MasukLip continued banging at the door and now he was shaking the door knob."Lip, I'm in here!"Alex slowly pulled away from me, fastened his belt, that calmness that needs to be studied. Completely unbothered.I quickly pulled down my gown and adjusted my clothes. My hands were shaking."Aunty Rayn... is that you?" he groaned from outside. "I really need to use the bathroom, I think I had too much to eat.""Just give me a sec!" I said. My voice was too high.Alex looked at me and smirked."Is this supposed to be funny?" I hissed.Before he could answer, another set of footsteps approached. Heavier. Slower.Ethan.I heard him and my forehead and legs were sweating profusely."What's wrong? Why are you banging on the door?" Ethan asked, confused.His nephew pointed at the bathroom. "I really need to use the toilet, but Aunty Rayn is inside and she won't come out."There was a pause.Then Ethan frowned and looked right at the bathroom door. "Rayn?"My heart nearly stopped."Yes, babe?" I ca
That morning was quiet. Too quiet, a novel Christmas morning I had my laptop open to check my mails while outside my window, Ethan and Leo were rolling the biggest snowball I had ever seen. Leo's cheeks were red, their laughter loud."Make his head smaller!" Ethan yelled."No Dad, make it bigger!" Leo argued back.I smiled without even realizing it.Then my phone buzzed.Credit Alert.I picked it up lazily, expecting the usual debit nonsense. But when I saw the amount, my hand froze.$10,000 has been credited to your account.I just stared at it. No excitement. No shock. Nothing.I hissed under my breath."Tch. As if money fixes everything."And I dropped the phone back on the table and continued scrolling through my mails like nothing happened.Buzz. Buzz.Alex.My heart did that stupid little skip it always does when I see his name, even though I hate it.Alex: Received what I sent?I stared at the message for a good three seconds before replying.Me: Seen. Thank you, but I didn't
I was standing at my doorstep.It was 11 pm.There I was, doing it again. Exactly what I promised myself I wouldn't be doing.But this time, I felt less guilty. Not like I wanted to do it — but I realized, maybe just maybe, I needed a little bit of Alex in my life."GET UP," Alex tapped me. I was lying on the bed... curled up in the white duvet.I looked at him with my eyes droopy Huh?? I was still a little bit sleepy.He was staring down at me."Go before your husband comes knocking at my door."My heart dropped. Reality hit me like cold water."It's Christmas and you should be with your family...Alex said coldly, putting on his sweat pants. Seriously are you going to just chase me out like that?"He scoffs, leaning against the door, his arms crossed."Few hours ago you were complaining on how I forced you to come and now you don't want to leave?"I stood there in his white duvet, my cream sweater on the floor."You're not even going to try and stop me?"He smirked."You want me to
RAYN'S POVThe past two weeks have been blissful. Ethan finally notices me — my beautiful family actually feels like a family again. The sex has been good too; at least he's trying. Sometimes we go twice in one night.I think I finally have everything under control.And I quit working for Alex. It's been two weeks since I've seen him. I just sent him a text saying I quit and he hasn't replied till now.Am I happy? Yes, in a way, because my secrets are buried.Sad? Yes, because it feels like he just used me like his other mistresses. He didn't even bother to reply. Like I meant nothing."Merry Christmas..." I said happily, coming down the stairs.Leo and his dad were decorating the Christmas tree. Leo had tinsel all over his hair and Ethan was laughing — really laughing — for the first time in months.It looked perfect.I thought for a second, maybe this is it. Maybe the affair, Alex, the guilt — maybe it's all finally behind us.Then the doorbell rang.Ethan shouted, "Rayn, can you ge
ALEX (in his head):For months I've told her exactly how I'd ruin her. How I'd tie her up, make her beg, make her forget her husband's name.She came here shaking. Mascara ruined. Lip trembling. Nodding yes but barely breathing.I couldn't do it. I couldn't treat her like the others.My mistresses come to me to be punished. She came to me to feel safe.So I didn't give her what I promised. I gave her what she needed. I felt something different, I felt the need to be gentle with her.Sweet. Slow. I made love to her like she was mine to protect, not mine to break.And god, when she whispered my name... I knew I'd never be able to go back to the others. He watched me as I slept peacefully.I woke up to find his face staring at me, face to face. So close I could feel his breath.I reached for my phone.Multiple voice messages. Calls. 23 missed calls. All from Ethan. For the past 2 hours.I checked the time. It was almost 12 am."Oh my God," I whispered.I quickly sat up, rushing to
"Bye, Ryan," Laura waved at me.Was she mocking me?I felt ashamed of myself. I drove, following them. All the way home.By the time we got home, I was boiling. I wanted to scream. I wanted to say how I really felt.I walked up to Leo and his dad in the parlor. I stood in front of Ethan with my hand on my waist.He noticed trouble and told Leo to go upstairs and do his homework.Then he lifted an eyebrow like, "What's wrong?"I was physically shaking, tears running down my cheeks."Seriously? You're asking me what's wrong? Of course everything is wrong. With you, with this house, with our marriage. You barely look at me. You barely touch me."I was choking on my own tears. I turned back, folding my hands to get a grip of myself.Ethan just sat down, looking at me.Maybe... emotionless.He sighed. Long. Like I was stressing him."Ryan, what are you doing?"He leaned back on the couch."You are embarrassing yourself. In front of our son. Again.""Laura brought ice cream. So what? Are yo







