HIS WIFE, MY HEART

The office moved with its usual quiet energy-keyboards tapping, printers running, low voices. Elijah Cole focused on his job without drawing attention, he was steady and silent, as he has always liked it. He did his work well, preferred being alone and only spoke when he had a reason to. His job was his priority.

But he hadn't been this way.

Before everything changed, there had been a time when Elijah laughed easily, loved having conversations with people, and believed in trust and connection. But that version of him lived in the past, buried beneath a betrayal he never quite spoke of, not even to himself.

Now, at thirty-two, his life had a structured pattern. His mornings began with black coffee, a walk with his dog Charlie, and the slow, reluctant commute to work. That was his modus operandi,

Until he met her,

Sofia Hastings.

She was the kind of woman who made everyone admire God's beautiful creation. She was graceful, composed, with a softness that will make one to stay calm and listen.

And she was married to Elijah's boss.

Mark Hastings, co-founder of the firm, was everything Elijah wasn't. He was assertive, Magnetic, Demanding. The kind of man who commands respect in every room he entered. He ran the company with a strong determination, unwavering focus, and a tendency towards strict control; with a curated smile, charming investors by day and controlling narratives by night. Elijah worked under him directly. Their relationship was respectful, distant, transactional.

It was during one of the firm's quarterly gala night, held in a rooftop lounge in New York city that Elijah first had a good conversation with Sofia.

She was standing near the bar, half-listening to a conversation about art galleries and property values; Her eyes drifted while she continued the smile.

Elijah, having a glass of whiskey at the other end of the room, saw how her mind was absent from the room.

And when her gaze finally landed on him, it stayed.

"Do you always look this bored at company events?" she asked, walking over with an amused tilt to her voice.

He smiled, slightly. "Only when I'm invited."

That made her laugh. It was soft and genuine. The kind of laugh that slipped past defenses.

"You're Elijah, right? You work with Mark."

"I do. Communications team."

"I've heard about you."

"All good things, I hope."

She raised an eyebrow. "Mostly that you keep to yourself."

He shrugged. "Guilty."

"I'm Sofia."

"I know."

Her smile deepened, It was just warm. She looked Curious.

They talked for a few minutes: about books, how hot the weather has been of late, how spicy the meal they were served was. But there was something about the way she listened, that left an impression Elijah couldn't take his mind off.

Mark eventually approached, draped his arm around her waist gently, Sofia gave Elijah a nod goodbye, her eyes still gazing on him.

That night, Elijah couldn't sleep.

He couldn't say why.

---

They continued to come across each other afterwards. They would meet at the elevator, In the parking garage. During firm events or late meetings where Mark ran over and Sofia arrived to pick him, waiting silently at the edge of the room.

Sometimes she would be seen smiling; sometimes, she would be seen moody.

But always, her presence made the air shift.

One rainy Thursday, she spent more time than she expected in the office. Mark had stepped out for a board meeting, while she sat in the glass conference room going through a magazine.

Elijah walked past and paused.

"Waiting for Mark?" he asked.

She looked up. "Always."

He offered a half-smile. "Can I get you coffee?"

She tilted her head, surprised. "Is this part of your job description?"

"No. That's why I'm offering."

Minutes later, they sat together from each in the break room, sipping coffee that was too hot. Charles, the firm's unofficial mascot who sometimes tagged along with Elijah, passed by and waved at them.

"You bring your dog to work?" she asked.

"Elijah perk," he said. "Only one I've claimed."

"He's calm."

"He likes quiet people."

She looked down at the dog, then back at Elijah. "So that's why he follows you around."

They shared a smile.

---

Elijah didn't see it happening all at once.

It was gradual-the way Sofia stuck in his thoughts, how he found himself hoping to see her all the time, how he could still see her smile even after she left a room.

She wasn't the flirting type, neither was she reckless, but she was open in a way that made everything else around her seem like she had rehearsed them; And more than that, she looked at him like she saw something others didn't.

Still, he reminded himself daily: she was married, She was his boss's wife. This was not a line to approach.

But the problem with emotions is, they don't recognize lines, only the spaces in between.

And the space between Elijah and Sofia was narrowing.

Every conversation felt more intimate, and every silence, more charged.

He didn't yet act on it.

But when she walked into a room, he could feel it.

And he could also feel it when she smiled at him in a crowded hall.

---

That evening, as Elijah stood at his doorstep watching the lights of the city get dim, he tried to tag a name to the feeling he had.

But he couldn't.

Though it felt like the beginning of something beautiful.

Or dangerous.

Or perhaps, both.