The Baby from a Germaphobe’s Forbidden Affair

Start Reading

My wife, Victoria, has a pathological aversion to being touched by men. The slightest contact sends her into a violent episode.

Out of respect for her condition, I never touched her after we were married.

But accidents happened. Twice.

The first time, she had an episode and stabbed me. Thirty-eight stitches.

The second time, she locked me in an old industrial freezer. The frostbite nearly cost me my leg.

After that, I never dared to touch her again. I was so afraid of triggering her that I kept a constant three-foot distance between us.

But on the day I buried my cat, I saw my wifewho was supposed to be on a business triphaving dinner with her male assistant.

Her gaze was tender, her eyes filled with an affection Id never seen directed at me. They kissed on the street, a long, desperate embrace that seemed to go on forever...

Just then, my phone rang. It was the hospital, the doctors voice buzzing with excitement.

"Mr. Otto, regarding Mrs. Otto's condition, we've found a breakthrough treatment"

I watched the assistants hand slide under the fabric of Victorias dress and let out a bitter, mocking laugh.

"It doesn't matter anymore. We won't be needing it."

"What? Why? This new therapy protocol has a near-certain chance of success..." the doctor pleaded, but I wasn't listening.

I lifted my head, a glutton for punishment, and forced myself to watch them. The assistant was now nestled in her arms, his fingers roaming freely. And Victoria, the woman who flew into a rage at the slightest touch, showed no reaction at all.

I looked down at the chaotic web of scars on my arm, the phantom pains stealing my breath.

Maybe this was the price I had to pay.

The price for falling in love with the wrong person.

I ended the call and walked away. A cold rain began to fall, and a dull ache throbbed in my leg. All because Id once reached out to steady Victoria when she stumbled. For that simple act of concern, she locked me away to freeze.

Suddenly, the five years I had dedicated to this marriage felt like a pathetic joke.

When Victoria came home, she found me sitting on the sofa. She stormed over and slapped me hard across the face.

"What have I told you? You are not to sit on my sofa without putting down a protective cover!"

She raised her hand to strike me again but stopped, her expression twisting in what looked like agony. I vaguely remembered a time shed told me she loved me very much. Shed claimed that she was trying so hard to control her phobia that she managed not to stab me that day.

A humorless smile touched my lips. "Victoria."

"You say you love me. Prove it."

I extended my hand toward her.

Victoria held her ground, her knuckles turning white as she clenched her fists. But just as my fingertips were about to graze her cheek, she flinched away.

In the end, she smashed the ceramic mug Id spent three days crafting for her, used a shard to slice open her own wrist, and fled the room.

I watched her go, my expression hardening into a cold mask.

I remembered the time Id been so thirsty after a long day of work that Id accidentally used her teacup. She stabbed me thirty-eight times for that. At the hospital, shed feigned remorse.

"Sean, you know how severe my condition is. Don't touch my things again. You'll trigger an episode."

Seeing my pale face, how close Id come to death, Victoria forced herself to give me a brief, stiff hug.

"Sean, it's all my fault, this psychological disorder. I am so, so sorry."

"From now on, just be careful. Sanitize everything, and don't touch me so much, and we can still have a good life."

"Once my condition improves a little more, I'll even have a baby for you, okay?"

Id always wanted children, but I never brought it up, for her sake.

I truly believed she was just sick. I endured everything.

Until Alex appeared.

Until I realized Id been played for a fool.

Victoria went to take a shower, an obsessive ritual she performed even if I hadn't touched her. I went to the bedroom and started packing. It was time to leave this place, a home that no longer felt like mine.

The noise must have alerted her. Victoria emerged from the bathroom, a towel wrapped around her.

"Going on a business trip?"

When I didnt answer, her brow furrowed. "Are you throwing a tantrum? Just because I wouldn't let you touch me?"

I shook my head. "There's an emergency at a branch office I need to handle."

It was a lie. I just couldn't stand the sight of her.

Victoria stared at me, her expression unreadable. After a long moment, as if making a great sacrifice, she began to unbutton her silk robe.

