My fiancée claimed she was devoted to God, untouched by worldly desires between men and women.
So I revered her like a saint, never daring to defile her with so much as a thought.
But I accidentally caught her, cheeks flushed, sprawled across a prayer cushion, surrounded by men.
For an entire week, shameful noises spilled from her so-called sacred room each night.
When I finally gathered the courage to confront her, I overheard her giggling with her friends.
“Talia, you’re getting it every night till you're half-crazy and you still pretend to be all serene and pure.”
“And the key is that idiot Everett believed you.”
Talia’s voice was cold. “Back then, he tricked me into getting pregnant and chased away the man I really loved. I’ll make sure he lives like a celibate priest for the rest of his life and knows the sting of betrayal every single day.”
——
My fingers curled into fists.
So she had been lying to me all those years. Every so-called night of chanting scriptures had, in fact, been a night tangled in flesh with countless men.
And I, naïvely, had believed she was truly devoted to God.
I had even built her a private prayer sanctuary.
What a colossal joke, it had just been a pleasure house that I hadn’t even been allowed to enter.
Had I not broken her “no entry” rule a week ago, out of excitement to share some great news, I would have remained in the dark forever.
They had continued to mock me without restraint.
“Talia, if you don’t want Everett, let me have him for a few days. That face and body, he’s prime quality.”
“Right? Broad shoulders, narrow waist, long legs, I’d been drooling for a while.”
“And the way he threw himself into work, I bet he was just as wild in bed.”
Talia grabbed the man's abs.
“What’s so special? Open your eyes and look, every man in this sanctuary had a top-tier body and top-tier skills.”
“Pick whoever you like. Just Everett, you’re not allowed to touch him.”
She paused, her gaze freezing over.
“I wanted him to live like a priest for the rest of his life, never tasting the pleasures of a woman.”
“That was his punishment for ruining my life years ago.”
Those women whined, “Talia, you’re such a bad friend. You won’t use him yourself and won’t let us try him either, how inhumane!”
Talia lazily draped herself over the man next to her.
“I’ve gone soft. Let’s see if you still like him after he’s lost his manhood.”
Those women kept begging her. “Even without that, looking at him is already a treat.”
Her gaze grew colder still.
My emotions were in turmoil. I stared at the glowing lights of the sanctuary, sleepless.
Gideon Westbrook was still trying to advise me.
“Back then, Malcolm shamelessly drugged Talia and nearly cost her life. Thankfully, you saved her just in time, but why haven’t you ever told her the mastermind was Malcolm?”
“She’s misunderstood you all these years and won’t even let you near her.”
“Everett, I know I owe you a lot. But she’s my only granddaughter. Please, I’m begging you, give her a few more years. She chants scriptures every day; she’ll come around.”
“She’s agreed that your wedding will proceed in half a month.”
Chanting scriptures.
Gideon had been fooled by her. Everyone had been fooled.
I looked at the faint outline of seven black moles on my palm.
Talia, since you didn’t want me, Everett Quinn, then you didn’t deserve my lifetime of good fortune either.
Without my luck, let’s see how you would support that crowd of men in your sanctuary.
My teeth ground audibly and I immediately made a phone call.
