Chapter 2

Alvina nearly laughed from sheer disbelief.

She noticed long ago that Wendy’s daughter was not as innocent as other children her age.

Lily knew exactly how to please Eden, while treating Alvina in a completely different way.

Before Alvina discovered the affair, she never thought too deeply about it.

Now, it seemed every one of the child’s actions was instigated by her mother.

Wendy used a five-year-old child to frame her for using a sex toy.

If she had gone so far as to coach her own daughter like this, she must have had a purpose.

As for what that purpose was, Alvina still did not know.

Her cold gaze fell on the child who lied without hesitation, and she asked sharply, “Lily, are you sure you found this in my room?”

“Yes. Under your pillow.”

Lily lied without even blinking.

“That doesn’t belong to me. As for where it came from, I’m afraid you’ll have to ask Dr. Warren.”

Alvina’s piercing gaze shifted to Wendy.

Wendy quickly pulled her daughter behind her. “Children don’t lie. Alvina, why deny it? We all know about Eden’s condition. It’s perfectly normal for you to have needs.”

“Are you telling me I have needs, but you don’t, Dr. Warren? My husband can’t perform, and you’re single. How exactly did you decide it was mine?”

“I don’t need that...”

Wendy’s lashes flickered.

“Why don’t you need it, Dr. Warren? Has someone already been keeping you satisfied?” Alvina pressed.

Eden finally lost his patience, or perhaps his guilt had gotten the better of him. “Enough. We’re talking about you. Why are you dragging Dr. Warren into this?”

Cold anger flashed in his eyes. “You’re only thinking about things like that because you have too much time on your hands. Dr. Warren is focused on her profession. She isn’t like you.”

With that, he took Lily by the hand.

The three of them disappeared from Alvina’s sight, almost like a real family.

Her vision gradually blurred, and for a moment, Alvina seemed to return to the day she first met Eden.

It was in a noisy cafeteria, surrounded by students coming and going.

He stood in the crowd talking to his classmates, one hand tucked casually into his trouser pocket, his white shirt freshly washed and clean, revealing the sharp line of his collarbone.

Sometimes he looked serious; sometimes he smiled.

Yet somehow, in that noisy, ordinary cafeteria, he seemed untouched by the chaos around him, impossible to look away from.

Alvina fell for him at first sight.

Back then, Eden was the boy every girl chased after, distant and untouchable.

But in the end, she was the one to win him.

They shared a sweet, beautiful time together.

She spent six years loving him from their school days to their wedding day, only for him to become a stranger the moment he turned away.

She closed her warm, stinging eyes and lowered her gaze with a bleak smile.

It was only human to love the wrong person when one was young.

There was nothing to regret.

Back then, she fell for his looks.

Now, she would accept the consequences.

…

Night fell.

After her shower, Alvina stood in front of the bathroom vanity, drying her hair.

A tall figure walked in and took the hair dryer from her hand.

Alvina looked at the man in the mirror. His movements were still as gentle as ever, but that face no longer resembled the boy she once loved so deeply in her memories.

Eden dried her hair, then leaned down against the curve of her neck, his arms circling her waist.

The two of them looked at each other through the mirror.

“I’m sorry. I was too harsh today. Dr. Warren was right. If you have needs, it’s better to deal with them at home than go looking for someone else.”

Alvina found it laughable.

But she no longer cared to explain.

“But I was still surprised, Alvina. I never thought you’d use something like that…”

Eden’s handsome face was filled with confusion, embarrassment, and frustration.

“Weren’t you raised as a proper young lady from a respectable family? Your grandfather always taught you to be modest and conservative. Have you forgotten all that?”

Back then, it was precisely because of her strict family upbringing that the two of them had never crossed the line before marriage.

Alvina curled her lips.

He was not wrong about that.

The world had moved on long ago, yet her grandfather was still clinging to rules from another century.

Even if he found out his granddaughter was cheated on, he would likely only tell her to swallow the humiliation in silence.

She was allowed to leave her husband’s home only in death.

Her grandfather absolutely could not entertain the disgraceful idea of divorce.

If she wanted to cut ties with this scumbag, she could not cause a scene before the relationship was completely over. Otherwise, every step ahead would be blocked.

She quietly hid her emotions behind her eyes and smiled faintly. “Eden, people change. Just like how you once loved me, yet now you can disregard me completely for the sake of an outsider.”

Eden’s chest tightened, and he reached out to pull her into his arms.

“My feelings for you have never changed. I just don’t like it when you defy me. I like you obedient and compliant.”

He gently stroked the back of her head. “Dr. Warren has been putting a lot of care into my treatment. Tonight… let’s give it a try.”

…

After Eden came out of the shower, Alvina was lying in bed with only her cold back turned toward him.

He lifted the covers and climbed into bed, moving closer to her. The moment his hand touched her waist, Alvina removed it.

“I’m not in the mood tonight.”

The man behind her visibly stiffened.

For a moment, silence filled the room, and the air seemed to freeze.

Then his accusing voice fell into Alvina’s ears.

“This is exactly why my condition has never gotten better.”

Alvina froze for a second before sitting up. “What does that have to do with me?”

“Other women know how to be charming. They know how to please a man until he can’t resist them even if he tries. But you’ve never put in any effort to serve me. You lie in bed like a corpse.”

Eden said those shameless words with complete self-righteousness.

Alvina’s nails dug into her palm.

Her heart felt as though an invisible hand had seized it tight. Every beat was like a dull blade cutting into her.

“Who are these other women?” Alvina suddenly asked with a smile.

Her unusual reaction inexplicably made Eden uneasy.

He looked away and pulled the blanket up out of guilt. “Go to sleep.”

The room sank into darkness.

A long time later, Eden’s phone vibrated several times beside his pillow.

He reached for it in the dark but did not check it right away. Instead, he first shone the screen toward Alvina’s face.

After making sure she was asleep, he unlocked the phone.

One photo after another filled the screen, each showing Wendy in revealing lingerie from different angles and poses.

Eden’s breathing gradually grew heavier.

And his wife, whom he believed was asleep, saw everything.

Alvina saw exactly how seductive Wendy became once she took off her professional suit.

Eden lifted the covers and quietly got out of bed.

He barely took two steps when Alvina’s questioning voice rang through the room.

“Where are you going?”

The motion-sensor light came on.

Eden hid the flicker of panic in his eyes and pretended to stay calm. “I just had a nightmare. I feel awful, so I’m going to ask Dr. Warren to help me work through it.”

Alvina no longer cared to expose him.

The humiliation this marriage brought her would be repaid in her own way.

“I just remembered that I want to buy two storefronts. I need your signature on these.”

Alvina took two agreements from the drawer and handed them to Eden.

Eden looked suspicious.

He flipped through one at random and saw that it was indeed a property contract.

“Let’s talk about it tomorrow. It’s late. There’s no rush.”

“You have to go to the office early tomorrow morning. I’m afraid you’ll forget.”

The phone in Eden’s hand started vibrating again.

Clearly distracted, he took the pen Alvina handed him and quickly signed his name.

After his figure disappeared through the doorway, Alvina pulled out one of the divorce agreements, and a mocking smile slowly spread across her lips.

She was not in a hurry.

But he was.

Eden had always been meticulous and cautious in business, but even that could not save him once lust took over and reduced him to a useless man who thought only with his lower half.

After putting both agreements away, Alvina calmly opened her phone and connected to the surveillance camera in the study.

Eden would never have imagined that she would tamper with his study like this.

Just as she never imagined he would get involved with his own psychologist.

She wanted to see for herself how Wendy, that respected psychologist, used her so-called expertise to restore a man with erectile dysfunction to his former glory.