Her tone was clipped, impatient. "Wipe that miserable look off your face. Fine. You can have me this once. Will that make you happy?"

The next second, she froze, her face a mask of disbelief. "You're recoiling from me!"

I said nothing, simply putting more distance between us.

Sensing the shift in me, she grew agitated. "I'm fighting back my revulsion to offer myself to you, and this is how you react? What more do you want?!"

Still, I was silent.

Victoria clicked her tongue in annoyance and pulled a small gift box from her pocket. "I bought you a ring. Stop this childish nonsense."

Her tone was that of someone tossing scraps to a dog.

I thought of the social media post Alex had made just a few minutes earlier. This ring was nothing but a cheap, complimentary gift that came with the luxury watch shed bought him.

I didn't touch it. My voice was calm, detached.

"Let's get a divorce, Victoria."

Before she could respond, her phone buzzed with a notification. It was clearly a text message. She instinctively angled the screen away from me and began typing a reply.

The look on her face was one Id never seen before, a soft, intimate tenderness.

An eternity passed, or maybe it was only a minute. Victoria finished her conversation, a reluctant fondness still lingering in her eyes, and looked up at me.

"What were you saying?"

I clenched my fists. It felt like punching a pillow, all my anger and pain dissipating into nothing. A suffocating pressure built in my chest. Her phone's wallpaper, I now noticed, was the silhouette of a man from behind, a man who looked strikingly like Alex. Every time she saw it, her mood seemed to lift.

She had never, not once, looked at me that way.

So when Alex showed up at my office, smugly sliding a legal document across my desk for me to sign, I didn't hesitate. I landed a solid punch square on his jaw.

He crumpled to the floor, howling. "Sean, you hit me! If Victoria finds out about this, she'll make you pay!"

I was about to hit him again when Victoria burst in, shoving me so hard I stumbled and fell. Her face was dark with fury as she shot me a glacial look.

"Sean, don't you dare go too far."

She knelt, gently helping Alex to his feet.

I laughed, the sound sharp with irony. "What's wrong? Your phobia suddenly cured?"

Victoria flushed with anger, but she tried to maintain a facade of righteousness. "Do you have any idea how a public assault charge would affect the company?! I'm protecting you!"

I snatched the document Alex had brought and threw it at her. "Then explain this."

The words were there in stark black and white. A contract, asking for my consent for Victoria and Alex to conceive a child.

A twisted smile played on my lips. "We're not even divorced, and he's already parading this in my face, demanding you carry his child. Tell me, shouldn't I have hit him?"

I got to my feet, ready to slap that smirk off Alex's face.

Victoria stepped between us, shielding him. "Sean, have you made enough of a scene?" Her eyes were filled with disgust. "Alex was just joking."

"Honestly, this just proves you don't trust me. Sean, I was so wrong about you."

Listen to that. So noble, so self-righteous. As if everything was my fault.

Victoria was always conscious of her public image, carefully cultivating the persona of a gentle, devoted wife. This was the first time shed ever dropped the act, openly demeaning me without a care for who was watching.

"So, Victoria, are you really going to have his child?"

I expected a denial, but she remained silent. Sometimes, silence is an admission.

"Yes," she finally said, her voice firm. "Sean, Alex is the only man whose touch doesn't trigger my phobia."

"The Vaughn family needs an heir. I just want to get pregnant and secure the succession."

"Once the baby is born, I'll fire Alex, and we can go back to how things were."

The absurdity of it all was suffocating. "Victoria, are you even listening to yourself?"

My tone seemed to infuriate her. She shot to her feet. "Don't you dare be so selfish, Sean! Don't you care about my life at all?"

"Alex is the only one who doesn't cause a reaction! Do you think I want to be with another man? I'm doing all this to give you a child!"

In the next instant, I swung my hand and slapped her across the face.

A red mark bloomed on her cheek. She didn't flinch, just stared at me, her voice quiet. "Are you satisfied now?"

"Alex has already sacrificed enough for us. I can't just abandon him." She positioned herself in front of him, a human shield. Her stance made her allegiance perfectly clear.

I suddenly remembered the first time I met Alex.

Victoria had explained, "This is Alex, my new assistant. He's very diligent."

