That night, I had put on my sexiest black lace lingerie and sprayed on a seductive perfume.
But my husband, Liam, only gave me a cold glance before shoving me away in disgust. Then he grabbed a pillow and headed for the study.
Hurt and bitterness rushed up inside me. I was so close to tears.
"Liam, it's been a year. A whole year." I said, my voice trembling. "I have needs too."
"You do realize the problem is you, right?" Liam looked down at me, his eyes full of mockery.
I bit my lip, swallowing the last of my pride as I begged him. "Please. Just this once, okay? I'll try to relax..."
"Relax? Spare me."
He cut me off without mercy, his tone sharp and cruel.
"You're dry as sandpaper down there. Tight as a goddamn fist. There's nothing in it for me—it's a chore. I'd rather use my own hand and be done with it."
He paused, and somehow what came next was worse.
"Do us both a favor. Go see Victor. Let him give you one of his intimate therapy sessions and get that humiliating little problem of yours fixed."
With that, he slammed the door behind him without looking back, leaving me alone on the huge, empty bed.
Only then did my tears finally spill over.
I could only blame myself for everything. After all, Liam had spent so long tearing me down, telling me over and over again that my defective body had ruined our marriage.
But went to Victor for treatment?
How could I possibly do that?
Victor was Liam's older brother—my brother-in-law. The three of us lived in the same villa. He was the city's top gynecologist and pelvic health specialist, a doctor so skilled that people in the field called him "Golden Hands."
But beneath all those titles, he was still a man.
A towering, muscular man, nearly six foot seven, with the kind of mature, raw masculinity that was impossible to ignore.
He always wore perfectly tailored suits and a pair of gold-rimmed glasses. On the surface, he looked restrained, composed, almost ascetic. But his broad shoulders and firm chest hinted at the overwhelming strength beneath all that polished control.
How could I possibly spread my legs in front of my own brother-in-law and expose such a shameful, private part of myself?
Just thinking about it made me tremble with humiliation.
If he really performed that kind of internal treatment on me, I knew I would lose control. I'd never be able to face anyone in this house again.
Late that night, I lay in bed, tossing and turning, my mind in chaos.
Then, from the room next door, separated from mine by only one wall, I heard something faint.
Something that made my face burn.
It was Victor and his fiancée, Mia's room.
The sounds kept climbing. Even through the wall, I could hear it—the rhythm of it, the violence of it.
Victor had Mia pinned beneath him, taking her with a kind of fierce, overwhelming force.
Listening to Mia's broken moans and tearful gasps, I realized, shamefully, that I was jealous.
What if the woman beneath Victor right now was me?
The thought flashed through my mind for only a second.
But it was like a spark thrown into dry grass, instantly igniting the desire I had suppressed for far too long. Heat swept through my entire body.
Without meaning to, I pressed my thighs together, rubbing them restlessly as the ache inside me grew unbearable.
Just then, Mia's voice suddenly rose from the room next door. She sounded as though she was resisting something, struggling desperately.
Then came Victor's low, hoarse voice, as if he were patiently coaxing her.
I froze.
Clearly, Victor was too much for her. No matter how gently he lowered his voice and asked, Mia refused to continue.
"I can't anymore... Please, let me go! You're too big, and every time you go on for over an hour. I really can't take it! If you want it that badly, go find another woman!"
Mia's broken cry rang through the wall.
My God.
Over an hour.
What kind of experience would that even be?
Figures. Some people are dying of thirst while others are drowning in options.
Victor had such an astonishing size and terrifying stamina, yet Mia treated it like a burden.
And me?
I was so empty I felt like I was going mad. My body was screaming for a man's touch, but my husband, Liam, was a useless man who could barely last three minutes.
He would rather take care of himself than touch me.
Worse, he blamed it all on me, saying I was "dry as sandpaper."
The world was so unfair.
The sounds from next door gradually faded, but the restless heat inside me only grew stronger. The ache of it settled deep under my skin, wearing away at my self-control until it was all I could think about.
I let out a shaky breath, threw back the covers, and got out of bed.
Wearing only my slippers, I slipped out of the bedroom and made my way toward the dark family sauna on the first floor of the villa.
I needed release.
Even if I had to give it to myself.
What I didn't realize was that somewhere beyond the thick steam and dim shadows of the sauna, someone was watching me. Hidden from sight, the gaze followed my every move in silence.