The Wife He Never Touched

For five years, I, Chloe Davis, was the woman every other woman wanted to be, married to a man whose wealth was matched only by his handsome face, living in a gilded cage. But in three years of marriage, he had never touched me, our bedroom cold and empty.

On my ninety-ninth attempt to seduce my husband, Ethan, he finally pulled me close. But as pleasure washed over me, he whispered, "Ashley, you know I love you. Marrying Chloe was something I had to do. How could you let her do this? How could you let her seduce me?"

His confession shattered me. He wasn't incapable; he just didn't love me. His heart belonged to Ashley Thompson, his niece and my best friend, and I was just a shield. Ashley, the one who had encouraged me to pursue him, was the real object of his affection. Later, as I lay dizzy and confused in a hospital bed from donating my kidney to Ashley, Ethan offered me anything I wanted, even a child, if I saved her, revealing his plan to use me as a surrogate for him and Ashley.

The truth sliced through my seven years of devotion like a knife. After all I'd given, all I' d sacrificed, I was just a tool in their twisted game, a cover for their sordid affair. Even my wedding ring was a duplicate of Ashley' s.

I secretly signed our divorce papers on the operating table, and in the dead of night, I walked out of that mansion, leaving behind the shattered pieces of my naive heart and a final message: "Happy divorce! Never see you again!"

For five years, Chloe Davis was the woman every other woman wanted to be. She was married to Ethan Miller, a man whose wealth and influence were matched only by his handsome face. He bought her anything she wanted, a silent provider who kept her in a gilded cage. He doted on her in public, making sure the world saw a perfect marriage.

But behind the closed doors of their mansion, their bedroom was cold. In three years of marriage, he had never touched her.

On the advice of her best friend, Ashley Thompson, Chloe decided to take matters into her own hands. She would try to seduce her husband ninety-nine times.

The first ninety-eight attempts were a catalog of failure and quiet rejection. Tonight was the ninety-ninth time.

She waited for him in their bedroom, wearing a silk nightgown that felt like a second skin. When Ethan entered, he looked at her, and for the first time, something in his cold eyes shifted. He didn' t push her away. He pulled her close, his hands gripping her waist.

The moment she had dreamed of for seven years was finally happening. As they moved together, a wave of heat and release washing over her, he leaned in, his breath hot against her ear. He whispered, his voice racked with a pain she didn't understand.

"Ashley, you know I love you. Marrying Chloe was something I had to do. How could you let her do this? How could you let her seduce me?"

His words cut through the haze of pleasure.

"Besides you," he gasped, his body trembling against hers, "I' ll never love or touch another woman."

The confession shattered Chloe. The world tilted, a sickening lurch in her stomach. He wasn' t incapable. He just didn' t love her. He had never loved her.

His heart belonged to Ashley Thompson. His own niece. Her best friend.

Chloe was just a shield. A tool. A sacrifice.

A violent tremor ran through her body. She shoved him away, the force of her push surprising them both. She scrambled out of the bed and fled to the bathroom, slamming the door behind her.

She turned the shower on, the water blasting out, scalding hot. But it couldn't wash away the filth she felt. It couldn't erase seven years of love.

Four years ago, he had rescued her from a group of drunk men at a bar. He was a prince, wealthy and handsome, swooping in to save her. Falling for him was as easy as breathing. She chased him for four years, a relentless pursuit that ended in three years of this hollow marriage.

Seven years. Dead in an instant.

She stayed curled on the cold tiles of the bathroom floor until the water ran cold, then moved to the living room sofa, wrapping a blanket around her shaking body. She stared into the darkness all night.

At the first light of dawn, she picked up her phone and called a lawyer.

"I need divorce papers drafted. Immediately."

Just as she was giving her details, the front door opened. Ethan walked in. Chloe quickly ended the call.

He looked at her, his face etched with a worried, pained expression she had never seen directed at her. For a wild second, she thought it was for her.

"Ashley was in a car accident," he said, his voice tight. "I have to go to the hospital."

Of course. For three years, any call from Ashley, no matter the time, no matter how important his own business, and he was gone. Chloe had never suspected. She had even joked with Ashley once.

"Why don' t you just move in with us? Then your uncle can look after both of us at the same time."

Ashley had just laughed, a sweet, innocent sound. But now, Chloe remembered the look in her eyes. It was pity. Pity for the fool who was selling herself and didn't even know the price.

"Go," Chloe said. Her voice was calm, empty.

Ethan rushed to the door, then paused, turning back to her. His gaze was cold again, the brief moment of worry gone.

"I won' t bring up what happened last night," he said, his tone a clear warning. "But don' t let it happen again."

He left without another look.

Chloe smiled, a bitter, broken thing. She had been a fool ninety-nine times. It was time to wake up.

Ethan was gone all day. In the evening, her phone rang. It was him.

"Get to the hospital. Now."

The command was sharp, leaving no room for argument. Chloe rushed there, her heart pounding with a nameless dread. As soon as she arrived, a nurse grabbed her arm and pushed her into an examination room.

"We need to draw some blood," the nurse said briskly.

They took vial after vial, until Chloe felt dizzy and her face was pale. Before she could process what was happening, they were wheeling her on a gurney down the hall. Confused and weak, she was pushed into a surgical room.

The bright overhead lights blinded her. As her eyes adjusted, Ethan' s face appeared above her. His voice was gentle, a soft coaxing that made her skin crawl. But his words were sharp and cold.

"Chloe, don' t be scared. I won' t let them hurt you. But only you can save Ashley. You' re her best friend. You wouldn' t just leave her to suffer, would you?"

