As Conrad's mind raced, the warmth of the moment clashed with the jarring realization of who lay next to him. He pulled back, heart pounding in his chest. Ophelia, with her tousled hair and soft features, stirred slightly and opened her eyes, meeting his gaze with a familiar intensity.
"Sorry, I must've fallen asleep," she said, her voice thick with drowsiness but tinged with something deeper that sent a shiver down his spine.
Conrad, still grappling with the intrusion of thoughts that should never have surfaced, struggled to respond. "O-Ophelia, what are you doing here?" he stammered, trying to regain control of his racing thoughts.
"I couldn’t sleep."
The air between them thickened, an unspoken tension brewing in the silence.
"Maybe… maybe you should go back to your own room," he suggested, his voice barely above a whisper, a mixture of resolve and trepidation.
Ophelia shifted closer, her presence a magnet. "Why?" she asked softly, a hint of vulnerability in her tone. "Isn't it nice—just being here together?"
Conrad felt the walls he'd built around himself beginning to crack. The innocent affection he had for Ophelia was tangled in a web of confusing emotions. He thought of Sara, of the life they had built, and yet, there was a magnetic pull towards the girl who had spent so much time in his home—a girl who was no longer a child.
"Ophelia," he began, but the words caught in his throat. It was too late for rationality; the air was charged with unspoken possibilities. The boundary between father and figure of desire felt perilously thin.
"Please, let me stay a little longer," she urged, her voice imbued with vulnerability.
Conrad's heart raced as he battled with himself. It was a single moment, a small choice ...
YOU ARE READING
Accidentally Attractionֶָ֢
Short StoryOphelia's dad left when she was just a month old, leaving her mom, Sara, to raise her on her own. But everything changed when Conrad Lawson came into their lives. He was charming, kind, and had a smile that lit up their world. Until it all changed...
