LINDA

I pulled my gaze away from his intense eyes and stared back at the portrait resting on the easel.

Every artist usually had a deep inspiration behind their work, no matter how spontaneous or random a painting seemed on the surface.

Art came from feelings, from thoughts you couldn't put into words, from secret desires you were too afraid to say out loud. But how could I possibly tell him the truth behind this drawing?

It was forbidden.

It was a line I knew I shouldn't have crossed.

He was my dad's best friend, a man who had known me since I was a little kid wearing pigtails and...