The night was unusually still. Elena sat in the living room, a single lamp casting amber shadows against the walls. She had laid out three wine glasses on the table, though she poured from the bottle into only two. She was waiting.
When Adrian entered, his tie gone and hair slightly disheveled, he paused at the sight of the glasses.
Expecting someone? He asked, feigning calm.
Elena's smile was faint.
"Yes my love, it's you." She pushed one glass toward him.
Adrian hesitated, then sat. He didn't drink. Feeling astonished towards Elena behavior.
Elena swirled her wine slowly, watching the liquid circle like blood in a basin.
Do you remember last Tuesday?
Adrian stiffened. What about it?
The night you said you were late because of work. The quarterly meeting, wasn't it?
Yes, he answered too quickly.
Elena set her glass down carefully, almost tenderly, before sliding something across the table towards him. A napkin. Red lipstick smudged across its edge.
Adrian's heart sank.
"I found this in the car," she said. Her voice was calm, almost casual, but her eyes bore into him like sharpened glass.
Funny thing is… I don't wear this shade.
She smiled, but you know and I know Maya does, doesn't she?
The air between them thickened, pressing in from all sides. Adrian's throat worked, but no words came.
Elena leaned forward, her voice silk over steel. I want you to understand, Adrian. I don't need to ask. I don't need your confession. I already know.
Adrian's hand clenched into a fist.
Elena, please….
She cut him off with a raised hand. Save it. I don't want apologies. I don't even want explanations.
I want you to feel what it's like to sit in silence with the weight of betrayal pressing against your chest. She leaned back, her gaze unrelenting. "The way I have for months."
The clock ticked on the mantel. A glass shattered somewhere in Adrian's chest.
The doorbell rang. Both turned sharply.
Elena rose, her movements deliberate, and opened the door. Maya stood there, breathless, clutching her bag like it was her only anchor.
Sorry, she stammered. I…. Adrian, I thought...
Her eyes locked with Elena's. Time froze.
Elena stepped aside, her smile terrifyingly polite.
You want to come in, Maya?
Maya's pulse pounded. She entered hesitantly, every nerve on fire. Adrian looked at her, panic flashing in his eyes.
Elena poured the third glass of wine, sliding it towards Maya. Now that we're all here, she said softly, perhaps it's time to drink… to the truth yeah.
The silence that followed was unbearable. Adrian opened his mouth, but no sound came.
Maya's hands shook as she lifted the glass, her lipstick-stained lips trembling against the rim.
Elena watched them both, her calm mask unbroken. Inside, her chest was burning fury, heartbreak, envy, all colliding like storms but she didn't let it spill. Not yet.
Do you know what glass does when pressure builds, Maya? she asked suddenly.
Maya blinked. W-what?
Elena tapped her own glass with her fingernail, the sound sharp. "It shatters. Without warning. Without mercy."
Her eyes cut to Adrian, then back to Maya.
"And when it does… there's no putting the pieces back together."
The words hung like smoke, thick and suffocating.
Adrian finally spoke, his voice breaking. Elena… you need to stop.
But she only smiled. Oh Adrian! This is just the beginning.
She lifted her glass, the candlelight catching the red liquid like fire. And for the first time, both Adrian and Maya realized they were no longer hiding their secret. They were trapped in it and Elena held the shards.