Chapter 51

Julian stood frozen, utterly speechless at the scene unfolding before him. His chest tightened with each thrust he witnessed, every guttural moan piercing him like a blade. It was as though his very breath had been snatched away, his heart constricting and wrenching as if something invisible choked the life from him. This—this raw, shameless display—was the last thing he’d expected when he arrived here. All he’d hoped for was the quiet comfort he’d been denied at his father’s house, the solace he believed he’d find with Clara, his girlfriend. Instead, a crushing wave of shame and disgust overcame him, heavier than anything he’d felt before.

He watched Clara’s cries of pleasure as though distanced by glass. He couldn’t speak; words of protest lodged halfway in his throat, rendered useless. His voice, usually so quick to rise in anger or pain, had abandoned him. Desperate, he turned on his heel and fled towards the door. He’d poured his entire self into this relationship—heart,