"She needs a kidney," he continued, his voice dropping lower. "And you' re the only match."

She was disoriented from the blood loss, the room spinning slightly. Ethan' s voice was a steady, persuasive drone.

"Save Ashley, and I' ll give you anything you want."

The words tumbled out of her mouth before she could stop them, a desperate, last-ditch test. "What if I want a child?"

The operating room fell silent. The only sound was the quiet hum of the machines and the beat of her own heart in her ears. She expected him to refuse, to recoil in disgust.

Finally, he spoke, each word dragged from him.

"Okay."

It was so reluctant. So painful for him. But it was the final proof. He loved Ashley to his very core. To save her, he would do the unthinkable: touch the woman he didn't love, create a life with her as a bargaining chip.

A silent, bitter smile touched Chloe' s lips. A nurse called from the doorway, her voice urgent.

Ethan' s eyes were red-rimmed. He gripped Chloe' s hand, his hold desperate.

"Chloe, please..."

She knew in that moment he would agree if she asked for his life. That' s what real love was. He truly loved Ashley.

So she wouldn't force him.

Tears finally fell, tracking paths down her temples into her hair. Chloe pulled out her phone, her fingers fumbling but sure.

"I was just kidding," she whispered, her voice hoarse. "I don' t even like kids. Just... sign this for me."

She held up the phone, displaying a document on the screen. Ethan didn' t even ask what it was. He just took the stylus and quickly scrawled his name.

He was too afraid. Afraid she would change her mind about the kidney. Afraid she would really demand a child. Afraid she would cling to him forever.

If he had asked, she would have told him it was a digital divorce agreement.

Chloe closed her eyes, the anesthetic starting to pull her under. As her consciousness faded, she whispered a final goodbye that only she could hear.

"Ethan Miller, goodbye."

Never again. From now on, his happiness was his to chase, and her life was her own. They were separate.

A week after the surgery, Ethan still hadn' t set foot in Chloe' s hospital room.

"Are your family members very busy?" the nurse asked kindly as she changed Chloe' s IV bag. "They haven' t come to see you at all."

Chloe' s gaze drifted to the wall, to the room next door. She wanted to say, yes, very busy. Busy taking care of another woman.

The doctor had told her to start walking around to help with her recovery. But every time she shuffled down the hallway, she had to pass Ashley' s room. And every time, she saw the same scene: her husband, Ethan Miller, tenderly caring for her best friend.

There was no point in saying anything. The divorce papers were signed. Once the cooling-off period was over, they would be strangers. She dismissed the nurse with a weak smile and focused on getting stronger.

On the day she was discharged, she passed Ashley' s room one last time. The door was slightly ajar. Through the gap, she saw Ethan patiently coaxing Ashley to drink some soup.

"Sweetie, drink a little more. You need to get better quickly."

Ashley made a show of resisting, but the smile on her face was pure happiness. After she finished the soup, she seemed to remember something.

"Uncle, you should go check on Chloe. She' s your wife, after all. I' m afraid she' ll get the wrong idea if you don' t."

Ethan' s handsome brow furrowed in displeasure. He spoke calmly, but there was an edge to his voice. "You had a serious car accident, and you have no other family here. You call me uncle, so of course it' s my job to take care of you."

"She' s your best friend," he added. "She' ll understand."

Ashley' s parents had died in an accident when she was young, and before they passed, they entrusted her to the Miller family. The two families had a long history, and based on their generation, Ashley called Ethan 'uncle.'

No one ever expected that this seemingly normal uncle-niece relationship was hiding something so sordid. At least, Chloe never had. When she was pursuing Ethan and constantly hitting walls, it was Ashley who encouraged her, telling her that Ethan was just tough on the outside, but soft on the inside.

Chloe had believed her. She walked right into their trap.

Her nails dug into her palms, her body trembling with a fresh wave of pain. She turned to leave, but Ashley' s voice, soft and tearful, stopped her.

"It' s because of this that I can' t bear to keep hurting her. I..."

"Ashley! Don' t say that ever again! You haven' t hurt anyone!" Ethan' s voice was a soft scolding as he tucked the blanket around her.

Ashley turned her head away, tears streaming down her face, making her look fragile and pitiful. "But I don' t want to stay here and keep being a bother. The Miller family will never accept me anyway. Why don' t you and Chloe just... just pretend to be a loving couple..."

Her words were cut off. Chloe watched, frozen, as Ethan leaned down and kissed her. It wasn' t a gentle kiss; it was forceful, passionate, as if he was trying to melt her into himself.

After a long moment, he pulled back, holding her tightly. His voice was trembling.

"I told you, marrying her and pretending to be a loving couple was the only way. Besides you, I will never touch another woman."

Ashley pushed him away, her voice rising. "But your parents keep pressuring you to have a child! You can' t really have a sexless marriage with her forever!"

Ethan' s jaw clenched. "If it comes to that," he said, his voice low and hard, "I' ll have her do IVF. We can have a child that belongs to you and me. In short, I will never, ever touch her."

Outside the door, Chloe felt a pain so sharp it stole her breath. She knew he didn' t love her, but she never imagined this. After seven years of loving him, after giving up a kidney for his real love, he still didn't even see her as human. He wanted to use her body as an incubator for their child.

A sharp shout from inside the room ripped through the air.

"Who' s there?!"

The door to the hospital room flew open.

Ethan stared out into the empty hallway, a frown on his face. He must have imagined it.

He didn' t know that in the split second before he opened the door, Chloe had ducked into an empty room across the hall. She waited until his door was closed again before she finally, shakily, walked away.