Chapter 1 : The Study

I''ve been married to Arthur Williams for nearly two years, and his needs in that area have always been minimal.

Since I got pregnant in January, he said he was afraid of hurting the baby and stopped touching me altogether, moving into the study to sleep.

I''m only 26, and it''s a lie to say I don''t feel lonely every night.

I once secretly called a sex hotline in the middle of the night for help. The expert said it might be because he''s seen too many women''s bodies and lost his passion.

Arthur Williams is an obstetrician, so that explanation made sense.

But there''s one thing that makes me suspicious.

He always locks the door when he goes into the study. It''s just the two of us at home, so who is he locking it against? Me?

This has been bothering me, becoming a thorn in my heart.

One day, I couldn''t hold back anymore and sneaked into his study while he was at work.

The study was simple, clean, and tidy, with everything in plain sight. Only the large drawer of the desk was locked.

I had a spare key for that drawer, which Arthur didn''t know about. I kept it not to snoop on his privacy but purely to keep it safe in case he lost his key.

However, the drawer only contained some office supplies, nothing else. I breathed a sigh of relief, locked the drawer, and prepared to leave.

As I passed by his bed, my gaze unintentionally swept over his pillow and froze.

There were two long hairs on the pillow, brown and slightly curly.

I haven''t dyed my hair, and I rarely enter his study, so the hair couldn''t be mine.

The trash can by the bed emitted a certain smell from used tissues.

Could Arthur be hiding a woman in the house?

The thought made me break out in a cold sweat.

I quickly scanned the entire study, but there was no place to hide anyone.

Was I overthinking?

Besides, I felt Arthur had no reason to do such a thing. If he wanted to cheat, he could easily do it outside; he wouldn''t risk hiding someone at home.

The hair could be from a colleague or a patient left on him. Maybe he was just masturbating?

But the fact that he would rather masturbate than touch me still made me sad.

I grew up in a special family environment. When I was ten, a car accident took my father''s life, and my mother became a vegetable. I completed my education with the help of a kind person online named "Seagull." So I was very insecure and conservative. Even with him as my husband, I wasn''t very open in that aspect.

In the afternoon, I went to the supermarket as usual to buy groceries. Passing by the tobacco and alcohol section, I impulsively bought a bottle of red wine.

But he seemed to have forgotten what day it was and didn''t come home until very late.

My heart was a mix of emotions. My eyes swept over the red wine on the table, and the surge of grievance made me open it.

At a quarter past ten, the door lock clicked.

As soon as he stepped in, I, hiding by the entrance, pounced on him. Arthur caught me and frowned.

"Have you been drinking?"

I wrapped my arms around his neck and grinned foolishly at him. "Just a little."

Arthur steadied me and scolded, "You''re pregnant. How can you drink?"

I leaned my head on his shoulder, using the alcohol as an excuse to act spoiled.

"I waited for you to have dinner, but you didn''t come back, so I ate by myself. I thought today was our second wedding anniversary, so I had a little wine. It''s just red wine; it won''t affect the baby."

"You''re drunk. Let me help you to bed."

Arthur helped me into the bedroom and laid me on the bed. Using the alcohol as an excuse, I immediately hooked my arms around his neck, not giving him a chance to escape, and brought my wine-scented lips close to his.

"Honey, kiss me!"

His body stiffened. He kissed me passively for a while before trying to pull away.

"Avery, don''t. Be careful of the baby."

I clung to him, staring at him with a mix of pleading and grievance.

"You''re a doctor; you know it''s safe after the first trimester as long as we''re careful. Honey, don''t push me away."

But he still pushed me away, tugging at his tie. "I''m going to take a shower."

I hadn''t actually drunk much. I was pregnant, so I knew my limits. I had just sprayed the red wine like perfume.

The sound of running water came from the bathroom. About ten minutes later, the water stopped, and Arthur''s footsteps passed by the bedroom door without stopping.

I immediately heard the sound of the study door closing. I curled up under the covers, struggling for an hour before finally mustering the courage to put on my headphones and open the eavesdropping app on my phone.

This afternoon, while I was out grocery shopping, I bought a bugging device. The study had been soundproofed during renovation, so Arthur would never suspect that I had placed a bug under his bed.

Familiar voices came through the headphones, and my nose tingled as tears welled up in my eyes. He really wasn''t interested in my body, pushing me away even though he clearly wanted me. But the next sounds shocked me.