When their all-consuming affair started he lied to his unsuspecting wife in an effort to keep his relationship secret, unsure where it was headed. In the beginning, he’d occasionally have pangs of guilt and take a moment to reflect on his actions. As the affair continued and became more intense, his soul-searching grew less frequent until he stopped examining and questioning how far off-course he had strayed. Gabriela was his drug and he couldn’t and wouldn’t give her up. Her demands only made him want to please her more, and in time, he knew he would do anything to keep her. Eight months into their relationship, she gave him an ultimatum neatly packaged as a request.

“My darling, you promised we would be together soon,” she purred as she lay next to him in bed. “We snatch a few hours here and there. That’s not enough for me. Is it enough for you?”

“Of course not, but it’s complicated,” said Sr. Bello as he rolled over and caressed her thigh. “You’ve got a husband, I’ve got a wife. It’s not just us and there are financial considerations too.”

“I’ve been giving this problem a lot of thought,” said Gabriela as she started to unpack her plan. For the next half hour, she talked and explained while he listened without interrupting, partly because he was in shock. When she finished, a chill went down his spine.

“Makes perfect sense, no?” she said. “It’s the only solution. We will get what we want and then we can be together.”

“There’s got to be another way.”

“There isn’t,” said Gabriela, climbing on top of him and leaning in for a kiss that he couldn’t resist. “Not unless we lose everything and I’m not willing to do that. I can’t stay with Greg a minute longer. If you don’t want to do what it takes to be with me, maybe I should find someone else. Maybe I should find a man who is less complicated and more willing to do whatever it takes.”

The smell of her skin addled his brain and eventually he heard himself agreeing to do what she had asked. That was the moment he fully surrendered to her. For a man who otherwise revered order, when it came to Gabi, he was merely a passenger on a runaway train with no engineer—scared but thrilled at the same time.

“How long will it take you to make this happen for us, my love?” she asked as if she were ordering a cup of coffee at Starbucks. “I can’t live in that tiny apartment filled with garbage for much longer. All night long he plays those stupid video games. I’ve got to get out of there.”