Chapter 1

Verena

I stumbled on my husband’s OnlyFans subscription before his business trip to the Bahamas two weeks ago. Since that time, the unclad photographs of those women have been stuck in my head, haunting me at every given chance.

While others would have confronted their husbands, I didn’t. Instead, I decided to see the bigger picture and decided to turn the situation to my advantage. Now that I knew the kind of women and kinks Kian was into, it meant that if I dressed like those women, Kian’s waning attraction would be reignited.

Staring at my reflection in the mirror, the smile on my face slowly faded as a weird feeling unfurled in my chest.

I didn’t look like those women.

Despite the cat ears sitting on my auburn hair, the black lingerie that clung to my figure, and the long black tail that stuck out behind me, I didn’t see those women in me.

While those women’s bodies were lithe, I had obvious curves, thick in the right places, and the more my gaze lingered on the mirror, it hit me that I would never look like those women. Trying to lose a few pounds in these last two weeks just to fit into the image of those women on his phone didn’t even help.

This was a bad idea.

I should never have checked his phone.

In that moment of self-realization, it hit me that Kian would never see me the way I wanted. At the same time, I was willing to give this marriage another chance.

I couldn't pinpoint when things went wrong or when exactly we drifted apart but I was willing to cling onto that same version of Kian I was mentally stuck on. The Kian that I fell in love with that night party, the one who stared at me with so much love in his blue eyes when I told him I was pregnant and the Kian who held my hands tightly when the doctor said my life could only be saved by evacuating the dead baby and the womb.

The Kian who stayed through it all. My husband.

It didn’t matter if he barely uttered any words to me anymore or if our sex life had died completely, what mattered was that now that I had attempted to look like the women he now picked interest in, he would fall in love with me and our marriage would work again.

I sucked in a deep breath, fingers threading through my hair as a smile pulled at the corners of my mouth. “After tonight’s surprise, I am sure things will change for the better. You did a good job, Verena.” I reached for the collar harness, hooked it around my neck, and took one final look at myself before turning away.

However, I had barely taken a step when my phone vibrated against the dresser. My heart almost leaped into my throat from excitement because I knew beyond no doubt that the one who had called was the security whom I had given the simple task of calling me as soon as my husband showed up at the villa’s gate.

I pivoted sharply, fetching the phone on the dresser while pressing it to my ears as soon as I swiped through the screen. “Ms. Verena, Mr Kian is back but he is…”

I cut in. “Thank you, Jeremiah, thank you” I grinned, disconnecting the call.

“God this has to work,” I glanced up at the ceiling, clasping my hands over my chest in form of a plea.

It had to work. I had put so much work into this for it not to work— Gave the housekeepers five days off, got the same role play costumes like the only fan models he subscribed to, bought the same type of sex toys they used, and the wigs they used.

I reached for my favorite perfume— Lancôme La Vie Est Belle— and with a flick of my wrist, I sprayed it around me. My neck and collarbone, my wrists, behind my ears, and between my breasts— none were spared from the spritz spray of the perfume.

And in one final perfume ritual, I raised my hand and sprayed it all over me, almost choking on the floral scents that clouded my nostrils.

I coughed. “Enough, Verena”

I tossed the bottle of perfume onto the nearest couch, grabbed my robe and in the next second, I was rushing down the stairs of the Villa’s mansion.

Now standing before the door, different thoughts crossed my mind. “Do I make him have dinner first or do I throw myself over him and kiss him senselessly?”

No!

I would go with the previous plan.

Suddenly, I was jolted out of my thoughts when my ears caught the small beep sound that came from the other side of the door. Kian was here…

Just as the final beep from the keypad came, I sucked in a deep breath enough to calm the nerves swilling in my stomach.

Without a second thought, I slid the robe off my shoulders, and just as the door opened, I screamed with arms opened wide while flashing the brightest smile the world has ever seen. “Surprise!”

However, the surprise standing behind Kian was enough to wipe the smile off my face as my hands dropped to my side and the excitement inside of me vanished.

Blonde bob hair curved the woman’s face, her eyes roaming down my body before she covered her mouth stylishly and snickered behind Kian.

Zita.

What was she doing here and at that, with Kian?

My eyes slowly darted to Kian whose mouth parted in shock, glancing back and forth between my face and the lingerie that clung to my figure. That expression of shock on his face wasn’t the one that screamed ‘Gosh, my wife is hot!’

It was the ‘What the Fuck Is This’

And those were the exact words he blurted out. “What the fuck is this! Jeez, put some clothes on and wear something appropriate before the guest.

The guest? He meant, Zita, the same woman his parents wanted him to leave me for.

She popped out from behind, trying to hide that mock smile on her face as she waved. “Hi, Verena”

I was too stunned to speak, busy with figuring out why she was here as Kian took off his coat, draped it around my shoulders, and apologized to Zita. “I am sorry, Zee. Verena could be full of surprises sometimes”

My eyes were fixed on the two suitcases at the entrance that dangled with couple trinkets, to even focus on the fact that he called her by a nickname ‘Zee’ when he never had one reserved for me.

Before he traveled, Kian only went with a suitcase and now he was back with two— A pink one at that.

I shook my head, swallowing the invisible lump in my throat before I mustered the courage to speak to Kian. “What is she doing here and is she just spending the night here?”

My mind spiraled with different questions that I failed to ask. Where did they meet? Did he meet her stranded on the way or worse, were they in the Bahamas for two weeks?

No.

It couldn’t be.

He turned to me. “Night? Zita will spend six months here with me until she returns to London. And before you ask why—“ He trailed, chuckling awkwardly. “Since things aren’t how they seemed before between us, I believe that the best way to bring that spark back is to open our marriage”

My heart skittered to a stop, the world spinning around me as everything blurred around me.

“Don’t get me wrong, Verena. Since you can't have children anymore and I know how badly you want one, Zita is here to help with that. To promote fairness, you are also allowed to be with anyone during our open marriage.”