Chapter 1

My husband is a strong, built Marine captain, but he has sexual dysfunction.

Five years into our marriage, and I'm still a virgin.

Every time he returned from deployment, I tried everything I could to seduce him.

But he always remained completely indifferent.

Last night, I tried one last time. I followed a video tutorial online, wore a piece of sexy lingerie, and tried to seduce him, my face burning with embarrassment.

I could clearly see the desire in his eyes, yet he sat there, rigid as a board.

"Scarlett, let's forget it. I really can't do it."

I swallowed my disappointment and comforted him, just as I always did.

Until tonight, when I accidentally overheard him bragging about his bedroom skills with his army buddies.

His friend Marcus gave him a smirk.

"Come on, Ethan. You're that good in bed, and Scarlett has no idea?"

"Please, everyone knows our captain made a bet with Dr. Vivian the day he got married. If Vivian didn't get married within five years, he'd act as her personal vibrator whenever she wanted."

"I actually feel bad for Scarlett. She still thinks Ethan is impotent."

Ethan took a swig of his beer, totally unfazed.

"It's fine. The five-year bet ends in three days. I'll make it up to her then."

It turned out he wasn't impotent at all. He just loved another woman.

As his words fell, the locker-room laughter, thick with the smell of alcohol and sweat, echoed through the corridor.

"Ethan, you two are so wild together. You broke seven beds in three days. If you leave Dr. Vivian, how are you going to survive?"

"I've seen Scarlett. She looks so delicate, like she couldn't handle even half of what Dr. Vivian does!"

Those disgusting words pierced my eardrums.

I turned around, leaned against the wall, and threw up.

Just this morning, I had felt so guilty and ashamed.

I knew Ethan had "issues," yet I had forced him just to satisfy my own desires.

I had followed him all the way to this bar just to apologize.

I never expected fate to play such a cruel joke on me!

To think that Ethan rejected me over and over again, only to spend his nights in wild passion with another woman.

I bent over again, clutching my cramping stomach, throwing up bitter bile.

I stumbled back to our base housing.

The sexy lingerie and toys scattered on the floor felt like a harsh slap to my face.

I grabbed a pair of scissors and began stabbing the lingerie in a frenzy.

I was letting out five years of bottled-up humiliation, resentment, and anger.

Behind me, Ethan's confused voice called out.

"Scarlett, what are you doing?"

The tall man strode forward, snatched the ruined fabric from my hands, and spoke in a blaming tone.

"I know you're frustrated, but there's no need to take it out on the clothes."

"The doctor said we can't rush these things. Can't you just wait a little longer?"

Wait?

I had waited for five long years!

And the only things I got in return were his lies, his betrayal, and an empty bed!

To satisfy another woman, he was willing to throw away his dignity as a man and lie to me about being impotent.

How ridiculous! How pathetic!

Tears welled up in my eyes, but I quickly wiped them away. My voice was barely a whisper.

"Ethan, I don't want to wait anymore."

He turned to unpack the bag I had brought him, completely missing my words.

Inside the bag was a bottle of libido enhancers I had asked my friends to get for him.

He held the bottle, pausing.

I reached out to grab it and throw it in the trash.

But Ethan dodged my hand, looking up at me with a sudden heat in his eyes.

"Don't throw it away. Let's try it some other time. What if it actually works?"

Over our five years of marriage, he had often looked at me with this intense, predatory gaze.

Back then, I always wondered.

He clearly wants me. Why can't he do it?

I had doubted everything, but I had never suspected his illness was fake.

I didn't say a word. I didn't answer him.

That night, for the first time, I didn't try to touch Ethan.

But he did something unusual—he wrapped his arms around me from behind, his voice raspy.

"Babe, are you asleep?"

The embrace I once craved now made me sick to my stomach.

I stayed silent. Thinking I was asleep, Ethan quietly got out of bed and slipped out of the room.

I followed him out of the base housing and into the dark woods nearby.

There, standing under the shadows, was Vivian.

It was obvious this wasn't their first time. The moment they met, they eagerly pulled each other into the deeper brush.

In front of me, Ethan was always restrained, cold, and passionless.

But right now, he was wild, feral, and dominant.

He pinned Vivian against a tree with brutal intensity.

The cold autumn wind carried the sounds of their breathless moans, piercing my heart like a dagger.

The color drained from my face. I leaned against a freezing tree trunk, feeling like a complete fool.

In the heat of the moment, Vivian wrapped her legs around his waist.

"Who's better? Me or your wife?"

Ethan's voice was breathless, ragged.

"Don't bring her up. You know I've never even touched her."

"Oh? Our brave Captain can actually control himself?"

Ethan went silent for a moment.

"It's not about control."

"It's just... she feels a bit dirty to me."