Sharon judged Yu Chin to be an excellent candidate for marriage. He hailed from a prominent family—he was third in line to inherit the Gwee Shipping Conglomerate, the second largest firm of its kind in Asia. He had inherited a secluded two-storey bungalow near the end of East Sussex Lane, a prized estate along the swanky Holland belt, where he lived alone. Women would kill to date an eligible bachelor such as him. Which begged the question that haunted Sharon at the back of her mind—why was this man not already married?

She decided to ask Christina about this.

“He was in love, for the longest time, with someone who was not available, someone who was already married,” Christina revealed. “He needs to move on, but he can’t do it by himself. It’s really up to you, Sharon. You can save him.”

And that was exactly what Sharon had decided to do—to propose marriage to this man who needed saving.

The water in the tub was getting chilly. Sharon drained out half of the tub and turned on the hot water faucet to refill it. As she leant back again, she reached for the hairbrush on the ledge. She was about to run it through her hair when she spotted a strand of white dangling from the bristles.

As far as she remembered, neither she nor her husband had white hair.

Despite the steaming water streaming into the tub, Sharon felt a chill in her bones. She had never questioned her husband about his past love but she had always imagined it had been an older woman. Yu Chin was a man who needed mothering.

In her mind, Sharon saw a shadow emerge from the past belonging to a woman she had never met but who she knew had a tight rein on her husband’s heart. Sharon knew the woman had caused her husband unbearable pain but now she wondered if the woman had not also provided immeasurable pleasure for him. What had lovemaking been like for her husband and that woman? Did she bring roar and thunder to their copulation?

The shadow in her mind began to take on a form—a voluptuous figure wrapped around her husband, clawing his back with its nails, licking his ear lobe with its tongue, grabbing his buttocks and pushing him deep into itself, violently, repeatedly until he came with a roar that was all sharp pain and deep pleasure.

Sharon burst into a wail. Her body shook as she wept inconsolably, upsetting the serenity of the water and sending waves spilling over onto the rug below. She did not hold back her tears. Those were angry tears. Her flat-chested, bony physique was found wanting by her husband. She was not enough for him. He had gone back to the other woman, and she had invaded the sanctity of their marital home.