Chapter 18: A Woman's Right to Choose

Feeling a wave of regret over her affair, Danielle is forced to decide if she wants to continue it, or wait until Blake returns.

Twenty-seven years ago, Danielle first came across a man named Blake for the first time after being transferred to a job in his building, quickly becoming attracted to his distinctive appearance and persona compared to all her other colleagues. This was in no small part due to his unusual upbringing: growing up in mostly male-dominated environments and raised by staunch Evangelicals, Blake was never exposed to the feelings of love or lust due to the lack of female presence in his life. Meanwhile his workplace was at the other extreme: there were so many women in the vicinity that he grew all but numb to their presence, and it wasn't until the arrival of someone as truly unique as Danielle that he began to think differently. The fact that she was the first female to seem legitimately interested in him helped too.

Following a couple of missteps, the two hit it off and started a relationship, each having to make a sacrifice in order for it to work in the long-term. Danielle put her promiscuous, free-spirited lifestyle behind her in order to remain faithful, and Blake abraded his reclusive shell so he could let her be his guide. While it was debatable whether or not Danielle would be nothing without Blake, there's no question that he'd be nothing without her.

However, after nearly three decades of marriage, that old promise was broken. Whilst Blake was away at war, Danielle let her sexual longings get the better of her and committed infidelity with an old fling named Ocasio, an act that she was proud and regretful of all at the exact same time. With a major dilemma under her belt, Danielle was forced to choose whether to continue on this path or return to the one she took previously.

Now, here she is. Standing right outside the door to her former flame's apartment with a confirmed and final decision in her head. She's made sure to dress more modestly so she won't turn him on, and in her head she's constantly rehearsing what she plans to tell him. After a few more moments of hesitation, she knocks on the door in a particular pattern to let him know it's her. It feels like hours before Ocasio finally opens up, his hard body on full display as he's dressed in nothing but a white wife-beater and plaid pajama bottoms worn low on his hips. His hair looking even crazier than it normally does, with notable sacks of drowsiness underlining his eyes. Danielle mentally curses herself for ogling him, but can't deny that even when he's drowsy he looks drop-dead gorgeous.

"Oh, hi there. Didn't expect you to show up here so early," Ocasio says, before putting on a smirk. "I take it you wanted me to wake you up a little more?"

"No, not today." Danielle sighs.

"Not today? Well that's not like you." Ocasio raises an eyebrow.

"Actually, it is," Danielle replies a bit more firmly. "I don't know how else to put it, but... we're through."

"Wait, what?" Ocasio continues.

"You heard me. I'm not seeing you anymore," Danielle explains. "I made a promise to remain faithful to Blake, and I already broke it. I'll admit I had fun, but it's time for me to move on. Blake is the one I really love, and he's gonna be coming home any day now."

"You gotta be kidding me-" Ocasio says, only to get cut off.

"Goodbye, Ocasio," Danielle finishes, storming towards the nearest elevator without looking back.

"Danielle, wait!" Ocasio hurries after her with an outstretched arm. "You're seriously gonna go and choose that boring recluse over me?!"

But Danielle is having none of that s**t. Whipping around, she catches his hand and squeezes it tightly as she can, maintaining a stern glare all the while. Ocasio takes the opportunity to start closing the gap and steps closer, attempting to put his free arm around her, only to have it slapped away.

"Did you not hear what I said?! F**k off!" Danielle says in a rare moment of abrasiveness, letting his hand go and backing away. "I'm sorry it had to be this way, but I've woken up to how selfish I was being. And I'm not gonna let your advances get the best of me again! We may have had something between us back in the day, but whatever it was, it's over now!"

"Danielle, I-"

She cuts him off with a surprisingly powerful left hook to the face, sending him crashing into the wall outside his open apartment. He slowly sinks down to the floor as he holds his swollen cheek, his right eye rapidly swelling shut. Ocasio also feels some pain in his jaw, cautiously inserting a finger into his mouth and discovering a loosened molar accompanied by blood.

"Wh-What the hell did you...?" he shudders.

"Like I was saying," Danielle says, turning back around and heading home. "And don't bother following me, or there's more where that came from."

Ocasio just sits there in stunned silence as a couple of neighbors step outside to check out the commotion, completely ignoring Danielle, who is already in the elevator and out of sight.

---

She eventually gets back to her own place and tightly locks the door behind her. As she walks deeper into the bowels of her apartment, she can't help but feel her right foot stepping on something flat and rigid. Looking down, she discovers a taupe envelope that must have been pushed through her mail slot while she was out, finding it odd, seeing how the mailman isn't supposed to show up for another couple of days.

With a huff, Danielle plops onto the couch and opens the letter, not hesitating to start reading. As she progresses through the formally-typed note she's received, her eyes narrow a bit, only to widen back up again towards the end as her breathing grows more erratic than usual. It continues in this fashion for a few moments more, before Danielle's breath shallows and she faints backwards on the sofa.