Chapter 1

Alvina Jones stood outside the study, listening to the muffled groans of pain coming from inside, where her husband, Eden Gray, was undergoing another therapy session.

A long while later, the study door finally opened.

Eden stepped out, his face flushed.

Only then did Alvina relax her clenched fists, her fingernails having nearly dug into her palms.

She walked over calmly.

"Finished with the session?"

"Mmm." Eden gently stroked her long hair.

"How did it go?"

"The same as always. Every time Dr. Warren guides me through the trauma, it brings back the fear. The process is painful, but once it's over, I feel completely relieved."

He truly looked as though a tremendous weight had been lifted from his shoulders.

"You heard Eden groaning, Alvina. You must be worried sick."

Wendy Warren stepped out behind him with a warm smile. Her luminous eyes seemed to ripple with warmth, carrying an effortless allure.

Alvina returned the smile. "Not at all. You're one of the most respected psychologists in the field, Dr. Warren. Knowing my husband is in such dedicated hands puts my mind at ease."

"That's because Eden has been such a cooperative patient. That's why the treatment has gone so smoothly."

Wendy cast the man a meaningful glance, and Eden quickly looked away, guilt flickering across his face.

"I worked up quite a sweat. I'm going to take a shower."

"I'll go check on Lily."

Only after watching the two of them disappear in the same direction did the warmth leave Alvina's eyes. She turned and walked into the study.

She headed straight into the adjoining lounge, her gaze settling on the trash can tucked in the corner.

She turned it upside down.

Among the pile of crumpled tissues, a used condom fell into view.

The unmistakable evidence of betrayal stared back at her, and Alvina let out a self-mocking laugh.

She laughed until her eyes turned red.

An affair itself wasn't the cruelest part.

The real irony was that the man who couldn't sleep with his own wife had no trouble sleeping with another woman.

Three years earlier, they had gotten married on Fin Island.

On their wedding night, Eden complained that the hotel lacked atmosphere and insisted on driving to a secluded mountain lodge instead.

Halfway there, he wanted to have sex in the car.

Alvina refused.

Annoyed by her rejection, Eden recklessly sped off in anger. The car lost control on the mountain road, and the violent crash left him with a serious lower back injury.

They were lucky to survive, but from that day on, Eden suffered from erectile dysfunction.

Whenever he was with Alvina, he no longer felt any desire. Even her getting close to him filled him with fear.

The terrifying memories of that night always came rushing back.

He could no longer function as a normal man.

Alvina stayed by his side through months of treatment.

In the end, the doctors concluded that his erectile dysfunction wasn't caused by the physical injury, but by psychological trauma.

It turned out to be a form of post-traumatic stress disorder.

From then on, Wendy became Eden's personal psychologist.

Wendy was a divorced single mother.

Since his two-hour therapy sessions made daily travel inconvenient, Eden invited her and her daughter to move into their home six months earlier.

At first, Alvina hadn't thought much of it.

That changed three nights ago.

She had gone downstairs for a glass of water and accidentally overheard their conversation.

"Eden, you can't help making noise every time. Aren't you worried Alvina will hear and start wondering?"

The handsome man lounging on the sofa answered casually, "Alvina's still a virgin. She has no experience, so she doesn't understand those kinds of things. She won't think anything of it."

"But you're fine now. Don't you want to... try with her?"

As Wendy spoke, her hand had already wandered onto him.

Eden closed his eyes.

"I've tried. It doesn't work with her..."

"But it works with me?"

Wendy nipped at his earlobe like a teasing cat.

“When you tease me like that, who could possibly resist? Not even a saint would stand a chance...”

The two of them melted into each other's embrace.

Alvina stood at the staircase and felt the blood drain from her body as an icy chill spread through every inch of her.

Her temples throbbed violently, and it felt as though something was crushing her skull from the inside.

Only then did she finally understand that those muffled groans had never come from reliving painful memories.

They were sounds of pleasure brought on by his beautiful psychologist.

The next day, she found a used condom in the trash.

Today, she found a third.

The husband who hadn't been able to sleep with his own wife in three years went through three condoms with another woman in just three days.

That third condom became the final straw.

She dropped the revolting piece of evidence back into the trash, then walked out of the study with numb indifference.

She sat quietly on the living room sofa.

A few moments later, Eden came downstairs in a fresh change of clothes, looking refreshed and energized.

