The interview

_______ Three Months Earlier____

Ryan's pov

Ethan my husband was on the bed, laptop open, completely absorbed in whatever he was researching. His brows were furrowed. He didn't even look up when I walked in.

I had tried. God, I had tried.

I stood in the doorway in my new black lingerie, the one I had been too shy to buy for months. I forced a smile and walked past him slowly, swaying my hips, trying to be seductive.

Nothing.

He kept typing.

My heart was pounding so hard I could hear it. Maybe I needed to be bolder. So I slipped the panties down, my hands shaking a little, and tossed them playfully onto his keyboard.

They landed right on his laptop.

Ethan paused..looked,He stared at them for a second, then his face twisted into pure disgust.

"What the fuck?" he snapped.

My stomach dropped.

I scrambled forward. "I — I'm sorry! I just —"

I hurriedly picked them up from his laptop and pulled them back on, my cheeks on fire, my hands fumbling.

"I'm sorry, I just wanted to spice things up for us"

"No, you definitely weren't doing that," he cut me off, not even looking at me anymore. His eyes were back on the screen. "It's disgusting."

"Babe..."

He sighed, annoyed. "This isn't you, Ryan. Acting like a little whore? That's not you."

He said it so casually and went right back to typing, like he hadn't just shattered something inside me.

I stood there, half-naked in the lingerie I thought would make him want me again, feeling more humiliated than I had ever felt in my life.

He didn't realize how much his words had hurt me.

I didn't argue. I quietly went to the bathroom, washed my face, and came back. I took off the lingerie and put on an old t-shirt. I lay down on the far edge of the bed, facing the wall.

For a long time, there was only the sound of his keyboard.

Then the typing stopped.

"Hey..." His voice was softer now. Guilty. "I didn't mean to hurt your feelings."

I didn't answer.

He closed the laptop and moved closer. "Alright, let me make it up to you."

His lips found my neck, slow kisses. His hands started to wander, trying to be intimate, trying to fix with touch what he broke with words, I let out a soft moan

I wanted to feel something,I returned the kiss, I reached for him, trying to meet him halfway.

But he couldn't get hard.

He stayed soft, completely unresponsive, no matter how much I tried.

"Don't worry... just give it a minute," he whispered, frustrated now, more with himself than me. "Just keep trying..."

I tried. God knows I tried.

Nothing.

He sighed and pulled away. "Babe, I'm sorry, I'm just tired... it's been a long day at work..."

I stared at the ceiling, tears burning my eyes.

"Or maybe you aren't attracted to me anymore?" I whispered, my voice cracking.

He didn't answer. He just rolled over and rubbed his temple

I got up, my legs feeling numb, and went downstairs to clear my head. I sat on the cold kitchen floor in the dark, hugging my knees.

And for the first time in our marriage, I admitted to myself: I felt more alone married than I ever did single.

I sat on the cold kitchen tiles downstairs, my knees pulled to my chest, and let myself fantasize for the first time in years.

Alexander Sterling's right-hand secretary.

His Executive Assistant. Me.

The almighty Alexander Sterling — the man who built a billion-dollar empire from nothing, the man whose name made CEOs stammer. Everyone wanted to be near him. Everyone feared him. Everyone wanted him,Not just because he was sinfully handsome. I needed to see who I was about to work for.

I scrolled and whispered to myself like a crazy woman in that dark kitchen.

"This job could change everything, Ryan. Everything."

"No more begging Ethan for money for Leo's school fees."

"No more wearing the same three dresses to PTA meetings."

"No more feeling like a housewife who does nothing."

"I could buy Leo that big house with a garden. I could finally pay off Mama's hospital bills. I could be... somebody again."

First picture , him in the gym, shirtless, sweat dripping down 

Second picture — him in a suit, looking like he could buy this whole street and burn it down.

I bit my lip hard.

"This is going to be hard..." I muttered, staring at his chest. "What a temptation..."

I slapped my cheek dramatically.

"FOCUS! Focus, Ryan! This is a

JOB. A career. Not a man. Focus!"

I checked on Leo. My baby was sleeping peacefully, hugging his dinosaur. I kissed him.

I went back to our room. Ethan was snoring, mouth wide open.

I looked at my nightstand drawer and sighed.

"There goes my vibrator tonight."

I was about to close my eyes when my phone lit up on the bedside table..

And there it was. At the top of my inbox, sent 2 minutes ago.

Subject: Interview Invitation - Executive Assistant to CEO - A. Sterling Corp

From: Alexander Sterling

Mrs. Ryan, your CV stood out. My office. Tomorrow. 8pm. Don't be late.

My heart stopped.