Love didn't feel like a sin

Night grew late, and Stella grew restless. Samantha still hadn’t come home.

“Why hasn’t Sam come back yet…” Stella murmured anxiously. She quickly dialed Sean’s number.

“Hello, Sean. Sorry to call you this late,” she said once the call connected.

“What is it?” Sean’s voice sounded cold.

“Sam… she’s not home yet. It’s not like her. Do you know where she is?”

“No idea. She’s not my sister—she’s yours. Ask her.”

“But she’s your sister-in-law, Sean…”

“Then go find her yourself. You’re only bothering me.”

Click. The call ended. Stella let out a long sigh.

“I have to be patient… this is all for Daddy Samuel,” she whispered to herself.

Her heart felt heavy. She could no longer bear Sean’s cold and distant treatment. But she chose to stay for one reason—Sean was paying for her stepfather Samuel’s medical treatments. She couldn’t bear to disappoint the one man who had loved her like a real father all her life.

Across the city, Samantha stared at the ceiling with swollen eyes. She had just ended a call with Stella.

“I’m at the hospital, Sis… Daddy had a critical moment earlier,” she lied.

As soon as the call ended, tears fell again. Her heart was drowning in guilt. She had fallen too deep… with Sean, her sister’s husband.

“Why did my life become this complicated…” she whispered, then slowly drifted off to sleep with tears still clinging to her cheeks.

The next morning, Samantha woke up in a warm embrace. Strong arms gently wrapped around her from behind. She knew exactly whose they were.

“Sean…” she whispered.

“I want to take a shower.”

Sean smiled, then pressed a kiss to her shoulder. “Let me wash you,” he murmured.

They stepped into the bathroom together. Warm water streamed down their bodies, wrapping their intimacy in quiet morning light. Sean washed her gently, as if trying to cleanse away all her burdens and pain. His touch, tender and slow, felt like a temporary escape from guilt and reality.

Afterward, they sat in silence over breakfast.

“Sean… this is wrong. I can’t keep doing this.”

Sean looked at her, his gaze dark with emotion. “I’m doing all of this for you, Sam. You’re the only one I want.”

“But Stella… she’s my sister.”

“Half-sister,” Sean replied, his voice low. “And you know I never loved her.”

“I can’t keep living like this, Sean. The guilt is eating me alive.”

Sean stood and grabbed his suit jacket. “Pack your things. We’re going away this afternoon. I have something to handle at the office first.”

Samantha nodded weakly, her eyes distant. She knew this wasn’t a vacation—it was just another escape.

---

Time seemed to pause as Samantha recalled the past—back when they were once lovers.

She remembered standing at the edge of the beach, letting the ocean breeze play with her hair. The waves kissed her feet, as if calling her back to that day—the day everything changed.

Sean walked slowly toward her from afar. His tall figure contrasted against the soft orange glow of the sunset. He didn’t say a word as he stopped beside her.

“Why are you so quiet?” he asked gently.

“I’m trying to forget,” Samantha replied without looking at him.

“And what exactly are you trying to forget?” Sean whispered, now standing behind her.

Samantha closed her eyes. “All of this. You. Me. These feelings.”

Sean said nothing. He only placed a hand on her shoulder, then wrapped his arms around her from behind. Samantha could hear his heartbeat, steady and warm. And damn it, that comfort always broke her defenses.

“Tonight… don’t think about anything,” Sean said, his voice husky. “Let us just be two souls trying to understand each other.”

Samantha turned around. Their eyes met, and the world seemed to freeze.

“This is wrong,” she whispered.

“But you’re still here,” Sean replied.

She searched his eyes for lies, but all she found was a painful honesty. And a longing that mirrored her own.

Suddenly, light rain began to fall. They laughed softly, running toward a small wooden hut not far from the shore. They were wet, cold, but strangely warm inside.

Sean cupped her cheek. “You drive me crazy every night in my mind.”

“Stop… don’t make me fall even harder,” Samantha whispered.

But the kiss came anyway—soft, slow, and full of meaning. It was not about desire. It was about healing. About longing that couldn’t be voiced. About love born at the wrong time.

That night, they fell asleep in each other’s arms, with only the sound of the waves and the scent of rain surrounding them.

The next morning, Samantha woke up first. She stared at Sean’s sleeping face—so peaceful. And for a moment, she wished the world didn’t know the word wrong.

She gently brushed his lips with her fingertips and whispered, “Forgive me… I love you in a way I never should.”

***

The morning sun crept through the cracks of the wooden roof, casting soft golden light across Sean’s face. Samantha lay beside him in silence, her eyes tracing the sharp lines of his jaw, the tousled strands of his hair, the quiet rise and fall of his chest. His hand, still loosely gripping the edge of the blanket, made her heart ache—like he was holding onto her even in sleep, afraid to let go.

