The Price of Desire
1Another lonely night. Emma White lit a cigarette and watched the smoke swirl up, trying to pass the time. As the cigarette burned down, she took a drag, choking and coughing.Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. Looking through the peephole, Emma White saw her new neighbor, David Smith, standing outside in a tank top. She had seen him earlier that day; he’d been wearing loose, casual clothes, looking slim. But under that casual outfit, his well-built physique surprised her.Feeling a little warm, Emma White quickly ran to the kitchen for a glass of cold water before opening the door.“David Smith, what’s up?”“Emma, do you have an iron? Can I borrow it?” David Smith shyly scratched the back of his head, blushing as he continued, “I just moved in and haven’t had a chance to buy one. My shirt’s all wrinkled, and I need to wear it to work tomorrow…”“I have one, just a second.”Her steps quickened, almost as though she were running away. At 42, Emma White knew exactly what was going through her mind. It had been too long since she’d been with her husband, John Brown. Meeting a man like David Smith, full of youthful energy, was making her body stir with desires she’d buried for so long.She silently cursed herself for being shameless and tried to suppress those emotions. As she handed the iron to David Smith, their hands brushed, and a jolt of electricity shot through her body, spreading from her feet to her chest.That night, she struggled to fall asleep. Emma White dreamt of being with John Brown, only for his face to morph into David Smith’s. She woke up with a start.“I’ve been apart from him for too long,” she muttered to herself. That decided it. She’d fly to John Brown’s city this weekend to ease the longing.John Brown worked in a place with poor transportation; a three-hour flight, followed by high-speed trains and buses, made it a full day of travel. Plus, with his work on a new project, weekends weren’t guaranteed, and his visits home were rare.Emma White hated the dust in that city and refused to visit. Even though John Brown often begged her to come, she always refused. But now, with David Smith’s sudden presence, she thought maybe it wasn’t such a bad idea after all.But life doesn’t always go as planned. When Emma White checked the weather, she saw that a typhoon was on the way, and her plans to visit John Brown had to be postponed.Emma White sat up all night. Stretching lazily, she stepped out onto the balcony to breathe in the fresh air, only to run into David Smith, who was doing push-ups, shirtless. She pretended not to see him, but as she quickly retreated back inside, she accidentally bumped her head on the door, making a loud thud.David Smith stood up and asked with concern, “Emma, are you alright?”Feeling a rush of heat in her nose, Emma White quickly covered her face with her hand and lowered her head, unable to look at him. “Y-you should put your shirt on,” she mumbled, before rushing into the bathroom.In the mirror, she saw a couple of red streaks from her nose—painful yet ironic. If it weren’t for this cursed, pretend-single life, would she really be reacting this way to a stranger?After cleaning herself up, Emma White dialed John Brown’s number and complained, “When are you going to come back? I can’t stand this long-distance marriage anymore.”John Brown tried to calm her down. “Baby, just a little longer, it’s almost over.”“Almost over, huh? I’ve heard that a hundred times. My ears are sore from hearing it,” she grumbled.Anger building up inside, Emma White ended the call. Feeling more and more wronged, she grabbed a bottle of red wine and started drinking straight from it. After half a bottle, she felt dizzy and fell asleep. In her dreams, David Smith, shirtless, unexpectedly entered and held her in his arms…***本内容需购买可见***
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