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"Aaron," she sighed, tired. "You must have realized by now that my marriage isn't perfect, but still, it's a marriage and it deserves respect," she said. "I can't just act as I please and betray Damon behind his back, like you want me to do." Elena looked up at the sky, searching for the courage to continue. "I did it once, I know! But I paid a high price for it."

"Be direct, please," Aaron requested.

"I don't accept you as my lover, Aaron. I won't be the married whore who fills your spare moments, and I'm sorry if I made it seem like I would," she said. "So I need to know. Do you truly want me, or do you just want to have an affair? Make up your mind, Aaron." Elena crossed her arms at chest level, as any determined woman would.

Aaron closed the distance between them, which wasn't much.

At that moment, the man's mind was wandering in Elena's words. He would indeed like to be a cad; to ignore the beautiful woman, to use her when it was convenient, to think of her only in spare mom