She didn’t know how long she had been watching him, caught between reality and a fleeting dream. When his eyes finally fluttered open, hazy with sleep, her world trembled a little.

“You’re up early,” Sean murmured, his voice husky and warm.

Samantha offered a small smile. “I couldn’t sleep long. Too many thoughts running in my head.”

Sean reached for her hand and laced their fingers together, his touch slow, deliberate. “Do you regret it?”

Her smile faded. Not because she didn’t know the answer, but because saying it aloud might shatter the fragile peace wrapped around them.

“No,” she whispered. “But I’m scared.”

“Scared of what?” Sean asked, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear.

“That this might be the last day we feel this happy.”

Sean pulled her gently into his arms. His embrace was firm, grounding. “If this is a dream, I don’t want to wake up. But if it’s real, then let me hold on to this feeling for as long as I can.”

“Don’t make promises you’re not sure you can keep,” she said softly, her cheek pressed against his chest.

“I’m not promising forever,” he said. “I’m just telling you the truth… that last night wasn’t a mistake for me.”

Samantha closed her eyes. She wanted to believe him. She really did. But deep down, she knew every second they shared was both beautiful and dangerous. A bittersweet secret carved from longing and betrayal.

Still, for a little while longer, she allowed herself to pretend.

They rose slowly, as if not wanting to break the spell of the night before. Sean took her hand as they stepped out of the cabin, their feet touching the cold morning sand. The beach was quiet, washed in golden light. The ocean stretched endlessly before them, calm and serene.

They walked in silence, hand in hand, like two lovers caught in a world that didn’t judge, that didn’t ask questions. With every step, their shoulders brushed, their fingers gently squeezed, their eyes met and lingered—wordless conversations that spoke louder than anything else.

Samantha stopped near the water’s edge and tilted her head back, letting the breeze kiss her skin.

Sean watched her with a look she didn’t often see—pure, unguarded admiration.

“You look like you belong here,” he said quietly. “Like the sea made you.”

Samantha chuckled, a soft, musical sound. “That’s the most poetic thing you’ve ever said to me.”

“I’m serious,” he stepped closer, his hands resting on her waist. “You’re the only thing that makes sense to me lately.”

She looked up at him, eyes shining with something between sadness and affection. “We can’t stay like this forever.”

“No,” he admitted. “But we have this moment. Let’s make it ours.”

Without another word, he leaned in and kissed her—not rushed, not desperate. Just a gentle, lingering kiss that felt like a promise. Samantha’s hands found his chest, then slid up to his shoulders, holding onto him like he was the only solid thing left in her world.

Their foreheads touched afterward, breath mingling in the salty air.

They returned to the cabin for breakfast, simple but perfect—bread, fruit, warm tea. Sean insisted on feeding her slices of mango, laughing when juice dripped down her chin and he had to wipe it away with his thumb.

“You’re ridiculous,” Samantha said through a laugh.

“But you’re smiling,” he teased. “I like it when you smile. It’s rare.”

“I forgot how to smile… before you.”

Sean grew quiet for a moment, his eyes softening. “Then let me help you remember. Every day. As long as I can.”

Later, they curled up on the hammock outside, wrapped in a blanket as the sea breeze grew cooler. Samantha rested her head on his chest, listening to the steady rhythm of his heartbeat. His fingers played lazily with her hair.

“You know,” she murmured, “sometimes I wish we could go back in time. To when it was just us, and none of this mess existed.”

Sean pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “I’d give anything for that. But even if I can’t change the past, I can still choose you. Every single time.”

She turned her face toward him, studying him like he was a puzzle she couldn’t solve. “Why me, Sean? After everything… why?”

His answer came without hesitation. “Because you see me. The real me. Even when I don’t deserve it.”

They kissed again, deeper this time—slow and yearning. Not lustful, but filled with everything they didn’t know how to say. Regret. Need. Love.

Time melted away as they held each other close. In that small wooden cabin by the sea, there were no titles, no betrayal, no guilt. Only two souls clinging to something fragile and fleeting.

Samantha touched his face gently, tracing the curve of his jaw. “You scare me sometimes,” she admitted.

“Why?”

“Because when I’m with you, it feels like the world disappears. And I don’t know if I want it to come back.”

Sean took her hand and kissed her knuckles one by one. “Then let’s disappear for a little while longer.”

They stayed that way—lost in warmth and silence, the kind that only lovers understand. For the first time in a long time, Samantha felt safe. Not because the world was any less cruel, but because Sean was there, holding the pieces of her heart like they were the most precious things he’d ever known.

She didn’t know what tom

orrow would bring. But right now, wrapped in his arms with the sound of the sea lulling her into peace, she allowed herself to hope.

Just for today, love didn’t feel like a sin.

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