Chapter 2

After my father fell seriously ill, our family went bankrupt.

It was only through the financial help of Helen that my father could continue receiving treatment.

My mother was so grateful that she practically begged me to marry Frederick. "Helen is really struggling in the Harrington family, Becca. You need to go and support her."

Dutton had a notorious reputation for chasing women, with lovers everywhere.

Helen was utterly miserable, and things were only made worse by her mother-in-law, Celine Harrington, who was an old-fashioned matriarch. She believed that the more children the family had, the more prosperous they would become, and the more impressive her son would appear.

Whenever an illegitimate child appeared, Celine would take them in without question.

Luckily, the Harrington family was wealthy. If they were an ordinary family, they'd have been overwhelmed by all those children in no time.

Helen was really having a tough time.

Perhaps it was Celine's influence, or maybe the shocking secret Helen discovered, but she began to develop an obsessive streak.

Helen started selecting girls, whether they agreed or not, and sending them directly to Frederick's room.

Frederick was annoyed, but deep down, he felt guilty.

He let Helen do whatever she wanted, convinced that he would never be entangled in any of it.

Helen had run out of options. She watched as the mistresses kept having babies every year, like hens laying eggs, making Celine beam with pride. It seemed like Celine was preparing to hand the Harrington Group over to those children.

In the end, Helen gave in. She called me and a few other girls together.

At first, I thought Frederick was saving himself for me, so I felt smug and boasted to Helen.

But reality hit me hard soon.

Frederick was like a celibate, completely unaffected by any of our attempts. We tried everything, but he rejected us all without hesitation.

Seeing how hopeless the situation was, the other girls dropped out one by one.

But I couldn't quit like the others.

Everyone kept saying that Frederick was saving himself for me. If I couldn't make him mine, I'd be the laughingstock.

On top of that, the money for my father's treatment was almost gone.

I was miserable, too.

So, I played my last card, the same "love potion" that had gotten Helen pregnant all those years ago.

Yeah, I went out and bought it again.

I was the only one allowed to stay in Frederick's room, though, to be honest, only the guest room.

After all these years, that was as far as things ever went between us.

As I stirred the love potion into the soup, I couldn't help but sigh to myself.

Beyond the tasks my mother and Helen had assigned me, I genuinely liked Frederick.

He was tall, handsome, and always so polite.

We had known each other since childhood, and to be honest, he was my first love.

For years, everyone thought he was staying a virgin for me, but only I knew the truth. I was the one waiting for him.

But after three years of chasing him, I finally realized he saw me only as a friend.

It was like those bittersweet romance novels I used to read as a kid, except now, it was happening to me.

I wiped away my tears, grabbed a lockpick, broke into his master bedroom, and hid inside.

I was almost drifting off to sleep when I finally heard some noise from outside, followed by the unmistakable sound of someone washing dishes.

Once he finished cleaning up, I felt Frederick come and head straight for the shower.

He didn't notice me lying there on his bed.

I lay hidden under the covers, barely daring to breathe and muttering to myself about why the potion wasn't working.

Just when I was about to give up and leave, I heard a loud crash from the bathroom.

The potion was finally taking effect.

This was my chance.

I shifted into action, rushed to the door, and burst inside.

"Hey, Freddie, what's wrong?" I asked.

But halfway through my act, my fake concern completely fell apart.

A man was standing there, completely naked, his face flushed and his eyes clouded as he stared at me.

The bottle of body wash had toppled over, spilling suds all over the floor.

My heart sank so much for my plan.

"Becca," the man said, his ears turning bright red the moment he saw me. Flustered, he scrambled to cover himself.

He clutched his private part, and when he realized what he was doing, his face went ashen.

He reached for the towel, but it was right behind me.

He shot me a helpless look and then quickly turned around with his back to me.

He was trembling, his voice shaky as he asked, "Wh-Why did you get in here?"

I should have bolted out of the room, full of guilt and embarrassment. Yet there he was, looking like a perfect living sculpture with his nice abs, chest, biceps, and thighs on full display. I swallowed hard unconsciously.

Suddenly, something my mother had mumbled years ago popped into my head.

"Daniel's a good option, too. Either way, we'll be in-laws," she once said.

Well, Daniel was a Harrington, too.

So why not go for him?

I fixed my gaze on his ears, which were glowing red, and asked, "Is there someone you like?

"Do you have any plans to get married in the next few years?"

When he gave me the answer I wanted, a surge of excitement ran through me.

A 31-year-old woman, mature and lustful, faced a 25-year-old muscle-bound guy fresh out of college and under the influence of a love potion. The encounter quickly spiraled into something wild.

Daniel was stubborn, yet his body responded anyway.

There wasn't a single spot left untouched in the room, so I took charge and led him to the guest room.

*****

As dawn crept in, I glanced at Daniel sprawled across the bed, pretending to be asleep. He looked completely wrecked. Every inch of him was marked up.

Only then did it hit me how rough I had been, and guilt washed over me as I pulled the blanket over him.

"Well, let me tidy up before Frederick sees anything," I said.

When I was about to leave, he snapped his eyes open, staring at me with a fiery glare, as if I had broken his heart and betrayed him.

A chill ran down my spine.

What did I do to make him this mad?

While I scrambled for words, his tough exterior suddenly crumbled. His already red eyes began to fill with tears.

He turned away, tears streaming down his face, refusing to meet my gaze. His voice, shaky and barely audible, reached me.

"You like my brother, so why would you do this to me?" he choked out.

He broke down completely, tears flowing freely, just as his mother would have. I guessed it ran in the family.

But I had learned my lesson. I knew better than to blurt things out recklessly.

So I said, "What are you doing at Frederick's house? That potion was supposed to be for him. I went through hell tracking down the seller, and you wasted it all."