<div style="text-align: center">《 Ezra 》<br/>
<i>Location: His bed<i>room, third floor</i><br/>
Addressing: Wesley, Hannah</i>​</div><br/><br/>Tears spilled onto his cheeks as they kissed, wandering hands seeking purchase on each other’s body, creeping over their forearm, hip, shoulder. He hated this. Sadness and pain radiated through every inch of his body. He gripped Wesley’s shoulder in his hand, desperate to pull him closer even while he knew that he needed to push him back. Wesley was married and Ezra knew that. They never discussed Hannah or the girls. No, when they were together, their thoughts were only on one another.<br/><br/>Ezra heard the door open before he heard Hannah enter the room. He recognized her voice immediately and waves of panic dared to paralyze him there on the spot. Thankfully, he knew well enough to take a step back to separate himself from Wesley. He wiped eagerly at his face, drying his tears on the sleeve of his guard uniform. This encounter was humiliating enough without crying in front of his lover’s spouse.<br/><br/>The tiny woman flew towards him and for a moment, Ezra thought to prepare himself for impact. She wouldn’t be able to knock him down, but she could certainly punch him or claw at his face.<br/><br/>Instead, she pushed past his larger frame and addressed his chest of drawers. There was nothing dared to do to stop her. She was moving at a rapid pace, upending the drawers to dump the things they held to the ground. Ezra felt like he was standing in the center of a tornado, just waiting for the world around him to stop spinning.<br/><br/>Maybe Anise had been right. It wasn’t smart of them to come back in here, but what she didn’t realize was that the danger was for a different reason altogether.<br/><br/>“Hannah,” Ezra started, finally, raising his hands as he took a step closer.<br/><br/>He heard additional voices and found guards stepping into his room. Ezra could have guessed that Hannah’s outburst and loud screaming would have garnered their attention. He looked back, watching the men file into the room. Armando brought up the rear and Ezra suddenly wished he had his firearm.<br/><br/>“Hannah. Please. Just- Just listen to me. Just listen to me for one second, okay?” Ezra tried, hoping that she wasn’t too far into hysterics to hear what he had to say. He honestly didn’t believe her for not wanting to listen to a single thing that came out of his homewrecker mouth. “I am never going to be able to apologize in a way that will satisfy you or make this right, because it isn’t.”<br/><br/>Ezra looked to Wesley, who was visibly upset. Sweat prickled at his forehead. His face was red from shouting at his wife, arguing with her at a volume that would probably put the entire facility on alert.<br/><br/>“Wesley is not leaving.” Ezra said plainly, staring at the two as they continued to scream. “Shut up for one<i>fucking </i>second! Please!” He shouted, shoulders relaxing as the couple looked back at him. “Wesley is not leaving. He is not coming with me.” Ezra pulled confidence onto his face, even though inside he felt like he was dying. “Hale would not allow it. You are married and have children. That is the reason that your names were not on the list. He won’t permit Wesley to leave his daughters and wife behind.”<br/><br/>He bent to calmly pluck a duffle bag from the ground. “I am leaving tonight, Hannah. Right after I pack my things. I will be out of your life forever.” Ezra licked his lips and kept his eyes on Hannah so that he wouldn’t have to see the sadness again fall on Wesley’s face. He knew the man was hearing his words and that was enough. “Wesley and I made a horrible mistake and I will forever regret hurting you like this, but your children do not deserve to be separated from their father. You can punish him for the rest of your life in whatever way you see fit, but don’t punish your children. Don’t do that to them.”<br/><br/>“Wesley loves you and your family. He does. This… error in judgment may make you think otherwise.” He fidgeted with the zipper near his finger, although trying to remain strong in his delivery. “Let the dust settle. We will all be out of here tonight and then you can pick up the pieces and figure out where to go from there. Just don’t… don’t make this mistake, Hannah. Go back to your bedroom with Wesley, or without him, I don’t care, but just leave. Let me pack what I can and I will leave without a word.”