People were always so fond of happy endings. All the best stories ended with the clichéd 'and they lived happily ever after'; then the curtain fell, and you never bothered to wonder what happened next.

Real life was no fairy tale, however; Angela Jane had come to learn it the hard way.

Patrick now spent the better part of his days far from home; the number of people that asked for his supposed help increased daily, he had to travel far and wide to meet all the demands. She'd grown to hate that bunch of spoilt and bored people, for they got to see her husband far more often than she did.

The hard cold truth was that she felt lonely; as much as she used to love being able to buy new clothes and expensive jewelry, she now wished that she could go back to the first days of their marriage. They were poorer but happier, and she sorely missed the Patrick of old – the man who would spend hours just looking at her and whispering sweet nothings in her ear.

She briefly considered the option to stop taking her pill; perhaps her husband would decide to spend more time with her if she actually got pregnant, but then it wasn't like her to resort to such subterfuge in order to win back his affections.

One fine morning she was brooding in the quiet of the empty living room when Patrick unexpectedly walked in from the back terrace. She wasn't expecting him for a couple of days at least; he'd told her he had a couple of appointments in the Sacramento area, then he was probably going to drop by a few friends that lived there.

Her surprise only deepened when he candidly ignored her questioning look, taking her in his arms instead. However, she responded willingly to his kiss, ignoring the small voice at the back of her mind that insinuated there was something different about him.

It was only when she looked him in the eyes that the truth dawned on her at last, and she pushed him away abruptly.

"Daniel! What are you doing here?"

The last time she'd got to hear from her brother, he told her that Alex Jane had been forsaken by his other son as well; Daniel had seemingly vanished into thin air, and no one knew what he might be up to. And now he was standing right in front of her, wearing a three-piece suit that looked suspiciously like Patrick's favorite one.

(She would rather not acknowledge how much of a turn-on this was to her.)

"So you still remember me," he replied easily, shooting her one of his dazzling smiles.

For a fleeting moment Angela was tempted to wipe away his smug grin with another kiss, then she remembered that she was now married to Daniel's brother and frowned.

"You haven't answered my question."

He shrugged, an air of false innocence written all over his face. "I just happened to be in the neighborhood, that's all."

"Try again," she shot back defiantly. "You forget that I can tell when you or your brother are lying."

"You have me there, Angel," he said in mock surrender. "I actually wanted to see you."

She blushed crimson at the nickname, for it was the one he always used during their secret trysts. Then she crossed her arms and took another step away from him, tapping her foot on the floor.

"You should have called to announce your visit, since you seem to know well enough where we live."

"I'm not the one who ran away without a word – and with her boyfriend's brother too."

Angela gave in to a nervous laugh. "Come on. You can't be still angry for that."

A predatory glint lit up his eyes as he closed the distance between them once again. "You're mine, Angel. Mine, and mine only."

Her eyes fluttered shut when he rested his hand on her cheek, but she still struggled to get ahold of herself. "I'm sorry, Daniel. I'm Patrick's wife now."

"My dearest brother stole away what belonged to me. Now it's time for me to claim it back."

When he pulled her in for another kiss she couldn't help but surrender completely. She'd been fighting a losing battle against her own desires, Daniel had always been too much of an addiction to her right from the start.

Her arms sneaked around his neck, and a shiver of anticipation ran down her spine as he found the zip at the back of her dress.

They tumbled onto the sofa; he took his time in driving her crazy, until she was writhing beneath him and begging for mercy.

Later on he strolled to the kitchen, his shirt still unbuttoned and his hair rumpled. Angela watched him as he picked a bag of his favorite tea and brewed himself a cup to perfection, just like Patrick used to do.

A wave of guilt rushed through her at last. What they had done was wrong, she had no right to cheat on the man that loved her so dearly.

"You have to go now," she murmured in an uncertain voice, but Daniel didn't seem to heed her.

Instead he sat himself on the terrace, admiring the view across the bay. "Dear old Paddy seems to have a nice taste in houses. I should ask for his advice, see if he can find me a cozy little place nearby."

"Danny, please," she begged again, feeling dangerously near to tears. She really needed to be alone now.

He smiled at the use of his old nickname, then walked up to her and placed a quick peck on her lips. "As you wish, Angel. I'll come back and visit you one of these days."

A sigh of relief escaped her lips as he finally descended the flight of steps to the beach and slowly disappeared in the distance. She loathed herself for what they had just done, and yet she couldn't deny how much she still wanted him in spite of her better judgment.

Her heart truly belonged to Patrick, but there was a small part of her that had always enjoyed the rush of danger. And she hated to think that, if Daniel ever showed up again, she would probably be weak enough to give in to his charms once more.

That would probably break her husband's heart for good, if he ever came to know about it.