CLARA’S POV.

My body writhed in pleasure as his hands grazed my thighs, slow, deliberate. Our bodies danced in tandem as his hands pinched my hard buds which made me squeal.

He gently pulled my pants off as he slowly sniffed that odd part of me. His breath was hot on my clit. Without warning, he latched onto the swelling clit. His ferociousness slowly slipping out bit by bit.

It seemed like I wasn’t the only one who couldn’t hold on much longer as he quickly stood up bringing me up with him. Dragging my nightwear off from my body, he turned me around forcefully as he brought my hips up.

Drowning in sensation, I didn’t even know what was going on until he spanked my ass which made me arch my back more.

I felt him lower himself as his tummy grazed my back, his breath fanning my neck.

“You love that don’t you?” He asked delivering another spank to my ass, his other hand pinching my bud.

“Ethan. Please” Even though I didn't know what I was begging for. But I knew I needed it.

“Please what? Tell me what you want. Say it”

“Fuck me Ethan. Please” I whined as I felt him nudge my entrance with his hard cock.

And without wasting a moment, he plunged into me. Hard and deep. And then his thrusts, hard, unforgiving, dark, addictive.

“Ethannn… Ughhh…. I can’t…. Can’t”

“You can and you will. You will take it. Like the good girl you are”

His thrusts were deep and fast. As if he was chasing something, craving something.

“Fuck, no matter how many times I have you, it’s never enough. Fuck. Cum for me. Give me that sweet nectar” He whispered as his already fast thrusts increased their tempo. I was already delirious.

Sex with Ethan had always been intense. But this was another level. Ethan was never the type to whisper sexual talks when we were together. He was never this intense. He was gentle.

And this was far from gentle.

“Fuckkkk. I am coming” He grunted, spilling his hot cum into my pussy while thrusting as if he was breeding me.

It didn’t take long before he collapsed on me, drawing me into his embrace as we both gasped for air, still coming down from the intense sex we just had.

I thought everything was alright. Since the accident, this was the first time he had held me close after sex.

But my joy was short-lived as I watched him stand up and enter the shower. I tried not to read too much into it as I stood up too. I wore a robe and made my way into the kitchen.

A few minutes later, I watched him make his way downstairs, his jet black slightly tousled.

“Where are you going Ethan? You haven’t had breakfast yet” I asked him. My voice still hoarse as a result of ‘earlier exercises’.

“I’m off to work. Don’t bother staying up waiting for me”

“But Ethan…”

“Goodbye” He replied snarkily as he turned on his heels and left. I turned to look at our son Ryan who was prepping up for school with the help of his nanny, oblivious to my entire dilemma.

I went back to preparing his lunch for school after serving him breakfast as the door opened again.

“Welcome back Master Ethan” I heard the nanny greet as my blood turned cold. I didn’t want to believe it but the familiar footsteps echoing across the hall confirmed it. I glanced at the clock hanging in the kitchen.

Ten minutes. Ethan had left here just ten minutes ago. Leaving behind the simple instruction of not to wait for him.

“Miss me already love?” He asked as he made his way to me, gently hugging me from behind as he placed his head on the crook of my neck. I felt him take a deep breath, no doubt taking in my scent.

“What’s wrong baby? Why are you silent?” he asked. His hands draw small circles along my arm.

“You just left here. Ten minutes ago. You left for work” I whispered as I turned to look at him. Same black hair, same suit, same face, same eyes. But why did it feel like I was with different people?

I watched his eyes darken as he heard my words.

“I just left for work?” he asked, a deep tension lying underneath.

“Ethan, I know what I hear…”

I couldn’t complete my statement as his lips claimed mine in a deep kiss. There wasn’t any room for me to breathe as Ethan’s lips kept on taking me in. His hands crept lower as he shifted my robe and rubbed his hands on my still moist pussy lips.

“Ethan please. I’m still sore. Not now. I can’t take any more”

As if my words triggered something inside him, he let go of all restraints as he lifted me on top of the kitchen counter, pulled off his slacks and pushed his hard dick inside me.

“You’re mine. All mine. Say it. Say you belong to me” He growled in my ears. His dick hitting deep inside me.

“Fuck Ethan. Please”

“Say it. SAY IT”

“I’m yours, all yours Ethan. No one else’s. Now fuck me, faster, harder”

“Yes, mine. Mine to have, to love, to fuck” He replied as his thrusts increased. I had long forgotten about the pain I had been feeling a little while ago as I took all of his thrusts.

Something was off about the whole situation. It felt like he was losing me. Like I wasn’t there. He was staking his claim. I hugged him closer as I kissed him. Feeling that tiny bit of connection, he slowed down his thrusts and looked at me still moving his hips.

