The Wrong Woman

The world around Candice and Elio faded as they surrendered to their passion in bed. On the first day of living together, they took the day off from work. They made love in the morning, and again after lunch in the study.

Exhausted, they cuddled and drifted off into a nap. As dusk fell, Candice had just stepped out of the shower when Elio drew her back to the bed. Their passionate encounter stretched late into the night.

Much like any couple enraptured by love, their moments together were wild, unrestrained, and brimming with passion. They experienced an unparalleled sense of release both physically and emotionally. Perhaps due to oversleeping, Candice awoke in the middle of the night. She reached for her phone, only to find it turned off. This explained why she hadn't received any calls all day. She had assumed her family simply wasn't worried about her.

Upon powering the phone back on, she was greeted by dozens of missed calls-all from Mervyn-and a slew of messages. Among them was a text from Sienna.

"Candice, why is your phone off? Elio mentioned you're staying at his place and are doing fine, so I shouldn't worry. But please, get back to me as soon as you see this. Mervyn stopped by looking for you. He seemed quite anxious."

"Mom, I'm fine. Don't worry about me," Candice texted back to Sienna. Then, she climbed out of bed, stepped onto the balcony, and dialed Mervyn's number.

The connecting tone sounded briefly before Mervyn answered the call. His voice was thick with anxiety as he asked, "Candice, where have you been? Why didn't you answer my calls or respond to my messages all day? Your family said you weren't at home. Where did you go? Where-"

Candice cut him off. "Stop, stop, stop. You're bombarding me with questions. How can I answer them all at once?"

Mervyn took a deep breath and calmed himself before asking, "Where are you?"

"At my fiancé's house," Candice replied.

voice carried a

"Yes."

"Are you living together?"

"Yes."

"Candice, are you out of your mind? You're not even married yet, and you're already living together. When did you start behaving

this before."

had always been well-behaved, but

mean she was

open to premarital sex, particularly with Elio, who was not only her fiancé

shown his commitment through

generous engagement gifts.

Candice shifted the conversation.

come to pick

then, the

stepped out, holding a light jacket, which he gently draped over Candice's shoulders. He rested his head against her cheek

turned to