On Borrowed Time

He wasn't a choice. He was an inevitability.In the quiet of a greenhouse, I felt a pull I wasn't supposed to follow. For a few stolen moments on his birthday, the world outside those glass walls disappeared. I didn't know his name; I only knew that for the first time in a long time, I felt seen.By the time the truth came out, the damage was already done. He wasn't just off-limits. He was my best friend's father-and he belonged to his wife.I've spent the last two years staying away. I built a career at the country club, convinced that if I didn't see him, I could finally stop wondering about the what ifs.I was wrong.Now, he's back. Hired to build the club's new greenhouse bar, he is no longer a memory. He is a constant reminder of everything I tried to bury. I know the cost of staying, the wreckage that follows a love this forbidden, but every time I turn to leave, he refuses to let me go. And after a lifetime of running, I'm done trying to outrun the inevitable.