Chapter 1

My wife, the Oscar-winning actress who always refused to let me touch her, suddenly signed on for a scandalous, intimate film right before her retirement.

The chemistry between her and her co-star, Jace Hendrix, was electric from start to finish.

In one scene, their kiss was so intense and lingering that it left the audience breathless.

When fans asked about it, Elena posted a calm, professional response on social media:

"Jace and I are professional actors."

"Sacrifices for the sake of art are inevitable. I look forward to our next collaboration."

I watched the video of them holding hands tightly at the press conference.

Silently, I turned off my phone screen and dumped the cold dinner into the trash.

This loveless marriage―I'm done with it.

1.

It was our anniversary, and she had promised to come home early.

I waited until midnight, only to receive a cold text message:

"Cast dinner. Won't be back. Go ahead and eat without me."

Elena Thorne had a severe, almost pathological obsession with cleanliness.

She never filmed intimate scenes, and she usually had any hand-holding moments cut from her scripts.

In our five years of marriage, we had never shared a real kiss, let alone anything more intimate.

Every time I tried to get close, I was met with her terrified eyes and a cold rejection.

I understood her, and I felt sorry for her.

I chose to respect her boundaries and even accompanied her to therapy sessions.

"Caleb, when I'm better, I'll be the first to hold you and let you feel my deepest love," she would say.

Her eyes would fill with tears, and my heart would melt every time.

But now, she was throwing all her rules away for someone else in front of a camera.

It turned out her condition was selective, and her principles only applied to certain people.

The four months she spent with Jace outweighed the five years she spent with me.

I stood up, walked to the liquor cabinet, and poured myself a double whiskey.

The burning liquid slid down my throat, leaving nothing but a bitter aftertaste in my mouth.

The sound of a key turning in the lock echoed through the house, and I looked up to see Elena walking in.

Her face had a flushed, excited glow, and for once, there was a mysterious stain on the hem of her designer dress.

For a woman with her obsession, this was rare; usually, she would have broken down and changed immediately.