empty seat beside him. The temptation had passed leaving both guilt and clarity. He realized love was not about resisting once. It was about choosing again and again to stay true.

---

I would like to invite @anailuj1992, @suboohi, and @chant to join this contest.