Chapter 5

“Say you’re joking.”

“I’m serious.”

“You’ve been secretly seeing another man?” Amanda, my friend, blurted out so loudly that almost everyone in the café turned to look at the three of us sitting in the corner.

“Lower your voice!” Elena—the source of all this chaos—covered Amanda’s mouth with her hand. She glanced at both of us. “I feel more alive now.”

“How can you even say that, you crazy woman? You’re cheating on your own husband? I seriously don’t understand what’s going on in that head of yours, Elena!” Amanda complained, rubbing her temples. She shook her head in disbelief.

I watched Elena’s glowing face. When we met last month, she looked like a walking corpse. Her honey-brown eyes were dull and her face was lifeless. But now she looked cheerful and full of energy. There wasn’t a trace of worry or guilt. Even Amanda’s harsh comments didn’t wipe the smile off her face.

“What about Brian? He loves you so much, Elena,” I asked uneasily.

“I still love him, but… I feel empty when I’m with Brian. The warmth we used to have is slowly fading. Having everything and living comfortably doesn’t guarantee happiness.”

“Bullshit!” Amanda scoffed.

“You wouldn’t understand how I feel because you’re not married yet, Amanda. Yeah, the beginning of marriage is fun—full of passion and excitement. But after I had a child, that feeling slowly disappeared.” Elena’s words caught me off guard. I had no idea she felt that way. Her marriage with Brian had always been the kind of family I dreamed of.

Harmonious and warm. Like the perfect family I wanted to build with Dent.

“Long story short, you’re not satisfied with your own husband,” Amanda cut in, making Elena fall silent. I did too, feeling strangely struck by her blunt words directed at the woman across from us.

“You just want to try something new, and clearly the way you’re doing it is wrong, Elena. It’s only temporary pleasure. You’re not thinking about the consequences of this affair,” Amanda advised. She wasn’t wrong. But there wasn’t the slightest hint of regret on Elena’s face.

I was stunned.

“I know the risks, and I’m ready to face them.” Elena grabbed her sling bag from the chair and stood up. She smiled at Amanda and me. “I’m leaving. Thanks for the advice. But this is my life—I’m the one living it. What do you know about the difficulties I’m dealing with?” she replied sarcastically.

Amanda sighed and let her go. Then she reached for my hand, making me flinch in surprise. She looked at me with her bright hazel eyes.

“Olivia, now you’re the only one I can look up to. You’re a loyal wife who truly loves her husband. Don’t ruin your marriage just because you’re bored. That’s just a temporary feeling.”

I swallowed hard. A role model? A loyal wife who loves her husband?

Why did that compliment feel like it was mocking me? Why did I suddenly feel guilty toward Amanda? Toward the trust she had in me that now felt like it was choking me?

“Yeah.”

After the tense conversation finally died down, I went back to work. I checked the supplies in the café’s storage room that were starting to run low. Once I finished the inventory, I walked back into the café, which was fairly busy today. I found Brenda, the café’s manager, and asked for the sales reports from the past few months.

“Pretty good. Turns out the idea you came up with earlier had a great impact. I don’t regret promoting you to café manager, Brenda.”

Brenda blushed. “That’s because you and Dent trusted me so much. Your trust gave me the confidence to go through with the idea.”

My chest felt tight. I forced a smile. Trust. I didn’t know when positive words started to feel like knives stabbing straight into my heart.

I lowered my head, staring at the rows of numbers on the paper, then glanced at my phone lighting up.

Xavier? Why is he calling me?

Brenda excused herself and left. I immediately answered my brother-in-law’s call, my heart unsettled.

His low voice came through. “Come see me.”

“Where are you?”

“At home.”

My heart pounded—maybe even faster than my car now speeding down the road. Cold sweat dampened my palms gripping the steering wheel. As I pulled into the garage, I saw Xavier’s Mercedes parked in front of the house.

I hurried out of the car, climbed the steps, and walked inside. Xavier was standing in front of my wedding photo with Dent. When he saw me arrive, he turned around, still wearing his black shirt, a faint smile on his lips.

“Why don’t you two have kids?” he asked bluntly.

“That’s not important, Xavier.” I stepped toward him, my hands clenched while my breath came fast from nerves. “Why did you tell me to come home?”

“I won’t answer until you answer my question first,” he said casually as he walked toward the kitchen—stopping at the dining table.

My gaze fell on the chair. Memories from that night drifted back, making my skin prickle.

“Dent is infertile. But he’s getting treatment, and I’m sure we’ll have a child once he recovers.” I sounded confident and optimistic when I said it to Xavier. I even gave him a wide smile, as if this storm meant nothing to us.

“When exactly will that happen? Are you really that patient?”

My smile faded. The reassurance I had been using to keep myself strong shattered. Xavier tore down the confidence I had built.

He stepped forward and grabbed my chin, tilting my head up to face him.

“Dent just needs to make you orgasm. But my brother can’t give you that, can he?”

I slapped Xavier hard across the face.

“Watch your mouth. He’s your brother! Why are you insulting him?”

Xavier leaned closer to me. His expression was cold. His gaze cut straight through my defenses. One eyebrow lifted.

“Am I insulting him, or are you?”

Silence.

I blinked. My mouth opened, then closed again. I lost the courage to answer Xavier’s question. Because I realized he wasn’t the one humiliating Dent.

I was.

“Now I’m going to ask you again. Do you want to keep this going or not?”

I looked at the phone he pulled from his pocket. Without hesitation, he tossed it onto the dining table.

“The video’s on that phone. If you agree to continue this game, you can delete the video yourself.”

My hands clenched. My goal was to erase that damn video from existence—even if it meant letting him trample over my dignity.

“You didn’t back it up somewhere else, did you?”

“Of course I saved it somewhere else.”

Damn it.

I cursed under my breath before looking at him again. “Just one time,” I whispered.

Xavier smiled, victorious.

The next second, he lifted me onto the dining table. He pulled the tie from my hair, letting it fall loose around my shoulders. I swallowed.

“You sure it’s only one time?” he murmured.

“Yeah,” I replied softly.

He pressed his forehead against mine, brushing my long hair back before kissing me like there was no tomorrow.

Between our mingling breaths, I could still hear the voice of my conscience.

It wasn’t too late to refuse him.

But for the first time, I ignored it.