I fought my way up from nothing, clawing a name for myself in my field before most people my age had even started. To the world, I am a man of integrity, a respected figure. But no one values the reputation I’ve bled for more than I do. Which is why it’s so damning that I’ve developed… feelings for one of my students. When she stands before me, earnestly reporting on her project’s progress, her lips parting with each word, a single, forbidden thought seizes my mind: What would it feel like to kiss her? But a secret of this magnitude could never stay hidden from my wife. She noticed the change in me. And then, with an unnerving calm, she asked, “Do you want to sleep with her?” Before I could even process the question, she delivered a second blow, one that left me reeling. “I can help you.” Fear, cold and sharp, pierced through me. I didn’t have the courage to act on this twisted infatuation. 1 I stared at her, utterly stunned. My wife, Audrey, simply adjusted her glasses, her expression as placid and scholarly as ever. “Don’t look at me like that, Julian. Scientific studies have shown that romantic love only has a shelf life of about seven years.” “Lifelong monogamy is, by its very nature, anti-human.” “Besides, for a man of your stature, having a… confidante… is perfectly normal.” “What’s the catch?” I asked, my eyes fixed on her. She never did anything without a price. Audrey slid a bank card across the table. “Tomorrow, deposit one million dollars into this account. I have a use for it.” I didn’t hesitate for long. A million dollars was nothing to me now. The next day, Audrey invited the student to our home. Her name was Anna. She had wide, doe-like eyes that sparkled with an innocent light. Anna greeted us both with a respectful deference, then her eyes began to wander around the room. A blush crept up her cheeks. “Is… is Finn not home?” she asked, her voice soft. The girl’s crush was written all over her face. And Finn… Finn was my son. A hot spike of anger shot through me. The woman I wanted was in love with my own son. Just then, Audrey returned with a fruit platter. “Finn went to see the Northern Lights with some friends,” she explained to Anna, her voice warm and motherly. “But with the holidays coming up, the house feels so empty. We were hoping you could keep us old folks company. You don’t mind, do you?” Anna quickly assured her she didn’t. Audrey was an exceptional cook. The table was laden with an extravagant feast. Throughout the meal, she kept pouring wine for Anna, who was too polite to refuse. Eventually, the girl couldn’t drink anymore. “I think I’ve had a bit too much,” she said, her words slightly slurred. “I don’t think I can make it back to the dorm.” Audrey, ever the expert on a young girl’s heart, said, “Oh, don’t you worry about that. You can stay the night here.” “Finn will be back tomorrow. He can give you a ride.” Anna’s face flushed a deep crimson. She didn’t object. In fact, she seemed to be deliberately trying to get drunk. The knot in my stomach tightened. She was still just a naive young girl. It didn’t take long before she was slumped over the table, fast asleep. I glared at my wife. “You knew she was in love with Finn.” Audrey didn’t answer. Instead, she lifted the hem of Anna’s skirt, revealing a pale, slender calf. Her hand stroked the smooth skin. “So young,” she said with a cold sneer. “Like a flower bud, ready to bloom.” “So tender you could practically squeeze water from her skin. No wonder my husband and my son are so bewitched.” I stared at her, my voice low. “So the million dollars was only part of it.” “The real reason is you want to keep her away from Finn.” Audrey took a sip of her wine. “Julian, you and I both crawled our way out of the gutter. No one knows the struggle better than we do. Our son will stand on our shoulders and climb higher, reach for things we never could.” “He will not marry some country girl who survives on financial aid, a girl who can’t even afford to go home for the holidays.” “Marriage is a tool for consolidating class, and I will not be careless with it.” Finally, her plan became clear. Helping me get Anna was one thing. More importantly, she wanted to destroy any chance of a future between her and our son. As she spoke, she gestured for me to help her carry Anna to a bedroom. The moment my hands touched Anna’s arm, her delicate, youthful scent washed over me, intoxicating. I intended to take her to the guest room. But Audrey walked straight