There was no splash.

With an effortless gesture, the man placed the glass back on the tray. Lips hot with desire pressed against Grace’s cheek, now
limp in the aftermath of her climax. The man’s murmuring became increasingly faint.
“Ung…”

By the time she regained her senses, they had already moved to the bed. Opening her eyes, Grace saw the man parting the bathrobe that wrapped her body.

“Huht!”

The moment her moistened n*pple was sucked into his mouth, a sharp pleasure surged through her. Her breath, which had finally just calmed, quickened once more.

As she moaned and twisted her body, she could feel her flesh harden firmly in his mouth.

The sounds of flesh being sucked and toyed with were loud. The man’s hands were greedy as they attempted to grasp and round the flesh that kept slipping away here and there. He was especially fixated on her breasts, which had grown too large for even his large hands to hold fully.

“Haa…”

Finally, his mouth left from the tip of her breast. The man, as breathless as Grace, grumbled in a discontented voice.

“I don’t want to share it.”

His hand squeezed the soft flesh forcefully, pushing up towards her n*pple as if trying to milk her. Ashamed, Grace tried to push his hand away, but he was relentless.

“Should I give one side at least? It’s hard to choose which one is better.”

Suddenly, he bent down.

“Uhng… don’t.”

Though familiar with the sensation of her n*pples being sucked, Grace couldn’t bear the embarrassment and tried to push him away. She knew his intentions of doing this, and it made it unbearable.

Regardless of her resistance, he leisurely alternated between each side, then licked his wet lips and murmured.

“Maybe it’s better to feed formula after all.”

Squeezing with both hands, the soft flesh squished into the shape of his hands.

“You’ll be overwhelmed with just me.”

Grace didn’t hide her disgust.

“You’re a hopeless pervert.”

“Shh, the baby might hear. It’s not good for the child’s education to disparage their father in front of it.”

With a solemn face, the man scolded Grace while spreading her thighs wide apart. Her gaze naturally followed the sensation of his touch. Now, she couldn’t see past her stomach, even looking down. Grace tried to cover herself, but he immediately stopped her.

“Beautiful.”

The man parted the bathrobe and planted kisses on her belly.

“No, you’re stunning.”

Lifting his head, he looked down at her with a smile. Where had the devil with the wicked smile gone just moments before? Startled by his affectionate smile, she flinched.

Leon Winston, behaving like a man in love. Had her strategy worked?

While she should be rejoicing, Grace couldn’t bring herself to smile and turned her gaze away.

No, Grace, please don’t forget your goal.

To deceive him, she had to deceive herself first.

Pretend to love. Pretend to love him.

She wrapped her arms around the man’s neck, repeating the same phrase to herself. Sensing her intent, he leaned in and enveloped her lips. Grace continued the act of a loving couple and exchanged soft kisses.

In the meantime, his hand ventured between her legs. After carefully ensuring she was sufficiently wet, he asked as she was breathing heavily,

“Can I enter?”

Asking for permission.

Grace hesitated for a moment. This was not the tone of someone who cruelly mocks a woman he’s conquered.

Was he really, genuinely asking? Had this man become immersed in her act? Just moments before, he seemed to toy with her casually, but now he was entirely different. Moreover, he patiently waited, not rushing the dazed Grace.

“…I already said you could.”

She reminded him when he asked to put it in the bathtub and tightened her arms around his neck.

“Making me ask twice, you’re mischievous.”

The moment she pouted her lips, embarrassed why he was asking again, something thick entered between her legs…

“Ah, hup…”

A kiss covered her mouth as she was about to moan.

The sounds of wet flesh clashing began to fill the bedroom, and thin moans intertwined between them with rough breaths.

It took Grace some time to find the rhythm of her breathing. The sensation of the man’s imposing member moving in and out of her, a feeling she had experienced countless times each day, was now a distant memory.

“Ah…”

With each light thrust from the man, her limbs slowly lost strength. In the end, her arms, which were previously wrapped around his neck, limply fell onto the bed.

As she writhed, flailed her limbs, and moaned, the man suddenly asked.

“Are you okay?”

At that moment, Grace doubted her ears and opened her half-closed eyes wide. His eyes, filled with concern and passion, looked intently down at her.

The eyes of a man in love.

Yes, he was doing well. Grace, you must act as if you’re in love as well.

“Ung… I’m okay.”

Covering her suddenly flushed cheeks with the back of her hand, she managed a shy smile, and the man smiled back. Her heart sank.

Was it the heat? Her mind was in turmoil amid the man’s constant gentle torment.

“If it’s too much, don’t hold back. Just tell me.”

His voice showed his contained passion. The hand that had been supporting her side moved to caress her face, sweeping back the strands of hair stuck to her sweaty cheek.

As he smiled gently again, Grace couldn’t hold back and shut her eyes tight. The movement of his hips resumed. The man supported her waist with one hand, as she was unable to support herself and moved his hips flexibly.

The bodies on the bed swayed like a boat on the sea.

It wasn’t the usual feeling of being caught in a rough storm. It was more like lying on gentle waves, softly undulating. The man was genuinely holding back, a fact Grace could sense from his movements.

Was he being cautious for the sake of the baby?

For a moment, Grace was stunned, and then she clenched her teeth.

…For the baby, what a ridiculous thought.

The baby was conceived for a calculated purpose. He was only being careful because the child needed to survive to fulfill his goals. Somehow sensing her thoughts, the once-still baby moved. Even amidst the thick pillar stirring her body, the baby’s movement was terrifyingly vivid.

Frightened, Grace lost her grip on sanity and clung to the devil who had planted this cursed life within her.

“Harder, faster.”

“Are you sure?”

“Do it, please.”

If only it could make her forget the pain, she welcomed the sordid pleasure. It was like understanding the mindset of those who still seek drugs even while knowing it would ruin them.

“Ah, aht…”

Grace pleaded again, and the man’s movements gained speed. Soon, everything began to feel distant, but the man was holding her and ravaging her insides. Though gentler compared to before, his precise targeting of her sensitive spots quickly engulfed her.

“Hah, hahk!”

Her vision turned blindingly bright. In the midst of it, someone was looking down at her.

The devil wasn’t there.

Not the man who had violated her on that agonizing summer night, with her mind wandering like a ghost with an unkept promise.

Only the boy from Abbington Beach.

In the ecstasy compared to a first love’s thrill, she smiled unwittingly, and the boy smiled back. Grace reached out to the boy. He leaned his cheek on it and tenderly kissed her palm.

It’s okay.

We didn’t go wrong back then.

She was supposed to deceive the man, but foolishly, she had deceived herself. She had made the mistake of falling into the illusion that this moment wasn’t tainted by schemes but was a time of genuine love.

“Leon.”

The moment she heard herself call the boy’s name, her mind snapped back to reality as if doused with cold water. What happened last time she had called out the man’s name rapidly replayed in her mind.

It was ruined. She had ruined everything.

Grace, in despair that the efforts of the past few months had come to nothing because of this single word, closed her eyes as she waited for the tragedy that was about to come to her.

__