Chapter 1

"Carol just came back from her travels. Do you know how long Austin had been waiting for her one kiss? How dare Stella touch him there so shamelessly with her bare hands! She deserves to be taught a huge lesson!"

My husband of five years, Austin Salazar, scoffed dismissively and said, "How is this going to be a lesson for her? Nobody's ever touched her for five whole years. I bet she'd be over the moon if she knew some rich millionaire was willing to bid for her virginity. Do you guys even know just how desperate she is?

"It's just like she can't ever survive on her own without a man by her side!"

A burst of loud, mocking laughter rang around the room.

"Carol's allergic to Stella's scent and would always get nauseated if she ever caught a whiff of it, forcing Austin to always disinfect himself every time after he touches Stella.

"I bet Stella probably still thinks that she's really dirty and unclean!"

"This auction is going to be the perfect opportunity for her to feel like a woman again. She won't have to fear dying a virgin anymore. She's going to be ecstatic!"

My face suddenly turned icy cold as I heard them laughing and jeering loudly at me, behind my back.

It felt as though there were a pair of hands squeezing and gripping my heart. It hurt so much that my vision began to blur.

Every time Austin touched me, he would immediately recoil as if he'd just touched something utterly disgusting.

At one point, I thought that I was carrying horrible germs on me, so I would soak myself in a bathtub full of disinfectant every night.

Over time, every inch of my skin became severely blistered and damaged. Even a light breeze would be enough to irritate my skin, causing rashes to break out.

Austin even purposely switched out our double bed in the master bedroom for two single beds, fearing he might catch my germs.

After my incessant hounding and countless questions about it, he simply threw a medical report in my face and said, "I have severe mysophobia! You're not allowed to touch a single hair on my head ever again!"

Yet, I only knew now that everything he said and did was just because of Carol Parker, his ex-girlfriend, who said that I was disgusting and therefore she was allergic to me.

What a pathetic excuse.

Austin's family and mine had been close friends for generations. We were even betrothed to each other when we were children.

As we grew older, the betrothal gradually faded from both of our families' views. We all thought that we should be free to fall in love with a partner of our choice, and that was the right way to go.

However, Austin's grandmother, Enid Melton, had been plagued by illness for years, and she was also very traditional in her thinking. She insisted that we both had to marry each other as agreed.

She knew that Austin had feelings for Carol and that I was also dating someone else at the time, but she still insisted that we both marry each other, and we had no choice but to oblige.

Since I was still hesitant, she offered me a way out.

"I sincerely hope that you will both stay together until the end. However, if Austin really betrays you, I will personally bring him the signed marriage dissolution papers and make him set you free."

Yet, on the day of our wedding night, Austin locked me out of the room.

I thought that he still needed some time to accept me, so I was patient with him and very accommodating to his "mysophobia".

However, I ended up waiting for him for five whole years.

For the past five years, I humbled myself to the extreme while living with him, and yet, the truth was such a cruel one after all.

I called Grandma on the phone and said in a numb voice, "There will be enough to prove that Austin betrayed me, at the auction house in Bannerton city center, just two days later.

"Please just set me free, Grandma."

I got home fairly late that day. Surprisingly, Austin didn't treat me as coldly as usual. In fact, he seemed a lot more assertive with me that night.