Page 57 of Silver Fox's Secret Baby

"Absolutely."

The moment hung heavily in the air with the weight of desire. The soft glow of the lamp cast a warm light over Henry's face, highlighting the lines etched by years of laughter and worry. His eyes held a depth of sincerity that made my heart swell with a mix of longing and fear.

"Seeing you work this week reminded me of how much I admire you, Samantha. You're smart, good at your job, and an excellent mother."

"Thank you.” My chest tightened with each word.

"Looking back on how I treated you five years ago... I deeply regret it.”

My breath hitched. He’d told me before that he regretted his actions five years ago. His offering me a place to stay and a job was his effort to make it up to me. But there was something about his words now that hit me right in the chest. Perhaps it was because before, I was still angry about his actions. Tonight, I was once again on the cusp of falling for him.

“Seeing how well you've done for yourself even after the way I treated you is a testament to who you are."

I wasn’t sure what to say to that.

"Truth is, Samantha, I wish I'd handled things differently back then." His voice was tinged with remorse.

"Like what?" I pressed him even though I knew we were careening into unsafe territory.

He sighed, watching me for a moment. I wondered if he, too, was considering whether we should go down this path. “The right answer is to say I shouldn’t have ever touched you, but I can’t regret that.”

I pressed my lips together, trying to control the torrent of emotions beginning to swirl inside me.

“But I shouldn’t have hurt you the way I did.” His eyes held mine, and I could see the sincerity there.

"Thank you for saying that, but I know why you did it.”

His gaze shifted to the floor, as if he felt shame. “That doesn't mean I can't wish things were different."

"Sometimes, I wish that too."The confession slipped out before I could stop it, and I bit my lip, immediately regretting my honesty.

His eyes lifted to me, and the air in the room thickened and charged as if a storm were brewing. "Do you ever think about... what might have happened if things had been different?"

"More often than I should," I admitted and again regretted revealing so much.

"Me too.” His voice was low and thick with emotion. The energy radiating between us was palpable. Only then did I realize that we’d slowly inched closer to each other.

My brain told me to disengage. "Maybe we shouldn't talk about this.” I worked to regain control over my racing emotions. But even as I spoke, I knew that I didn't want to look away or break the spell that held us captive.

"Maybe not.”

It felt as if the world around us had faded away, leaving just the two of us locked in this moment of shared longing.

"Nothing's changed.” I was reminding myself of this, not him.

“I know.”

We continued to stare at each other, caught in the moment. The longer we sat there, the more my self-control waned, replaced by a growing need.

“Samantha.” His voice was barely a whisper, but it carried the weight of longing as heavy as my own.

“Henry.” Decision made, I closed the distance between us, pulling him to me with an urgency that left no room for doubt. Our lips met in a searing kiss that sent an inferno of white-hot heat coursing through my blood.

“God, Samantha.” He tore his mouth away from me, and I felt it like rejection. His hand pressed against my check. “I’m not strong enough to resist you—”

“So don’t.”

“I can’t bear it when you regret it. And as you said, nothing has changed.”

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