Elara hadn't planned to come home early.The afternoon appointment had been canceled last minute.
"Please ma, we are very sorry for cancelling your appointment. The doctor has a critical case on his table and won't be able to see anyone." The receptionist said apologetically.
"It's fine," Elara said with a smile, reassuring her she has no problem rescheduling her appointment. She stood from her chair and stepped back out into the gray afternoon with an unfamiliar lightness. For once, she wouldn't have to brace herself for bad news.
As she walked past a restaurant she decided to surprise Caleb. It was a small thing, almost childish. She picked up his favorite takeout, the paper bag warming her hands. Elara smiled inwardly imagining the faint smile he'd give her when she walked through the door.
The house was quiet when she arrived.Too quiet.
Caleb's car was in the driveway. Her steps slowed as she pushed open the front door. The familiar scent of home was there but layered beneath it was something else. The same cologne from the night before. Stronger now. Fresh.
"Babe," she called softly.
No answer.
"Caleb," She called out again,still no response.
She set the food down on the counter, her pulse beginning to quicken for reasons she didn't want to name. From down the hall came the faint sound of laughter and intimate moan. A woman's laugh she knew as well as her own. And the moan she didn't want to believe what was already playing in her mind.
Elara's feet moved before her mind could catch up, carrying her toward the bedroom. Each step felt heavier than the last, as though the house itself were resisting her.
The bedroom door was partially closed and she pushed it open. Her eyes fell wide in disbelief. She couldn't believe what she saw as she gently pitched herself to make sure she wasn't dreaming.
Time fractured.
Caleb was there–her husband, the man who had held her through every disappointment, every tear. Maris was with him, legs spread apart as Caleb sucked juice out of her. Both tangled in the sheets Elara had washed that morning. Her hair messy and eyes rolled as pleasure shot through her body like electricity.
"Calebbbb…." Elara screamed. Her voice echoing through the walls of the building.
For a heartbeat, no one spoke.
Maris gasped first. "Elara–"
Caleb sat up, shock flashing across his face before something harder replaced it. Annoyance. Fear–not for her, but for himself.
"Oh my God," Elara whispered.
The bag slipped from her fingers, hitting the floor with a dull thud. Sauce spilled, staining the carpet like a wound.
"El, wait—" Caleb started, standing, grabbing a shirt and wiping his mouth.
"Don't," she said.
Her voice was quiet. Too quiet.
Maris scrambled for the sheets, eyes wide with panic. "This isn't what it looks like."
Elara let out a hollow laugh. "Isn't it?"
Caleb ran a hand through his hair, frustration already creeping in. "You weren't supposed to be home."
The words struck harder than any confession. As she walked closer towards them, she staggered,it was as if her calves had sacks of dried corn to them.
"How could you Caleb? Where did I….."Elara asked,her voice breaking, unable to finish her sentence as tears welled instantly blurry her vision. "I trusted you," Elara said. "Both of you."
Maris slid off the bed, fake tears spilling now and saying words that she never meant "I didn't mean for this to happen. It just did."
Elara turned to her slowly. "How long?"
Maris kept mute as she constantly made eye contact with Caleb.
Caleb answered instead. "A few months."
"A few months right?" Elara said sarcastically. "While I thought we were in this together,I never knew you had other plans. Screwing my sister"
"I'm sorry Elara, I was depressed and I needed distraction" Caleb said, his voice low.
"Smack!" Elara palm cracked across his cheek,the sound sharp against the stillness of the house.
"Have you lost it Caleb? Distraction with my own sister? How could you do this to me? How could you?" Elara asked, hitting her hands against his chest.
As the air in the room shifted,Elara turned her gaze towards Maris,who seemed to be enjoying the spectacle,her eyes alight with a dangerous sort of amusement. Her throat felt tight,but she pushed the words out.
"Have you no shame Maris? For Christ sake,you are supposed to be my sister and you are having an affair with my husband. How could you?" Elara said, struggling to contain the sharp pain she felt in her heart.
Maris shook her head. "Step-sister," she corrected sharply, as if that distinction could soften the betrayal. She looked at Elara with disdain in her eyes and continued "and spare me that speech,You are not the only one that should have everything good. I love Caleb and don't regret sleeping with him" Maris said coldly,her voice low but dripping with venom.
"Oh really, you love my husband and yet you also claim you love me. What an irony of Life" Elara said,biting her lower lips in anger.
"You should be grateful that I'm doing what you failed to do for eight years of being married to Caleb" Maris said as she sat on the bed unconcerned.
Maris's words landed like a spark in the stillness. Elara's eyes went wide, her lips parting in shock. In all the years she grew with Maris,she had thought she was different from her mother who snatched her father away from them and now she has snatched her husband away from her. She never believed that Maris had always been jealous of her nor would betray their bond as sisters. She has always held Maris in high esteem and stood by her in her times of distress.
The signs were there all along but she chose to ignore them, and now the truth is glaring right in front of her.
Something inside Elara snapped—not loudly, but completely.
She looked at Caleb once more, searching his face for remorse. She found none. Only justification waiting to be spoken.
"I was lonely," he began, as if reading her thoughts. "You were so focused on…everything else. I needed someone who could be there."
"Someone who could give you what I couldn't?" Elara asked slowly.
He didn't answer. He kept mute
That was an answer she needed as she backed toward the door, every instinct screaming to flee.
"I won't be part of this," she said. "I won't cover for you. I won't stay."
"Elara," Caleb warned, his tone shifting. "Think about what you're doing."
She paused at the doorway, tears finally spilling freely. "I am. For the first time in years."
She walked out without another word, leaving behind her marriage, her family, and the life she thought she understood.
Behind her, the house echoed with voices raised in panic.
Ahead of her, the world felt terrifyingly empty.
But even as her heart shattered, a single truth burned through the pain. Nothing would ever be the same again.