Chapter 1

I liked spending time alone with my husband.

But after marrying Kyle Stiles for three months, we barely spent any time together by ourselves.

Every time we did, his sister-in-law interrupted us.

This time, she called again, saying there was a blackout and she was scared of the dark. It was the twentieth time. I finally snapped.

"Kyle, you can't leave tonight," I said.

He coaxed me like always. "Be good. My brother just passed away. Once she gets over it, everything will be better."

I didn't stop him like I used to in the past.

A few days later, I threw the divorce papers in front of him.

I said, "Let's divorce. If you couldn't satisfy me, then don't get in the way of me finding someone else."

*****

Kyle Stiles and I hadn't spoken for almost two months, but we finally patched things up.

Sparks flew between us, and things got out of control fast.

But before long, his phone started ringing.

I pretended not to hear it, wrapping myself around him and refusing to let him pick up.

"Kyle..." I murmured, my voice soft and pleading.

But even with the flames of desire burning high, the damn phone just wouldn't stop ringing.

Kyle finally lost interest, gently pushing me away and getting up to answer it.

I shot him a resentful look, but then I heard his widowed sister-in-law, Doleen's coquettish voice on the other end of the phone.

"Kyle, the power just went out at the villa. I'm scared of the dark," she whimpered.

Kyle didn't even hesitate before getting up.

I wasn't satisfied tonight so I naturally didn't want him to leave. I wrapped my arms around him from behind.

"Kyle, it won't take long. Are you really going to leave me like this?" I asked, my voice full of frustration.

Kyle coldly pried my hands off him and buttoned up his shirt.

"Alvera, you know Jason's only been dead a short while. How can I ignore Doleen?" Kyle said.

I snapped, "Kyle, you're not the only one in the Stiles family. Can't she call someone else when she needs help?

"She asks you to go over almost every night, except when I'm on my period. Doesn't that strike you as odd?"

Moreover, it was always at night.

"Shut up!" Kyle's face suddenly darkened. "Don't let me hear that kind of nonsense again."

I looked at his face, and for the first time, he felt like someone I barely knew.

Maybe seeing how angry I was, Kyle's temper eased and he tried to reassure me.

"Relax, this is the last time. Mom's already there, so I'm just going to check in and be right back," he said.

After Kyle left, and I calmed down, something felt off.

Kyle had a crazy high sex drive, just like me.

Every time we tried to be alone in our first month of marriage, we got interrupted. Then we spent almost two months fighting and giving each other the silent treatment.

We should've been all over each other tonight, but the second his phone rang, he just dropped everything and left, like he didn't even care about me.

My chest tightened, and I jumped out of bed.

I wanted to see for myself whether Doleen was really scared of the dark, or just faking it again.

But before I left the house, Kyle texted: [The power went out at the villa, and Doleen twisted her ankle. Mom and I are taking her to the ER. Not coming home tonight.]

*****

By the time I got to the hospital, Kyle's mom, Wendy, was nowhere to be seen, but Doleen had her face buried in Kyle's neck, quietly sobbing.

Kyle's lips were almost touching her ear, as he comforted her.

This was already the twentieth time since Kyle and I married.

Every single time, our intimate moments were interrupted by a phone call, and Kyle would leave without a second thought.

And every time I showed up at the hospital or her place, I'd always catch them like this.

Honestly, there was a reason Kyle kept acting this way.

About half a year ago, Kyle's older brother Jason drowned saving him. Back then, Doleen was just about ready to have her baby.

Right after Jason's funeral, she gave birth to a baby boy.

At first, I didn't think much of Kyle taking care of her. I figured that was what anyone would do.

But it wasn't until our wedding night that I realized Doleen was way too clingy with Kyle.

We'd just gotten home and were getting hot and heavy in the bathroom when she came rushing over, knocking on the door in a sexy nightgown, all flustered.

"Kyle, the baby's sick," she said, her voice trembling.

Kyle didn't say a word, just threw on his clothes and took her and the baby straight to the hospital.

I grumbled a bit, but I figured she was going through a tough time, so I didn't think much of it.

But when I got to the hospital, I saw her practically draped all over Kyle, crying her heart out.

"Kyle, what am I supposed to do? If something happens to the baby, I'll never forgive myself for letting Jason down," she sobbed.

Kyle just comforted her patiently. "It's okay. I'm here."

They were way too close for comfort.

My female intuition told me there was definitely something off here.