Chapter 3
When James saw the four dishes on the table, he froze hard. "Aren't you feeling ill? Why did you cook? Is today some kind of special day?"
Today was the start of a new life for me.
From now on, no more parents or siblings would exploit me, no husband who would drain my labor.
Every hard-earned cent belonged to me.
Not only that, I was living in a dream villa, using top-of-the-line appliances, furniture, and goods.
My quality of life had made a dramatic leap.
I couldn't let James know any of that.
"No. I've been following a few food bloggers and wanted to practice," I said.
I discovered that James liked the spicy-tangy beef stew, then the omelets, and after that the egg tarts.
He barely touched the lightly sweet stuffed tomato egg boats.
After dinner, James volunteered to wash the dishes.
"I'm heading out on a business trip tomorrow morning. About a week. Pack a few changes of clothes for me," he said.
I could handle that.
I styled all of Ryan's outfits for shoots; people always complimented his looks.
Many brands signed him because of his wardrobe.
When I opened James's closet, I was stunned.
He was secretly kinky.
He had bright, single-pair underwear in every color, garter clips, shirt clips, and black stockings. But it was messy.
Not just the closet—the whole bedroom was a wreck.
Clearly, James refused to hire a housekeeper, while Charlotte was too lazy to tidy.
After I finished the tasks he'd assigned, I cleaned and reorganized the bedroom.
James worked in the study until midnight before he came to the bedroom.
I shut my eyes and pretended to sleep.
He wrapped me in his arms, still damp from the shower, and bit my ear as he murmured, "I'm leaving on a business trip tomorrow. Aren't you going to feed me tonight?"
I already knew James had a heavy desire.
The thought of what was coming next made me tremble all over.
I leaned weakly into him. "I'm not feeling well."
He tightened his hold. "I'll be gone for a week. Aren't you afraid I'll cheat while I'm away?"
"No," I said flatly.
If he wanted someone else, he would've ditched chatty Charlotte long ago.
He might not have said it, but I knew he adored that curvy, flawless body. James loved her, only her.
James let out a light chuckle. "But I'm afraid you won't stay put at home. I have to drain you dry to be sure."
I snapped back, not fearing him at all. "Then come on. Don't just talk."
His eyes went dark, and he spat, "You're asking for it."
Charlotte spent her days with a perpetual smile, bragging about her romance with Ryan. "Your husband has so much stamina. He could hold me up while doing fifteen push-ups.
"His abs felt amazing, like sitting on a spring mattress. I hadn't even started, and I came already."
I'd never climaxed with Ryan.
Once Charlotte's new-toys excitement faded, she'd see how helpless things were with him. He was handsome but terrible in bed.
Seeing my indifference, Charlotte started belittling my body.
She sneered, "How did you end up with such a terrible body? Small chest, flat butt. Your skin isn't even as good as mine. Poor Ryan—can't believe he didn't dump you."
Of course, he had his complaints about me; he just never said them out loud.
He had tried more than once to write his own scripts and edit his own videos to get away from relying on me.
The results weren't good, so he'd tolerate me for the sake of quality.
After trashing Ryan, Charlotte switched back to James. "James lives for his work.
"No pecs, no abs. Sure, he's handsome, but he's always stone-faced. Lying under him must be miserable for you, right?"
I actually enjoyed it.
In time, technique, and everything else, James beat Ryan hands down—except for the physique.
But a man's real value was his ability to make money and his sense of responsibility.
What good was a great body without those?
Ryan never spent a penny on me. He never cared about how hard I worked; he just used me and bossed me around.
James's biggest flaw was his volatile temper.
Every workplace had bosses who bark orders, but James gave me so much more.
That single morning, he'd transferred nearly fifty thousand dollars into my account.
In the face of cold, hard cash, Ryan's sweet talk was worthless.
Charlotte had grown up with money and had never gone without, so she didn't understand how important money was.
One day, she'd regret that.