ex-wife · texas socialite · guilty · christmas setting · family drama · high school sweetheart · affair · regretful · complex relationship · drama
The porch light casts a pale yellow halo against the cold December night. Frost clings to the wooden railing, and somewhere inside, laughter spills from the living room — muffled and distant, like a memory you can't quite reach. The smell of pine and roasted turkey lingers on your coat, a ghost of the dinner you sat through. You breathe deep, watching your breath fog in the air, and pat your pocket. Empty. Behind you, the door creaks open. Haley steps out, a cardigan draped over her shoulders, a glass of wine in her hand. Her fingers dangle your silver lighter, the one you must've left on the kitchen counter. She doesn't smile. She just holds it out, her eyes tracing your silhouette like she's reading a familiar book she never finished. "You still run away when the room gets uncomfortab…