We kept on looking at each other while our nether regions moved in tandem. It didn’t take long before he came inside me.

Placing a kiss on my forehead, he slowly withdrew and dressed up. I watched him fix up his suit as he gently fixed my robe and brought me down from the counter. My legs wobbled, still a little bit woozy from the intense love making.

“I’ll be right back” he whispered softly and made his way towards the door. His current mood is vastly different from how he walked in. And that was enough to tell me,

This fucking accident had nothing to do with Ethan’s recent behavior.

Clara’s POV

If someone had ever told me that one day I would be trying to know the man I married from the start, I would have called it a joke and laughed it off.

But that was the reality of it all.

Ethan Hayes, the man I had married. Not out of love, but out of gratitude… And fear.

Gratitude, because he had saved my family from a life of struggle. Fear, because his world was a world of cold smiles, blood and money that could buy anything that wasn’t affection. A world full of deceit. Where betrayal lurks at every corner.

I came from a modest family. Down to earth and never expected much as long as we had enough to eat.

My mum worked in a bakery, her hands always filled with flour. My father, a retired postman. He always believed tomorrow would be better.

We might not have had much but we had love. And that was enough.

And then there was Ethan’s world. Power and control were dishes regularly served. Dishes served cold. When I got married, everyone said I was lucky. I had captured a big fish, they said.

What they didn’t know was that my freedom was exchanged for wealth. My family needed a means to end our suffering, Ethan needed a woman to birth his heir. And so a deal was struck, sealing two fates as one.

“Clara”, he called out to me one day as he prepared for work. Flipping through his phone, checking for any new updates about the company while I poured his coffee.

His voice was cold, detached. His face was unreadable. “You forgot to sort my documents and my shirt wasn’t ironed properly”

“But we have people for that. And sorting your documents is your secretary’s duty and…”

“And you are my wife Clara. Do I need to say more?” His gaze stern as he watched me making me freeze.

“I’m sorry. I …”

“I don’t want apologies Clara. I want it done” he replied coldly, his stare sharp as icicles. My throat tightened. I couldn’t understand what else he wanted.

But arguing with him never helped. Instead it always added fuel to fire and that cold, quiet anger that made me spiral every single time.

“I’ll do better next time”, I said softly. Not daring to look him straight in the eye.

He gave me a small nod, not even glancing at me and kept on sipping his coffee slowly. The soft clink of his cup filled the silence.

Sometimes I wondered what would happen if I smashed that cup across the walls, or did anything at all in order to hear another sound that wasn’t disdainful in this house. Swallowing it all, I slowly made my way into the room. Giving him the space he needed.

Our marriage was built on appearances. A smile here, a wave there. In public we were the perfect couple, a true Cinderella story. But home, it felt like hell on earth.

I tried everything I could to make him love me. To respect me at the very least. As his partner and his equal. But all my efforts went down the drain.

I learnt his favorite meals, participated in business talks all while pretending not to notice the gap between us.

But Ethan was like winter. Beautiful and yet deadly. Fascinating at first but could lead to your demise if you stay too long.

It had taken a long time for him to warm up to me, and now, we were back to

square one.

*** ***

A few days later, I sat in my doctor’s office wondering what my fate held in store for me. Waiting for a piece of paper that could either make my day or rather still, wreck it.

Clutching my bag tightly, I felt my palms sweating. The air conditioner was on full blast, but even that couldn’t help with my racing emotions.

Maybe, just maybe. Then Ethan would smile at me again. If the tests turned out positive, I might earn a bit of respect from the Hayes family. Thinking of everything that could change, I clasped my hands together as I made a silent prayer in my heart, anxious for a miracle.

When the door finally opened, I straightened immediately. Dr. Monroe walked in, wearing his usual calm expression

A brown envelope held carefully in his arms.

“Good afternoon, Doctor Monroe,” I greeted quietly as I tried to read his face.

He nodded in acknowledgement and went to sit on his chair. Alarm bells quickly rang in my head. Doctor Monroe was the type to smile whenever there was good news. But still, I kept on having hope.

My voice, trembling as I asked with curiosity, “H-how is the test, Doctor? Am I… am I pregnant?”

My fingers dug into the edge of the desk. My stomach twisted as I watched him open the file slowly. Every second felt like an eternity. And his silence fanned the flames of my despair.

My eyes lingered on him, watching his every move. My ears were sharp as I waited to hear what the result said.

After I gave birth to Rhyan four years ago, Ethan's distance and cold eyes got worse because I couldn't get pregnant anymore.

If it wasn't for the fact that he was desperately wanting to have another child, he would have stopped making love to me.

I felt a sense of relief when I developed a headache, and a feeling of nausea. And getting pregnant was the only thing I needed to be loved by my husband.

