Chapter 2

There was actually a reason why Crane acted this way.

Crane's brother, Marcus, had drowned six months ago while trying to save him. At that time, Sienna was about to give birth.

Right after Marcus was buried, she gave birth to a son.

At first, I didn't think anything of Crane taking care of her. I even thought it was appropriate.

It wasn't until our wedding night that I realized Sienna had unusual feelings for Crane.

We had just gone to bed and were getting heated in the bathroom when she came knocking frantically in a sheer nightgown.

"Crane, the baby's sick..."

Without a word, Crane got dressed and took her and the child straight to the hospital.

Though I complained, at the time I sympathized with her situation and didn't think much of it.

But when I got to the hospital, I saw her hanging on Crane's body, crying pitifully.

"Crane, what do I do? If something happens to the baby, I really won't be able to face Marcus."

Crane just kept comforting her. "It's okay, I'm here."

They were too close.

A woman's intuition told me something was going on.

Sure enough, over the next month, I discovered that Sienna was invading every corner of my life.

During the day when Crane wasn't home, she never appeared in front of me.

But as soon as Crane was home, she'd walk around the house dressed provocatively.

She'd even come into my bedroom in the early morning when we were in the middle of things, standing beside us under the pretense of cleaning the room.

What's more, when she pulled open her clothes to breastfeed the baby, she showed no sense of propriety whatsoever.

I was bothered and even subtly warned her, but she pretended not to understand.

Or she'd stand there with red eyes, looking like she'd been bullied.

I was extremely annoyed and told Crane about it, but he always said I was overthinking it.

Until that night when Crane wasn't home and I got up for water in the middle of the night, I heard her in her room pleasuring herself.

"Crane... Crane..."

I was thunderstruck, instantly feeling utterly disgusted.

After confirming her vile intentions, I demanded to leave.

But Crane thought I was being unreasonable. "We're living here perfectly fine. What are you making a fuss about now?"

I had no evidence and couldn't just blurt out something so absurd, so I had to grit my teeth and endure it. But who knew she'd get even more outrageous?

She calculated my period timing precisely.

Except for those few nights, every other night she found various excuses to call Crane over.

"Crane, the bathroom pipe burst."

"Crane, the water heater seems broken."

"Crane, I think I'm sick..."

"Crane..."

Eventually, I couldn't take it anymore and confronted her directly.

"Sienna, Crane is my husband, not a plumber or a doctor. If you're not feeling well or need help, call a professional."

She bit her lip, looking extremely wronged.

Crane sternly reprimanded me.

"What are you doing?

I told you, she just lost her husband. I'm just taking extra care of her.

Even if you're jealous, there should be a limit, shouldn't there?"

"Then I won't be jealous anymore. You two go play house together."

In my anger, I went back to my parents' home.

This was the second cold war since we'd started dating.

The next day, Crane showed up with roses to apologize, kneeling on one knee in front of my parents, vowing to be more mindful of boundaries.

But I still wouldn't forgive him.

He came to beg me every day, trying to please my parents. Plus my mother-in-law promised that she'd move into the villa to keep Sienna company and let Crane and me move out to live on our own.

I looked at this man I'd loved for seven years. The sincerity in his eyes made my heart soften.

Even if she didn't know proper boundaries, I couldn't write him off completely with one blow.

Besides, we'd walked through college years together. He'd once stood up to drunken thugs harassing me, and once carried me to the hospital in a rainstorm when I had a high fever from my allergy.

"This is your last chance."

I warned him as I accepted the roses. "One more time and we're done."

Though I agreed to go home, I still had lingering doubts, so I wasn't intimate with him.

The next period of time was indeed calm.

She seemed to have really restrained herself, maintaining proper distance even during occasional family gatherings.

Finally, nearly two months after our cold war, Crane and I resumed our normal married life.

But just as I'd returned to normal married life, she started acting up again.

Thinking about it carefully, the Crane family was wealthy with plenty of servants and drivers.

For such trivial matters, why did Crane have to come personally?

I'd tolerated the previous nineteen times, but this time I couldn't take it anymore.