Chapter 7.

“Neither of us has any issues, so why haven’t you gotten pregnant yet, Han?”

Prane sounded like he was talking to himself. Hana, already about to step into the bathroom, turned to look at her husband but said nothing. She went inside and closed the door.

What’s wrong with Hana? She’s been acting strange since yesterday.

Prane muttered to himself.

His phone rang. He checked the screen—his mother.

“Yes, Mom.”

He answered after swiping the screen.

“Did you go to the hospital? So, which one of you is infertile? It’s not you, right? None of my children have fertility problems.”

Her voice came through clearly.

“We’re both fine. Hana and I are both fertile.”

“Then why isn’t Hana pregnant yet?”

Prane hesitated. He felt awkward telling his mother what the doctor had said.

“The doctor said maybe we—”

“What? You’re not trying hard enough? Go on vacation. A second honeymoon or something. Don’t just work all the time. What’s the point of accumulating wealth if you don’t have children?”

“Yes, Mom. I’ll talk to Hana about it.”

He wanted to stop her from going on.

“Where’s Hana? Let me talk to her.”

“She’s in the bathroom. I’ll tell her, okay?”

“Fine. Don’t forget. You need to be more intimate with each other. If necessary, three times a day so Hana gets pregnant soon.”

The line went dead. Prane exhaled heavily.

“Who was that?” Hana emerged from the bathroom.

“Mom. She asked about the test results. Then she said—”

He approached Hana and wrapped his arms around her from behind, nuzzling the back of her neck. That was one of her sensitive spots. Normally, she would melt when he did that.

Her skin prickled as he pressed soft kisses along her neck.

“I miss you, sweetheart.”

He murmured, trailing his lips and tongue over her neck, moving toward the front.

Hana had begun to respond to his touch, but the flash of Prane exchanging saliva with Ranti crossed her mind, and she jolted.

“It’s still daytime.”

She pulled his arms away from her waist.

“Since when is there a time restriction for us to do it?”

He sounded reluctant to accept her refusal.

Before. Before you betrayed me and got involved with Ranti. We could do it anytime we wanted. But not now.

She kept the thought to herself.

“I’m tired.”

She hoped he wouldn’t get angry.

“Alright, rest now. Tonight we can—”

He winked playfully. Hana felt like throwing up. That wink, which once made her laugh happily, now only disgusted her.

Prane left the room, probably calling one of his employees to ask them to drive her car home. But Hana no longer cared what he did. She needed sleep. She was exhausted.

—

Hana woke to the sensation of her neck and chest feeling damp, mixed with warm breath sweeping across her skin. Her eyes flew open when she realized Prane was on top of her, still working on the hollow of her neck.

She immediately pulled away.

Prane’s face fell with disappointment.

“What time is it?”

She asked, still groggy.

“Seven in the evening, sweetheart. Are you hungry? Or should we do it first, then eat?”

“Why didn’t you wake me up?”

“You were sleeping so deeply. I didn’t have the heart to disturb you.”

You didn’t have the heart to wake me, but you had no problem betraying me.

She grumbled internally.

“You should have woken me up before sunset. Not let me keep sleeping.”

Her voice carried irritation.

She knew her prayers weren’t always consistent, but letting someone sleep through the evening prayer just because they didn’t want to disturb them—that wasn’t right either. Maybe Prane himself wasn’t diligent about prayers, so he didn’t care whether it was sunset or not.

She got up quickly and went to the bathroom.

“What are you doing?” Prane asked, watching her spread out her prayer mat.

“Praying. What else?”

“Which prayer?” She rolled her eyes.

“The evening prayer, even though it’s very late. Better than not praying at all.”

Prane smiled awkwardly.

Oh God, forgive me if I’m doing this not out of obligation, but to avoid my own husband.

She began her prayer.

Prane, feeling uncomfortable, left the room.

—

After dinner, Prane started pressing himself against Hana again. He was acting like an eager tomcat. Hana knew it had been several days since they’d been intimate. Usually, they had a regular pattern, and when Prane’s stress built up, he would release it that way. Now he hadn’t.

“What are you doing, fidgeting like a child?”

Hana protested as he kept nuzzling her, even though they were sitting in the living room. Nina, their household assistant, was trying to hide a shy smile at her employer’s behavior. Hana felt embarrassed.

“We need to do it more often, Han. So you can get pregnant. That’s what the doctor said.”

Prane whispered in her ear.

“I know. But I’m embarrassed in front of Nina.”

She shifted her body slightly to create distance.

“Mom suggested we go on a second honeymoon. What do you think?”

“Honeymoon?” Hana repeated.

“Yes. I’ll wrap up some urgent work, then we can take a vacation. Where do you want to go?”

He took her hand, rubbing it gently. He seemed so affectionate. If it weren’t for Ranti, this would just be a brief pleasure.

“I have a lot of work. Several client orders aren’t finished.”

“Can’t you finish them later?”

He coaxed her. Remembering what his mother had said, Hana realized Prane would likely demand she fulfill her marital duties tonight.

Oh no. I need to find a reason to avoid it.

She asked herself silently.

“Fine. Let me draw and don’t disturb me. So I can finish the client orders, then we can go on the honeymoon.”

She finally agreed. Whether it actually happened later was a problem for another time.

“Really?”

She nodded.

“Okay, sweetheart. Go draw. I won’t disturb you. But don’t stay up too late. I really miss you. Remember, it’s been days since we’ve been intimate. I’m already feeling full.”

He pointed with his eyes toward his lower body. Hana caught the lecherous look and felt a chill of disgust. She hurried to her workspace.

Prane chuckled softly, thinking she was just embarrassed by his teasing. In reality, Hana felt nauseated by his hypocritical behavior.

You think I want you to touch me after what you did?

She muttered under her breath.

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