John relaxed against the bus seat, his phone pressed to his ear as his wife's voice drifted across the line. She sounded positive as she asked about his long journey from Delhi to Sydney and reminded him to get some food once he arrived in Canberra. Though the journey times had left him fatigued, he grinned and comforted her everything was alright. Just then the seat next to him shifted and a young woman elegantly slipped down into it.

John turned to look at her. She had long beautiful hair and a charming smile that seemed to light up the gloomy interior, she's in her early twenties. When he hung up the call to his wife, he gave her smile. From just greeting to normal chats, Is Canberra for your place? Do you always travel? It turned to more intimate and more personal.

As the bus purposefully traveled down the road, a storm raged inside John's thoughts. Tina talked about her love of spontaneous adventures, her work in marketing, and how boring long-distance travel felt without a good friend to chat with as she introduced herself. As she listened, she bent a little closer and laughed at John's jokes; she even gave him a bag of chips. Unseen hours disappeared.

Pixabay

By the time the bus pulled into Canberra's terminal, John was sucked into an unusual current of temptation. He knew he was married. He understood his wife's trust was quite significant. But he also sensed a spark—a seductive vibe that came from Tina's presence, something he hadn't felt in years. As people started getting their belongings, Tina looked to him.

She said, proffering her palm, it was a joy to meet you. Her fingers stayed on his palm a longer than he expected. She then practically murmured, she put a card into his palm. If you'd like to discussing this always, you can call me.
John kept the card in his pocket, but it felt heavy, it has more weight than it suppose to have. He was curious as he alighted from the bus. Why had she given it to him? Was it really out of curiosity, a brief fling, or only just approach of networking?

His phone vibrated once again; but that's From his wife, she texted him a photo of the dinner she had made ready for him once he arrive. He had a wave of guilt on him. He imagined telling his wife why he was having another woman's number on his phone; he saw that look in her eyes.

Human nature is complex. Often disguised as charm and humor, temptation hides the results it produces. Stuck between two voices inside, John stood on the sidewalk. One said , You are not at home; no one will know. It's just a friendly meet. One step might destroy all you have built with your wife, the other Said.

John pulled the card from his pocket and flipped it over. "Tina White, Creative Marketing Consultant." A phone number scrawled beneath. His thumb floated as though the numbers themselves were daring him. He saw himself calling her for a quick moment: another meeting, a glass of wine, perhaps more. But then, in that same dream, he saw his wife's face, her confidence destroyed, her voice trembling with treachery.

He felt the decision weighing on him like a stone. At last, John crushed the card in his hand and dropped the paper into the closest container. He departed almost indignantly, as though trying to get rid of the shadow of something dangerous.

Did he feel relieved? Indeed. But there was also a bitterness, one he even thought about entering that world of deception. He came to see that temptation was more about the fight within than the action itself. He had liked Tina's presence, but the guilt that followed was a better lesson.

Later that evening at dinner, sitting opposite from his wife, John heard her conversation about her day. Her tone of warmth reminded him why he had initially selected her. He leaned across the table and grabbed her hand somewhat stronger than usual. She saw but did not inquire why.

The card had vanished, and the temptation gone with it. But the lesson persisted: two-timing begins with small decisions, with conversations stretched too lengthy, with cards slipped gently into hands, not with betrayal. John had chosen loyalty above wish for once;
Still, Tina might have pondered somewhere in Canberra why the man on the bus never called.

Hello teacher @dove11

I invite @olawalium @princefm @sors