Only Just Begun

Where Decisions Blossom

Jerry stepped into the garden after dinner, the night breeze offering a brief reprieve from the turmoil roaring inside him. Above, a star-studded sky seemed utterly indifferent to the human drama playing out below. Each click of his shoes on the stone path echoed the tempest of anger and hurt twisting his thoughts. The evening had been a disaster... Colin's finely tuned spectacle of manipulation had ripped through his bond with Carol. He felt wounded, furious, and haunted by the memory of his cold grin.

Moonlight wove dancing shadows among the trimmed hedges and blooming flowers, nature's serene backdrop mocking the chaos within the mansion. He drifted off the path and sank onto an iron bench beside a moonlit fountain, its rippling surface a stark contrast to his roiling emotions. He allowed himself a slow breath, trying to grasp some clarity. The silence here—though fragile—felt better than the stifling chatter of the dining room. He thought of Carol: the subtle hurt in her expression, the wedge that had formed between them. He wondered how to repair their trust. Flagged between confronting Colin and safeguarding their fragile bond, he felt pressure mounting.

He rose, the chill night air brushing against his blazer. Reaching into his pocket, he produced a cigarette, an almost instinctive gesture. The lighter sparked, offering a comforting flash. With each drag, the dense smoke cocooned him, pausing the relentless storm of his thoughts. Though cigarettes offered clarity in solitude, he knew they were no solution to the mess he'd come to unravel. The garden lay empty... just him, the moon, and swirling smoke. He recognized that only courage and honesty could rebuild what had been broken. As the cigarette's ember died, he extinguished it, resolve steadily building. It was time to re-enter the mansion, to start fixing things, with Carol, first, then dealing with Colin and Daphne.

Just as he stood, the garden's quiet shifted, Daphne appeared, poised like a silver specter under the moonlight. Her hair shimmered, her presence magnetic and unsettling. Jerry froze, conflicted by the flash of her beauty and the bitterness it stirred. She moved toward him, all fluid grace, stopping a few breaths away. Only the leaves whispered overhead. In that charged silence, their tension crackled... his heart torn between the danger she represented and the determination he now carried.