A Castle Built on Lies

For the seven years after our marriage, I spend whole nights in the prayer room before he will even touch me.

Eric Compton says it is to atone for what I owe Monica Lynch.

When his mother, Barbara Lane, pushes me to fulfill my wifely duties again, I overhear Eric's friends laughing.

"Let me think. How many rounds of IVF has Avery done this year? She's trying very hard to get pregnant."

"She probably doesn't know there's no way she's ever getting pregnant with Eric's kid."

Eric scoffs. "Every time we're done, I give her a glass of milk. After all these years of birth control, it'd be a miracle if she got pregnant."

He adds, "Everything she's suffered through is just payback for driving Monica away."

I smile bitterly and send the recording to Richard Compton.

"I'm not the lucky one meant to carry on the Compton name. Can I go now?"

A wave of pain spread through the clusters of needle marks on my arm.

After all these years of going through countless IVF treatments and taking countless medications, my body was ruined.

But everyone said I was the problem.

Filled with guilt, I blamed myself and put up with Eric Compton's bad temper in every way.

In the end, I found out that it was all because of the glasses of milk he'd handed me himself.

I stood frozen like a statue while the mocking laughter in the room continued.

"Not bad, Eric. Avery's always been so cold and distant, but you've got her listening to every command. The two of you must be doing pretty great in bed, huh?"

Eric raised his eyebrows. "It's Avery who begs me for it, so I'm just using her for practice. Monica's coming back soon. What if I hurt her?"

Eric added, "Monica's not some country bumpkin like Avery who can handle it rough. She's delicate."

When he mentioned Monica Lynch, the soft look on his face made my eyes sting with tears. Every word he said felt like a slap.

I clenched my teeth and swallowed the taste of blood in my mouth.

In truth, this marriage had been forced on me by Eric's grandfather, Richard Compton.

I was a poor student sponsored by the Comptons. Back in college, the Compton family was on the edge of bankruptcy, and Monica had broken off her engagement with Eric and left the country.

Afraid the truth would crush Eric, Richard hid it behind the broken engagement and begged me to marry Eric instead.

To repay Richard's kindness, I said yes.

So, I stayed by Eric's side for seven years and helped him rebuild the Compton family business piece by piece.

I thought I had finally earned his affection. However, he treated me coldly and was extremely rough in bed.

Nevertheless, the glasses of warm milk he always brought me gave me hope. They made me believe he still had a shred of kindness toward me.

But it turned out that everything was a lie. He slept with me just for practice, and the milk was just to drug me.

Eric was just being cruel to me!

Then, someone said, "I heard your mom slapped Avery in front of the guests at the banquet—all because of her infertility."

Eric scoffed and indifferently said, "It serves her right. When she drove Monica away, she should have known this was waiting for her.

"I think my mom didn't even slap her hard enough!"

His cold, heartless words hit me hard.

So, he had known all along. He knew about all the pain and suffering I went through trying to get pregnant.

I was such a fool to worry that he would be upset. Alone, I swallowed all my grievances and pretended nothing was wrong.

Upon looking back now, watching me suffer must have brought him nothing but satisfaction!

I closed my eyes, and the last thread holding me together snapped.

Just then, my phone lit up with several new messages from Richard.

"We're the ones who wronged you. I'll arrange for you to leave in three days."