Chapter 2

Back home, seeing Clara holding our baby, a wave of guilt washed over me.

I quickly took the baby from her, my face plastered with a pleading smile. “Honey, let me take him. You go rest.”

I was surprised. Clara, who hadn't given me a decent look in days, actually smiled back.

Lying in bed later, my mind was full of images of making love to Clara. I turned to look at my wife’s soft, fair skin, and I couldn't help but swallow hard. Slowly, I placed my hand on her.

She didn’t push my hand away. She didn’t get angry.

Looks like tonight I might finally get some action.

I pressed on, my movements bolder. I’d just started to lift her nightgown.

The next second, I was sitting on the floor.

I looked up, confused, at Clara, who was now furious.

“Declan, what the hell is wrong with you? We've had a baby for months now, can't you just grow up?”

“Honey, intimacy is a normal part of marriage. How is that immature?”

“You’re disgusting. I don’t want to talk to you. Get out!”

Once again, Clara kicked me out of the bedroom.

Staring at the closed door, I felt utterly pathetic. Two years of marriage, and we’d only been intimate a few times before she got pregnant.

My hands clenched into fists. I wanted to pound on the door and demand to know what she was thinking. But then I remembered how all our previous attempts at communication had ended in arguments, and I gave up.

I turned and went back to the shop. Jade hadn't left; she was alone, engrossed in her phone.

Watching her focused expression, I thought about scaring her.

But when I got closer, I never expected the sight before me to make my blood start to pound.

An adult film was playing, the couple on screen caught in a wild, uninhibited intimacy.

Having gone so long without any intimacy with my wife, I couldn't help but swallow hard. The desire that hadn’t subsided at home became completely overwhelming in that moment.

The faint scent of Jade, combined with the movements on screen, made me feel like I was about to lose control.

Just as I was trying to make a clumsy escape, Jade grabbed my arm.

Her face was flushed, her eyes filled with shyness. “Declan, weren't you going home? Why are you back?”

“I… I came to check the electricity and water. You… you should go home and rest early.”

“Okay, sure.”

As her hand moved away, it brushed against my abs.

That brief touch made an involuntary sound escape my lips, and a flush of heat spread across my face.

Hearing her laughter behind me, I immediately bolted up to the second-floor room.

Lying in bed, all I could think about was Jade’s shy expression. From my angle, I'd even caught a glimpse of what was visible under her white top.

Just imagining that feeling was intoxicating.

I wondered what it would be like to *taste* her, to really know that feeling.

I shook my head vigorously, closed my eyes, and tried to sleep. But as I tossed and turned in bed, all I saw were the moves from the porn movie, only with Jade underneath me.

Helpless, I slowly put my hand under the covers.

I even had a dream, a hazy, half-conscious one, where I involuntarily cried out Jade's name.

Afterward, I angrily slapped my own face. Why couldn't I control my thoughts? I had mentally cheated on my wife.

For the next few days, I felt a constant wave of guilt whenever I saw Jade. I couldn't look her in the eye or talk to her. We were as awkward as if we'd just met.

I had planned to find an opportunity to talk to Ryan, suggesting Jade look for work elsewhere.