**Playing with Fire**
“Blimey,” Thomas threw his head back, choking with laughter. “You actually said that to her face? In front of everyone?”
“What choice did I have?” Edward drummed his fingers nervously on the table. “Im married. She wouldnt leave me alonegot bolder by the day. The whole departments been whispering.”
“Oh, come off it, you old prude,” Thomas teased. “Most blokes wouldve jumped at the chance. But not you, eh? Too noble for your own good.”
“Weve rather different ideas about loyalty,” Edward retorted mildly, though exhaustion flickered in his eyes. “At first, it was just hintsI pretended not to notice. Didnt want to make a scene.”
“Thats where you went wrong, mate,” Thomas said, raising a knowing brow. “Your silence gave her hope. Encouraged her.”
“What does she even want from me? Plenty of single men about!”
“For women like her, a wedding ring isnt a barrierits a challenge,” Thomas mused. “Proof youre worth having.”
Sophia had blown into their office like a sudden spring gale. She wasnt classically beautifulher features too sharp, her voice low and slightly husky. But when she smiled, the world seemed to shift. The HR manager later confessed shed nearly rejected Sophiauntil that smile changed her mind in an instant.
At first, Edward genuinely liked her. Her energy and quick wit were a breath of fresh air in the dull office routine. Hed helped her settle in, shared advice. To him, it was simple kindness, nothing more. A family man through and through, he saw her as a bright colleague, almost a younger sister.
Then the lines began to blur. Her jokes turned suggestive, her touches lingering. Edward, an introvert unused to such boldness, faltered. His moral compass, always steady, spun wildly. He started avoiding her, skipping shared lunches. But retreat only sharpened her pursuit.
***
Edward was nearing forty, a man who maintained order in his life with deliberate effort. Tall but slightly stooped, as if trying to shrink. Dark hair, neatly trimmed, already streaked with premature greyheredity and responsibility. Calm eyes, but beneath them lurked a quiet exhaustionnot from work, but from holding himself so tightly. He wore wire-rimmed glasses, which hed remove and rub nervously when unsettled. His clothes were practical: muted shirts, pressed trousers. No flash, no fuss.
Edward loathed crowds. Flirting, office politicsall of it drained him. His world was quiet, methodical, focused. Conflict terrified him; hed sooner retreat than confront.
Yet within him stood an unshakable fortress: his love for his family. Helen and the children werent just part of his lifethey were its foundation. His loyalty wasnt virtue; it was as natural as breathing.
Sophia had fixated on him from day one. He was the only man immune to her charmsand that made him irresistible. To seduce him wouldnt just be a conquest; it would prove she was desirable. A married mans fall would be her triumph. Experience told her no “perfect family man” was truly faithful.
Within weeks, Sophia was gushing to her friend Emily about Edward. Emily listened, growing uneasy.
“Another married one? Sophia, stop. Hes got two kids.”
“Oh, details!” Sophia waved a hand. “Hes unhappyI can see it. Trapped in a gilded cage. That wife of his Helen she doesnt understand him. Shes just made him comfortable, but his soul is screaming for freedom!”
“How would you know? Have you even met her?”
“I dont need to! Hes so proper, so buttoned-up Thats not normal. Theres pain beneath. Hes afraid to admit it. I want to help himfree him.”
“Sophia, listen to yourself,” Emily sighed. “You dont want to help him. You want him because hes off-limits. This isnt a gameits peoples lives!”
“You dont understand,” Sophia insisted. “This is fate. Hes lost, and Ill prove his perfect family isnt what it seems. Nothings perfect. Ill find the cracks.”
***
The business trip to Manchester became Edwards trial. Who volunteered to join him? Sophia, of course. With clients, she was professionalism itself, and Edward nearly relaxeduntil a knock came at his hotel door late that evening.
“My rooms freezingthe radiators broken,” Sophia announced, wrapped in a flimsy robe that left little to the imagination.
Edwards stomach dropped. Panic, thick and suffocating, seized him. He pictured Helens steady, trusting gaze.
“Wait here,” he muttered, turning away. “Ill fetch you a blanket.”
She pouted but took it.
“Youve locked yourself in a cage and thrown away the key,” she said, leaving. “Pity. Theres another man beneath all that restraintI know it.”
Edward leaned against the door, heart pounding. Relief mingled with a strange, heavy pityfor her, for himself, for the absurdity of it all.
Back at the office, Sophia seemed to forget him. Edward began to breathe againuntil she asked for a lift home. He refused.
“Do I disgust you?”
“Youre brilliant,” he said carefully. “But I love my wife. I have a family”
“So thats the only reason?” Her eyes glittered dangerously.
“No” He fumbled for words, but she was already gone. He regretted his hesitation at once.
That night, a sharp nudge woke him. Helens furious whisper cut through the dark.
“Edward, have you lost your mind? What is this woman doing sending you these photos at midnight?”
He bolted upright. On his phone was Sophiaposed in lace, nothing left to chance.
“Helen, its not what you think!” Voice breaking, he confessed everything, sparing no detail.
Helen was silent a long moment. Then she sighed.
“You daft, honourable man,” she said, anger laced with affection. “Fine. I believe youbecause I know youd never be that stupid. But tell her this: if it happens again, Ill come to that office and give everyone a show theyll never forget.”
Edward nodded in the dark.
The next day, he called Sophia into a meeting room. She entered, glowing, expecting surrender.
“Sophia, youve crossed a line,” he said, willing his voice steady.
“Oh, dont be dramatic,” she purred, reaching for his cheek.
He recoiled. Her hand hung mid-air.
“What are you implying?”
“That your perfect life is a lie,” she hissed, sweetly venomous. “From the outside, its all so picturesque: devoted wife, princess daughter, heir son”
“We *are* happy.”
“Wake up, Edward!” She loomed over the desk. “Your son doesnt look a thing like you! Your daughters your double, but James? Nothing!”
Ice flooded Edwards veins. He stared at her triumphant face, the last shreds of pity dissolving.
“And I can prove it.” She slapped a paper on the desk. “Paternity probability: 0%. Handy having friends in high places. Believe me now?”
Edward met her gaze. The anger hed suppressed for so long finally broke freecold, clear.
“I tolerated your advances. But my children? Thats unforgivable. James isnt my blood son. Thats between Helen and me. Since youre so keen on digging: his parentsHelens sister and her husbanddied. Hes *ours* now. Satisfied?”
Sophia paled. “I didnt know”
“I dont know how you got that testif its even real. Before, I thought you were just lonely. Now I see youre dangerous. Resign by tonight, or I go to the police. And if you ever come near my children” His quiet voice turned deadly. “youll wish it was just the police.”
Sophia left that day.
Edward came home early. In the nursery, six-year-old James was puzzling, eight-year-old Alice doing homework. He held them tighter than usual, breathing in the scent of their hair.
That evening, once they slept, he sat opposite Helen.
“We have to tell him,” Edward said softly. “He should hear it from usnot a stranger.”
Helens eyes brimmednot with sorrow, but relief. “Im scared.”
“So am I. But well do it together.”
A week later, they had a small family celebration. After cake, Edward crouched to Jamess level.
“James, Mummy and I need to tell you something important. About how much we love you.” He took a breath. “Remember how we said family comes in all shapes? Well Im not your birth father. Your first mum and dad were Mummys sister and her husbandwonderful people, but theyre not here anymore. Mummy and Iwe chose you. With all our hearts.”
James pondered this, then hugged them and asked for more cake.
The heavy cloud lifted. In that ordinary momentcrumbs on the table, quiet chatterthere was no room for Sophia or her obsessions. Everything was as it should be.
