Skeletons in His Closet

My husband doesn't touch me on our wedding night. He claims he's too tired and asks me to wait. Then, he sneaks into the basement in the wee hours of each night. Whenever he returns, he needs to shower to wash away an indescribable smell.

I ask him what he does down there, and he tells me he works out. Why would anyone work out in the middle of the night?

I can't take it anymore. One night, I decide to sneak into the basement to see what's going on down there. He chases after me and grabs my pajamas, roaring, "Come back up here! I'll divorce you if you step foot down there!"

Clutching the railing, I began to tremble with anger. My parents had spent a huge chunk of their life savings to purchase this small villa for me as my marital home.

This was my home, so why wasn't I allowed to enter the basement?

Not just that, but as my husband, how dare he spit such venomous words at me?

I took a deep breath to get my fury under control. "Zane, how could you speak to me like this?"

Zane Kors kept a death grip on my pajamas. "Honey, let's go upstairs first. I'll explain everything once we get back to the bedroom."

"Can't you explain things now?" I pointed toward the pitch-black basement. "Why can't I go down there? Do I not have the right to do so?"

"I'm working out these days, and I keep my prized equipment downstairs. However, you can't see them yet." Zane walked to the bottom of the stairs, standing in my way.

"Why not?"

"Because it's not the right time yet. When the time is right, I'll definitely show you!"

My stomach sank. I took another deep breath, trying to calm my emotions.

"If that was the case, why did you have to say those harsh things when you came running after me just now?"

"I… I just got a little worked up. Besides, you know what kind of person I am—I have a sharp tongue, but I'm a softie inside."

Chuckling coldly, I turned to walk upstairs. As if a man was capable of having a sharp tongue and a soft heart!

Fine. I'd wait until he went to work tomorrow to go downstairs and find out what was going on.

…

After returning to bed, I tossed and turned, unable to fall asleep.

Something fishy was going on in the basement, and it must be something big.

Could Zane be hiding a shameful secret?

I turned to look at him. It seemed like he wasn't able to fall asleep either. He stared at the ceiling with his eyes wide open, looking like there was something on his mind.

The moonlight illuminated his defined side profile, making him look incredibly handsome. His muscular body made him look even more alluring.

Thinking back to the time when he pursued me, I had been so excited and could hardly believe it. He was so handsome, while I was just a plain Jane. Just what did he like about me?

He'd told me that he liked my gentleness and quietness, as well as my unique presence.

I'd believed him.

However, if that was true, then why did he never touch me at night?

After all, I was his young, sweet wife. We hadn't even made it past our honeymoon yet; was this normal?

At last, I couldn't hold back anymore. I reached out to caress his face.

"What are you doing?" As if he'd been shocked, he rapidly shrunk back to his side, glaring at me with disgust. He was looking at me the same way people regarded beggars or dirty stray dogs.

Having come to a realization, I flipped over angrily.

However, I couldn't swallow my rage. If he didn't have feelings for me, why did he pursue me? Why did he get into a relationship with me?

With these thoughts in my head, I suddenly turned around again. Glowering at him, I said, "You said that we can't do it for now because of your health reasons, which I can understand. But all I did was touch you with my hands. Why did you react so drastically?"

"I've told you countless times that I have a psychological disorder. I'm looking for a psychologist now, so you have to be patient and wait for me." Zane picked up his phone and gently patted my shoulder with it. "Honey, please wait for half a year longer. After six months, I promise I will love you properly."

He couldn't even use his hands to touch me and had to do it with his phone. Was I that dirty? How could I believe his words?

However, I didn't have any other choice but to wait for now. Sighing quietly, I flipped over.

Come to think of it, I had given my husband everything. Since we started dating, I had fulfilled all of his wishes.

He'd said he liked watches, so I'd bought him a luxury watch that cost six figures.

He'd said he liked to travel, so I'd gone around the globe with him.

He'd said he wanted to make money through investments, so I'd lent him money to learn how to invest.

In other words, so long as he wanted something that I could provide, I never held back.

However, after we became newlyweds, this was what I got in return.

This was all because of that basement!

I hated the basement! Even if I had to turn it upside down, I was going to find out the truth!