"Sean, weren't you supposed to be at the branch office?"

Her tone softened now, a calculated retreat. "Let's go home. We're making a scene."

I let out a cold laugh. "Victoria, I tried to catch you when you fell, and you stabbed me. I accidentally sat on your precious sofa, and you locked me in a freezer. I've given you years of my life, and this is what I get in return? And you have the nerve to call me unreasonable?"

Victoria looked exhausted. "I apologized, didn't I? What more do you want?"

"Besides, I even forced myself to kiss you afterward, didn't I?"

Forced herself? The word was like a knife in my heart.

I couldn't help but laugh, a raw, painful sound.

"If being with me is so disgusting for you, then let's just get a divorce."

Hiding behind Victoria, a triumphant glint flashed in Alex's eyes, though his expression was one of feigned distress. "Vicky, this is all my fault."

"If I hadn't been trying to help, your husband wouldn't be so upset."

Victoria sighed. "It's not your fault, Alex. It's Sean. He can't see the bigger picture. All he does is throw tantrums."

She took a deep breath, her voice turning placatingly gentle. "Sean, stop this. If you can just agree to this arrangement, I promise I'll give you a proper wedding."

That's right. We'd been married for years and never had a wedding. Back then, our business was just starting out. I understood. I thought she was too busy.

Now I knew the truth. She wasn't busy. She just didn't think I was worthy of one.

But I was no longer the man who saw his entire world in her eyes.

"Fine," I said.

A smile instantly bloomed on Victoria's face. "You finally understand"

Her words were cut off by a scream.

I had picked up a heavy ceramic serving platter from a nearby table and hurled it directly at her.

"Don't hurt Vicky!" Alex shouted, diving in front of her.

The platter shattered against his head with a sickening crack. Blood streamed down his face.

Victorias face went deathly pale. "Alex!"

She cradled him in her arms, her voice a soothing murmur. "Alex, don't be scared, I'm taking you to the hospital right now!"

As she left, she shot me a look of pure, unadulterated hatred.

And in that moment, I knew.

Victoria would not let me go easily.

But before she could make her next move, I glanced up at the security camera on the wall.

The cold, impartial lens had recorded everything.

If all went according to plan, by tonight, Victoria Vaughn's reputation would be in ruins.

Victoria, my love for you was the only reason I ever tolerated your cruelty.

But Im not in love with you anymore. And its time you learned just how ruthless I can be.

Sure enough, an hour later, the headline #VaughnHeiressCheatsWithAssistant,ForcesHusbandIntoSurrogacyContract# was trending nationwide.

My phone blew up with calls from her.

"Sean! Get that story taken down right now! Do you want me to divorce you, is that it?!"

I hung up and blocked her number without a second thought.

She used a different number to send a barrage of texts.

"Sean, do you have any idea how much damage this will do to the company?!"

"Sean, I know you're angry, but don't abuse your power like this. What about our employees? They're innocent."

"Fine! I won't have a baby with Alex, alright? Is that what you want to hear?"

I turned off my phone and looked across the table at the top divorce lawyer in the city.

"Let's continue."

I handed him a file. "I need you to look at this. Is this prenuptial divorce agreement still valid?"

Nine years ago, Victoria had signed a blank divorce agreement. Our love was new then, and her eyes shone with warmth.

"Sean, this is my promise to you," she had said. "My guarantee. If I ever change, or if you ever want to leave, all you have to do is sign."

Our marriage had been good after that. Despite the lack of physical intimacy, it was warm, happy. She would rush home from her busy schedule just to cook for me.

I thought that happiness would last a lifetime.

I never imagined that lifetime would be so short.

Before I discovered her affair, the thought of divorce had never crossed my mind. Aside from her severe phobia, Victoria had been a considerate and attentive partner in every other way.

My love for her could withstand the pain.

But it couldn't withstand being treated like an utter fool.

The lawyer reviewed the document carefully. "Mr. Otto, this agreement is ironclad. It remains fully valid today. All it needs is your signature."

I signed it on the spot and handed it back.

"Good. I want this divorce finalized as quickly as possible."