Chapter 3

FREDERICK

The tires of my sedan chewed bitterly against the asphalt as I sped away from the house, the sterile air conditioning doing nothing to cool the suffocating heat in my chest. My grip on the steering wheel was so tight my knuckles turned stark white.

D*mn it.

Every mile I put between myself and the apartment only amplified the heavy, boiling regret pooling in my gut. What was I thinking? How could I have been so blind, so utterly reckless, to tie myself down to Esther?

Driving through the quiet, neon-lit streets, I cursed myself under my breath. I had rushed into that marriage like a fool, blinded by a brief moment of family pressure and convenience. If I had just stayed calm, if I had exercised a shred of patience, I never would have legally bound myself to her. Esther was three years older than me. Three years might not sound like a lifetime on paper, but looking at her now, it felt like an abyss. She was aging, losing her edge, turning into someone entirely unappealing, while I was still in my prime. This was the woman I once thought I treasured, the one I used to love. Now, looking at her felt like staring at a mistake I could never undo.

Why did I do it? The question burned in my mind like acid as I navigated the turns toward the hotel. Why did I throw my future away on someone who had turned into a dull, nagging ghost of a wife?

By the time I pulled into the grand, dimly lit driveway of the hotel, my nerves were frayed raw. I stepped out into the cool night air, checking my watch. Clara wasn’t there yet. She was running late, caught in traffic across the city, though her messages had promised she was already on her way.

I paced the suite, the silence grating on my nerves as the minutes ticked by. I poured myself a scotch, staring out the tinted glass window at the glittering skyline, my mind still poisoned by the memory of Esther back at the apartment.

Right as the frustration peaked, my phone buzzed violently against the mahogany table. I snatched it up, expecting it to be Clara, but the screen displayed the direct line of my executive assistant at the firm.

"Make it quick," I barked the moment I answered, my tone dripping with the accumulated venom of the evening.

"Sir, apologies for disturbing you so late," my assistant's voice came through, tight and laced with hesitation. "We have a critical compliance issue on our desk regarding the upcoming merger. The board is pushing for a decision. Do you want us to send the documented files to the shareholders tonight, or should we withhold them for now?"

I rubbed the bridge of my nose, feeling a sharp throbbing behind my temples. If I released the files prematurely without ironing out the discrepancies, the institutional investors would smell blood in the water. But if I withheld them, I risked looking uncoordinated ahead of the quarterly review.

"Don't do it," I growled, my grip tightening around the phone. "Hold the files. I don't want an apology if things go bad."

"Understood, sir. I'll halt transmission immediately."

The line went dead with a click. I tossed the phone onto the couch, breathing heavily as the high-stakes pressure of my professional life warred with the absolute mess I had made of my personal life.

A few minutes later, a soft, familiar knock finally sounded at the door. I wrenched it open, and Clara slipped inside, her perfume immediately filling the room with a vibrant, intoxicating sweetness.

"Oh, my baby..." Clara breathed, sliding her arms around my neck and pulling me down into a tight, scented embrace. "You sounded so lonely on the call. I could feel how much you missed me."

She pressed a warm, eager kiss to my lips, her touch instantly melting away the rigid knot Esther had tied in my chest. After a few moments of helping her drop her designer bag by the entryway, the heavy tension of the evening completely dissolved.

"Come on, let's go outside to the lounge," Clara urged, flashing a playful, knowing smile. "The water is calling."

The private pool area of the hotel was bathed in a soft, ambient blue glow, the water reflecting the distant city lights as we slid into the warm, heated water. The heavy stress of the evening finally dissolved from my shoulders, replaced by an intoxicating wave of relief the moment Clara swam over to me.

"Hi, baby," Clara murmured, her voice dripping with a sultry sweetness as she glided through the water, pressing her wet body against mine. "How are you doing? Oh, I'm so sorry I couldn't come on time. I had a last-minute meeting with a client across town that dragged on forever, but all I could think about the entire time was getting to you."

"It's fine as long as you're here now," I breathed, sliding my hands down her sleek, wet shoulders to grip her waist, pulling her flush against my chest.

The contrast between Clara and Esther hit me with staggering clarity. While Esther spent her days letting herself go, trapped in frumpy clothes and smelling stale, Clara was vibrant, ambitious, and maddeningly desirable. Every inch of her skin felt electric.

"You sound tense, my love," Clara teased, her fingers tracing a slow, deliberate path down my chest, slipping beneath the water to stroke lower, mapping the growing heat of my body with expert precision. "Did that boring wife of yours get on your nerves again?"

"Don't talk about her," I muttered, my voice dropping an octave as her touch sent a jolt straight to my core. "She's the last thing I want to think about right now."

"Good," Clara purred, pressing a hot, open-mouthed kiss against my jawline before whispering right against my ear, her breath damp and teasing. "Because I have missed you so d*mn much. My body has been aching for you all day, Frederick. I want you to ravish me the second we get back inside... I'm so wet, and I need you to fill me up until I can't even remember my own name."

A low groan ripped from my throat. A moment with Clara was always the absolute best part of my existence, entirely erasing the suffocating misery of my marriage.

After a few more minutes of heavy, breathless stroking and whispered promises in the water, we finally climbed out, wrapping ourselves in plush towels. As we walked back toward the private hotel suite, the air thick with anticipation, Clara stopped right at the doorway, turning back with a wicked, inviting smile.

"Come," she whispered, her fingers trailing teasingly down my chest.

"Let me show you something."