"I need to talk to you about something."

"I have something to tell you."

As soon as he reached her, they spoke at the exact same time.

Alvina was taken aback for a moment before curling her lips into a faint smile. "You first."

"I want you to start picking Lily up from school and taking her there every day. You're home all day with nothing to do anyway, while Dr. Warren's schedule is packed. You can help lighten her load."

The mistress stole her husband, and now she was expected to chauffeur the mistress' daughter?

"Why should I?" Alvina asked coldly.

Eden frowned, clearly displeased by her reaction, but he still forced himself to remain patient.

"Alvina, you need to be more understanding. It’s easy for you to stay home and play the pampered wife, but do you have any idea how hard I have to fight in the business world?

"My position as CEO of Evercrest Group isn't as secure as you think.

“The company’s performance has been mediocre all year, the stock price has barely moved, and the vice president has teamed up with several board members to challenge my position at the next shareholders’ meeting.

“I need a major breakthrough to steady the company. Dr. Warren happens to know the mysterious investment legend known as AJ. If she's willing to introduce us, I'll have this in the bag.

“So, you want my help to win Dr. Warren over?"

Eden glanced at her indifferently.

His expression was calm, but the contempt in his eyes was impossible to miss.

"You don't exactly bring anything else to the table. This is the easiest thing you can possibly do. If I asked you to introduce me to AJ, do you really think you'd be capable of it?"

Alvina looked at him without saying a word.

She didn't need the ability to get him an introduction to AJ because she was AJ.

Alvina majored in finance in college, but after graduation she never entered the finance industry.

Everyone assumed she coasted through four years of university and accomplished nothing, never realizing she possessed an extraordinary gift for investing.

However, talent wasn't the same as passion.

Finance was the major her family chose for her.

Perfumery was what she truly loved.

She even opened a small fragrance studio, spending every day surrounded by rare essences and botanical extracts, all in pursuit of her dream of creating a perfume brand that carried her own name.

One that would stand alongside names like Dior and Chanel.

The reason she became the legendary investor known as AJ was simple.

She watched her husband struggle to build his career and quietly amassed her own wealth behind the scenes, hoping that if his business ever faced a crisis, she would be the one strong enough to support him.

It wasn't as though she had never sacrificed for this family.

She simply hadn't expected betrayal to arrive faster than her devotion.

What made it even more absurd was Wendy's shameless claim that she knew the legendary investor, AJ.

"Eden, do you really think so little of me?"

Alvina let out a mocking laugh.

Eden forced a smile. "That's not what I meant. It's just that I've been in treatment for three years. People say that once basic needs are met, the mind starts wandering. I don't want you sitting at home with nothing to do, overthinking things."

"Overthinking what?"

As they spoke, Wendy walked over with a smile.

Eden immediately stood up. "I was just talking to Alvina. From now on, she'll be taking Lily to and from preschool for you."

Wendy put on a surprised expression. "Oh, that doesn't seem right. I couldn't possibly trouble Alvina. It's fine. I'll have the nanny do it instead."

"Just listen to me. Alvina is far more attentive than the nanny."

"But Alvina..."

"She's already agreed."

Alvina dug her nails into her palm.

She stood up and rejected him without hesitation.

"No, I didn't. And I never will."

At that moment, she made up her mind.

She would no longer give Eden an amicable divorce.

She originally planned to part with him peacefully.

Now, she changed her mind.

People who betrayed genuine love didn't deserve a happy ending.

Eden's expression darkened.

Alvina became unusually defiant today.

She was nothing like the considerate, accommodating wife she had always been.

Just as the atmosphere grew unbearably tense—

"Pew! Pew! Pew! I have a gun! Everybody surrender!"

Five-year-old Lily Warren came running over, gleefully waving a pink object in her hand as she pretended to fire at everyone.

The instant Wendy recognized what her daughter was holding, her expression changed.

"Where did you get that?"

No matter how inexperienced Alvina was, she immediately recognized what it was from its shape.

Lily suddenly pointed at her.

"I found it in Alvina's bedroom."

Eden froze in shock, a flicker of anger rising in his eyes.

Had his own words come true?

Had his wife become so sexually frustrated that she resorted to buying something like that?

As a man, it was a humiliation he couldn't bear.

He snatched the sex toy from Lily’s hand and demanded, humiliation twisting into anger, “Alvina, are you really that desperate?”