The Affair

Sneaky

Rosa had a pretty stable life for a 30-year-old. Her house was near luxury, at least for one in New York. She lived on the wealthier side of Albany with her younger sister Evelyn. Even with having different mothers, they stayed in each other's lives. Miranda, Rosa's mother, remarried and settled in Florida. Miranda and Rosa's stepfather, Marcus, had a daughter named Erica.

Unlike Rosa, Evelyn's mother was no longer around. When she lost her to cancer, it wasn't easy for Evelyn. Sadly, the loss of her mother is what reconnected her and Rosa. Rosa realized how Eve's life had started to fall apart, so she stepped in to hold her sister up.

It was early one morning when Rosa invited her to have coffee at the Ugly Duck.

"I know it's been tough for you lately. I was thinking, why don't you come live with me?"

Rosa expressed pure concern for her sibling.

She took Eve's hand across the small cafe table and continued.

"I live alone and have so much space. I know it's very out of the blue, but we are sisters."

This decision was a very difficult one for Evelyn to make. All her mother's memories were in the house where she lived. Memories she wasn't ready to let go of yet.

‟I need some time to think it over. I promise I'll have an answer by the weekend. Let me speak to dad first."

She sympathized with her sister, not wanting to say the wrong thing. Evelyn knew she needed that time because she was uncertain if she wanted to leave their father yet.

‟It's fine. I know it's a difficult decision for you."

Rosa reassured her with a smile.

If Eve was going to move in with Rosa, she had some things she needed to do first. The first one was telling her father. She felt a rush of anxiety and guilt as she walked into the house. She didn't want to leave him, not yet.

‟Good morning, Papi. Can I talk to you about something?"

By the look on her face, he knew it was something serious. Something he wasn't ready to hear.

‟Sure! Honey, what's up?"

Eve sat in front of him and sighed. At that moment, her face went from serious to almost in tears. She wasn't okay, Jose thought as she held his hand.

‟The other morning, I met up with Rosa for coffee. I realized losing mom has been hard. So she offered for me to stay with her. And Papi, I'm so sorry to leave you like this, but I think I have to go."

He smiled as he grabbed her hand and squeezed it out.

‟You don't worry about me, Mija. I'm glad you girls are going to be together. Una hermana es la mejor amiga que podrías tener."

She smiled back at her father with teary eyes.

Once Eve settled in, the two sisters spent more time together. Now not only were they living together, but they also worked at a local clinic together.

Rosa was with HR, and Eve worked as a receptionist. Neither had much of social life, minus Evelyns' fiance Jackson. Rosa was single and focused on herself.

Eve and Jackson had been together for four years at this point. For 33, Jackson was a very well-put-together man with clear-cut features. At a solid 6 ft tall, Jackson was a built, middle-aged cocoa-colored man. Those chocolatey pools complimented his thickened eyebrows that laid smoothly on his face, not a sign of acne. His perfectly groomed facial hair acclimated to his subtle plumped lips that looked glossy whenever he smiled.