toward our master bedroom. She shot me a sharp look. “Has lust addled your brain? If we put her in our room, we can say she was drunk and stumbled in by mistake. How would you explain her being in the guest room?” Her accusation stung, but my mind was already consumed by Anna. Her flawless skin, her intoxicating fragrance… it was all I could think about. I didn’t have the energy to argue. When we got to the bedroom, I expected Audrey to leave. Instead, she stayed. And then, one by one, she began to unbutton Anna’s blouse. I grabbed her hand, shocked. “What are you doing?” Audrey looked at me with derision. “Have you been on your pedestal for so long you’ve forgotten the laws of the jungle?” “If you sleep with her tonight, do you really think you can rely on her morals to keep her quiet forever? Don’t be a fool.” She stared at me, her voice a low, sharp whisper. “Never forget, Julian. Blackmail is a far more effective silencer than morality.” With that, she ripped the remaining clothes from Anna’s body. In an instant, Anna was completely bare before me. I swallowed hard. Audrey pulled out her phone and began to meticulously photograph every part of Anna’s body. When she was finished, she looked at me with satisfaction. “Before I decided to help you, I did a thorough background check. Her family is dirt poor. They’ve sacrificed everything to send her to university, hoping she’ll be their ticket out.” “They love her, of course. But they love their reputation more. The phrase ‘pride comes before a fall’ exists for a reason.” “If she makes a scene, we can threaten to print these photos and plaster them all over her hometown.” I stared at my wife, a chill running down my spine. Yes. After years of success, we had both softened, tamed our baser instincts. I had almost forgotten that at our core, we were both predators. As we stood there, a video call came in from Finn. Audrey and I exchanged a look and walked out to the living room. She glanced in the mirror, composed her face into a warm smile, and answered the call. On the screen, Finn was grinning under the aurora borealis. He showed us the vast, beautiful landscape, promising to take us with him next year. Just before he hung up, he said, “Everyone here is so jealous that I have you guys as parents. Mom, Dad, I love you. You’ll always be my heroes.” After the call, Audrey began to organize the photos, already drafting a statement. As a professor with degrees in both law and literature, she was a master of words, particularly skilled at this kind of damage control. I, on the other hand, couldn’t wait any longer. I went back to the bedroom. Looking at Anna’s peaceful, sleeping face, I leaned in without a moment’s hesitation. Anna was a delicate flower, and tonight, she would bloom for me. With that thought, I threw back the covers. My hand began to wander downwards. Halfway through, Anna stirred, her eyes fluttering open. I held my breath, quickly turning off the lights. In the dim moonlight, I saw her blink a few times. I expected her to scream, to fight. But instead, her arms wrapped around my neck. “Finn,” she whispered, her voice thick with sleep. “I thought you weren’t coming back until tomorrow.” Seeing the shy, adoring look on her face, my own gaze darkened. It was true. I looked a lot like my son. And years of a comfortable life had kept me well-preserved. In the dark, it would be easy to mistake us. But to have her in my bed, whispering another man’s name… it infuriated me. Even if that man was my son. My tenderness vanished. And then… With a small, sharp cry from Anna, I took her completely. Afterwards, I looked at the stain of blood on the sheets. I pressed a light kiss to her forehead. Such a pure, clean girl. Not like my wife, a sullied, used thing. When Anna woke up the next morning, she was huddled in a corner of the bed, clutching the sheets to her chest. Her eyes were wide with disbelief and brimming with tears. “Why?” she choked out. “Why did this happen?” I was trying to think of an explanation when Audrey pushed the door open. Her expression was grave, a mask of righteous indignation that could turn black into white. She looked at Anna. “Anna, this happened last night while I was in the shower. By the time I came out, it was too late. I sat in the living room all night, thinking.” “Why would a student of mine, a brilliant young woman I considered a future daughter-in-law, climb into my husband’s bed?”
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