Chapter 1 The Broken Contract

(Sybil’s POV)

Everyone said that a man will grant you anything after sex. I was presently trying to see if there was any truth to this theory. 

My husband John had come home earlier after being away on business for a month. 

As soon as he walked in the door, even before saying hello, he ripped my clothes off and dragged me into the bedroom. 

I went willingly. We rarely had sex as it was, and we both needed this right now, after being alone for all that time. We were making up for lost time, and there was a sense of urgency that wasn’t usually there. 

Afterwards, I lay on top of him, feeling his chest slowly rising under me. I was glowing after our lovemaking. I gazed at him and decided that now would be a good time to bring up what was on my mind. 

“Where is my anniversary present?” I smile playfully as I nuzzle into his chest.

It wasn’t that long ago that I was working as his secretary until that fateful night when, after working long hours, we shared our first night together. 

That night was totally unexpected. Neither John nor I saw it coming. Well, I have to say, it was amazing, and unforgettable. There had been no strings attached, just a night of passionate sex. 

But John had been concerned about his reputation, what with our very different socio-economic statuses and what not, and not to mention the fact that he was my boss. 

So we entered into a contract marriage after that night. 

John cared a lot about his reputation, but he couldn’t marry every woman he had a one-night stand with, right? 

So, maybe he liked me in a way. I was not sure. But I hoped he would fall in love with me, like I’d fallen for him.

We had two years left in our five-year contract, but I was hoping that our marriage wouldn’t end. 

I had recently heard from a friend that she had just seen John buying one of the most valuable diamonds in the world. He had specifically arranged to come home for our anniversary, so did that mean he was planning on giving me the diamond as an anniversary present? 

I fantasized about showing off the diamond everywhere I went. In the words of Marilyn Monroe, “A kiss on the hand may be quite continental, but diamonds are a girl’s best friend”. 

Also, I couldn’t help wondering if he was going to make our marriage contract a real one.

I realized that he didn’t answer my question when I pushed down my wishful thinking.

“Well?” I smiled at him, mentally going over how I was going to convincingly act surprised when he gave me the diamond and told me he loved me.

“What anniversary?” He looked confused. His hand traced circles on my back, rubbing lovingly. His voice, however, was flat and emotionless.

I was taken aback for a second, but then thought about how he liked to tease me sometimes.

Maybe this was one of those times.  So I let out a chuckle and kissed him.

He grabbed my arm and pulled me back down. “Maybe you should earn your anniversary present,” he said in a husky voice.

Blushing, I took another condom from the nightstand and put it in his hand.

We always used protection because having a baby was out of the question according to our contract. Well, I was not ready anyways.

He removed the previous condom, his expression changing from playfulness to confusion. “The condom is leaking.”

“What?” I took it from him and looked at it. Sure enough, it appeared to be dripping.

“Well, You could have accidentally torn it in your enthusiasm, you know,” I quipped, winking at him, trying to lighten the mood. 

He looked up at me.

I blushed thinking of how rough he had been with me earlier and how much I liked it. But my smile faltered when I noticed how silent he was. He is looking at the new package I just handed to him closely.

“Seriously, though, it’s not your fault. These things just happen sometimes.”

He glanced at me, a pensive frown on his face. “Yeah, you’re right. It’s not my fault…”

I smiled at him. “Now that’s settled, why don’t we pick up where we left off? Just put that new one on already.”

He smiled back at me, but it wasn’t his usual kind smile. This was more like a forced, insincere smile. 

“You’d like that, wouldn’t you, Sybil?” His voice cold as ice.

I didn’t know why he was acting that way or how I should respond, so I just nodded.

“I never thought you would sink so low,” he suddenly hissed, throwing the new package between us.

His words are like a slap in my face. I had never seen him look so angry.

I gaped at him. “What do you mean?”

I am really confused. I pick up the new condom he just threw on the bed and find that this one is sticky with the oil that was supposed to be inside.

And it looks like… it looks like someone had poke the package with needles!

“The most important clause in our marriage contract is that we are not to have children,” he stared at me closely, fire burning in his eyes.

“This is supposed to be a five-year contract,” he continued, “I thought we agreed on that. No children to tie us down, then we part ways.”

“I know that, and I completely agree! …wait, you think I did this?”

“Well, did you?” He glared at me.

“Of course not!” I was insulted that he seriously thought I was capable of such a thing. “I didn’t realize there was a hole! Do you really think I would do something like that?” 

I reached for him, trying to calm him down. “Please believe me.”

He swatted my hand away and took every single condom out of the drawer. 

He inspected them carefully, tossing each one aggressively on the bed as he did so. They were all the same. Full of tiny holes.

“How do you explain that?” he snarled, his voice dripping with accusation.

Tears streamed down my face as I pleaded with him. “I don’t know how this happened, but I had nothing to do with it. It wasn’t me.” 

I couldn’t believe that this was how we were spending our anniversary, with him blaming me for something I definitely hadn’t done.

He looked at me, anger and hatred burning in his eyes. “Not you, huh? Well, who else would do such a depraved thing if not the one who tricked me into bed and trapped me three years ago?”