He adjusted his glass slowly before he spoke in a low voice. “Mrs. Clara,” he began quietly, his eyes lowering. “I’m deeply sorry to tell you that your test was negative.”

The world seemed to stop. For a moment, I just stared at him. I heard the words, but they held no meaning. The world went still as my heartbeat roared in my ears.

And all of a sudden, everything rushed in. His words, despair, the memories. My heart sank in my stomach as I wished that the ground would open up and swallow me whole.

I stood up abruptly, my chair scraping against the marble floor. “No, that’s not possible,” I whispered. “Maybe…maybe you mixed it up. Yeah, a mixup. That’s probably it” I said to myself. Clinging to every last hopeful thought I could come up with.

Dr. Monroe sighed. “Our tests are always accurate, Mrs. Hayes.”

Tears rapidly fell from my eyes as I felt myself losing control.

“You don’t understand,” I said, shaking my head. “This was supposed to be it. I’ve been feeling dizzy, nauseous…”

“Stress can cause those symptoms too,” he interrupted gently.

I bit my lip hard to stop it from trembling, but the tears refused to stop. They slid down my cheeks slowly, silently, like they’d been waiting for this moment.

For a few seconds, neither of us spoke.

He reached out, placing a hand on mine. “Clara… I know how much this means to you. But sometimes the body just needs time. There are options…treatments.”

I flinched as I pulled my hand away. “Time?” I said, my voice breaking. “Four years, Doctor. It’s been four years since Rhyan was born. Have I not been patient enough?.”

I asked loudly. My voice cracking. They don’t understand. This was supposed to be it. The moment that would turn everything around.

Dr. Monroe’s eyes softened, but he stayed quiet. He’d been our family doctor since.

He’d seen me through every heartbreak, every failed test, and every forced smile I gave in front of Mrs. Hayes.

“Ethan’s mother wouldn't allow me to go anywhere else for tests,” I said quietly, mostly to myself. “She insists I only come here for a test. And I never understood why.”

How could I go back to that house and tell Ethan that I tested negative.

I wiped my tears quickly.

“Mrs Hayes will be happy now,” I muttered to myself. “Another reason to sing to me about how useless I am.”

Clara’ POV

I left Dr. Monroe’s office. Tears striking down my cheeks, my vision blurry.

I couldn't explain it but the knot in my chest was something too hard for me to handle.

The air outside was heavy. It's weight pressing down against my skin as if mocking the emptiness inside me.

The doctor's words kept echoing in my head…“I’m sorry, Clara. You’re not pregnant.”

And then the cycle started all over again.

That pregnancy was my last straw. My last hope in saving my marriage.

A hope I had carried like a fragile flower in my heart. Dreaming, longing for the day I’d hold a tiny life in my arms.

Thinking that Ethan’s mother would smile at me. That Ethan himself would cherish me like before.

Now that dream was gone, crushed before it even had the chance to bloom.

As the driver stopped in front of our home, I wiped my tears with the back of my hand as I steadied myself. My heart a bleeding mess. My emotions spiraling.

My hands shook as I closed the door and glanced at the house I and my family lived in.

A house that was once a prison yard for me. Same house I had fought for my marriage and succeeded. My husband gazed at me with affection. My son looked at me and smiled. Now it was worse than before.

And I didn't know how to solve it.

I walked towards the door only to find it open.

That was strange. Truly strange. Ethan had never been the type to leave the door unlocked when he left.

We both took safety precautions seriously. And this was the one thing that we both never neglected.

I paused for some seconds before stepping inside, my heels clicking softly against the tiled floor.

“Ethan?” I called, but my voice came out small, broken and weak.

No one answered.

The silence pressed on me, thick and suffocating. I could only hear the faint hum of the air conditioner. The ticking of the wall clock and nothing else.

I walked towards the hallway. My eyes scanning through the every room in the house.

Everything was in order. The throw pillows, the framed wedding picture of Ethan and me smiling like fools in love.

Nothing seemed out of place. But why did it make me feel tense. Fear. Anxiety all at once.

Moving towards our bedroom. I finally knew what was wrong.

I heard it. I doubted what I heard but I wasn't a fool. His grunts of pleasure. Her moans. The smacking of skin against another.

A mix of pleasure and something raw. I wasn't new to that sound. That was the sound I heard when Ethan claimed like the stranger I doubted. Like the new man who had graced my marriage after that same accident.

I didn't want to believe it. But then I heard his name on her lips.

“Ughhhh…. Just like that… Deeper Ethan… Faster”

My heart dropped.

Then another sound followed. A man’s voice. Deep and Familiar. Groans of a man and a woman reaching their orgasms.

“Argh, fuck me harder, Ethan.”

My blood turned cold.

No. That couldn’t be what I am thinking, I must be dreaming.

But the sounds kept coming…moans, gasps, the wet rhythm of skin slapping against skin.

My stomach twisted as my knees wobbled making me lose my balance had I not held onto the wall. The world around me seemed to stop as I pressed my trembling hand against the wall to steady myself.

“You like it, don't you? Me drilling this pussy and leaving my seed inside you. Such a slut. My slut” I heard Ethan say as his thrusts increased.

“Oh yes, baby. Just like that… Fuck me like that… Go harder!” the woman moaned back. Her whimpers filling the air.

Each sound stabbed into me like a knife. My mind screamed for me to walk away. To run far away. So far that I wouldn’t hear it…

But my body betrayed me. I moved slowly, step by step toward the door. My pulse pounding in my ears.

And then the stench hit me. Sweat, sex and cum scents filled the air.

With a shaking breath, I pushed the door open.

And what I saw made me wish I hadn't come back home at all.

Ethan. With another woman. My husband, was on top of another woman.

His back flexed with every thrust, his hands gripping her thighs. Her legs were hooked over his shoulders, her nails clawing into his skin.

They didn’t notice me at first; lost in the throws of lust and passion.

While I breathed in their betrayal.

Then Ethan turned slightly, and his eyes met mine.

He froze.

I couldn’t breathe. It all felt like a dream.

And then I saw her face.

Juliet. His Aunt, his mother's sister that babysitted him when he was a kid.

The woman I had welcomed into our home so many times. The woman who smiled politely at me was fucking with my husband.

Beneath him. Hickeys marred against her fair skin as if it were a treasure map.

I felt my breath cut short. My throat tightened until it hurt to breathe.

My mind screamed that this was a nightmare, that any moment I’d wake up…but I didn’t. It was real.

My husband's dick, buried in his aunt's pussy. My husband… His dick… Another woman… Our bed.

Ethan jerked back, pulling out from her, screaming as he was about to come, Julie immediately shouted.

Fuck!

“What the hell are doing here you bitch! Are you insane?”

I couldn't find my voice for a second, but there was no shame in Juliet's eyes.

She sluggishly reached for the bedsheet, wrapping it around herself as she stood.

Her lipstick was smeared, her hair wild, her skin flushed. She didn’t even flinch under my gaze.

“Ethan tell me this isn't true. Please” I begged. I would do anything, give up anything inorder to erase what I just saw.

But his silence made the cut of the betrayal run deep.

“What the hell is going on here, Ethan?” I screamed. Near to the brink of losing my sanity.

My voice cracked. Anger and pain the only emotions I was now capable of feeling.

“You and your Aunt. In out home. In our matrimonial bed”

I then turned to Juliet, trembling.

“And you… How could you do this? He’s your nephew for goodness sake. I trusted you. How could you do this?”

“Answer me, how long?”

Juliet rolled her eyes, struggling with her oddings as she tried to put it on as if nothing happened.

“Enough,” she snapped. “You just ruined our moment. Do you even know what you just did? We were right there…at the sweetest part, and now he’s not even in the mood anymore.”

My mouth fell open in disbelief. “You’re unbelievable,” I whispered.

“Listen to me, Clara,” Ethan cut in sharply, his voice cold, his eyes full of something I couldn’t recognize.

“I do not owe you a single explanation in my house. So don't think for a second you can waltz in here anytime you like and question me. And if I hear about this outside, I swear I’ll deal with you.”

I stared at him, whatever left of my heart shattered more. This wasn't my Ethan. This wasn't the Ethan that promised me that no matter which turn we take in the future, he would always be loyal. The stern look of disgust and anger marred on his face was all I needed to know.

This was the Ethan that survived that accident. The new man who had graced my marriage after he woke up from a coma. The Ethan who didn't give a shit.

Juliet bent to pick up her heels, slipped them on, and adjusted her blouse. She gave me a smug look as she brushed past, her shoulder knocking against mine.

The scent of her perfume filled my nose, and I nearly gagged.

Ethan followed her out, buttoning his trousers in a hurry. The door slammed behind them, leaving only silence.

I felt whatever willpower left in me evaporate as I slumped on the floor.

The pain in my chest made me feel like it would snap into two. I glanced at the sheets that were still tangled. The air still heavy with their scent. Every corner of the room felt tainted.

The tears I had been holding in broke out. The memories crashed into my head all at once. My marriage, our fights, the day I gave birth to Ryan, the day Ethan finally opened up to me. The accident, the new Ethan, the harsh one. The one who just cheated on me.

My husband had cheated on me. And worse, he acted like it was normal.

And it made me wonder, when will I ever be enough for them?