Ficorpio
Chapter 1
My boss had risen through his wife’s family connections.
I had risen because he had promoted me.
He was afraid his wife would discover the truth, so he introduced his beautiful secretary to me as my girlfriend at the time.
That gave me an excuse to visit his house more often and show my gratitude.
When my boss introduced his secretary to me, his wife was delighted. She had suspected the two of them before, but she figured that if he had introduced the woman to me, they must have been completely innocent.
She wasn’t wrong to think that. Eleanor Sterling trusted me deeply. She had me handle all sorts of things for her, including many private matters.
Adrian allowed it. In fact, he told me to do everything I could to satisfy his wife’s requests.
I told myself I was only repaying the debt I owed him.
Whenever my thoughts started wandering into dangerous territory, that was how I reassured myself.
I lived that way for years without ever considering touching her. Adrian had made it clear that I was not to lay a hand on Eleanor, and I had no interest in doing so anyway.
Originally, Adrian intended for me to date Claire for a year or two. Then we would break up on the grounds that we weren’t right for each other, and Eleanor would merely feel sorry for us.
But toward the end of that year, Adrian suddenly changed his mind.
He told me to stay with Claire indefinitely. He even ordered me to marry her, claiming it would bring me enormous benefits.
I asked, “Wouldn’t marrying her be a little much?”
“That way, she can continue working for me,” he explained. “And she can appear openly in front of my wife without raising suspicion.”
I didn’t dare say no.
Several years passed. Adrian’s political power was at its peak, but his performance in bed had begun to decline noticeably.
Claire was the one who told me. She said she was only twenty-nine.
After that, she began dressing rather lightly whenever she was around me. Sometimes she barely wore enough even when the weather was bitterly cold.
I once said, “You must have an incredible tolerance for the cold.”
She looked at me and replied, “You must have an incredible tolerance for temptation.”
Sometimes she would move close to me and ask, “If I got involved with someone else, would you tell him?”
I knew exactly who she meant by him: my boss, Adrian Sterling.
Her question left me completely stunned.
I had never imagined such a situation, much less considered how I would deal with it. I didn’t even know whether Adrian had instructed her to ask me that as some kind of test.
I pretended to be calm, looked her straight in the eye, and asked, “What are you trying to do?”
“Nothing.” Claire shrugged. “I’m a person, you know. I’m a woman who’s almost thirty. You know what they say about women nearing thirty, don’t you?”
I said, “He’s treated you pretty well. If it weren’t for him—”
Chapter 2
Adrian had given her plenty of benefits. He had even bought her a house.
Before, she and Adrian had often met there.
Now, she was staying with me in my apartment.
Mine was nowhere near as nice as hers. My place was only middle-class, while hers was in the Sterling Estate Compound, one of the most exclusive gated communities in the city.
“He has treated me well,” she said. “But he’s almost retired.”
“That’s not what I mean by him being finished,” I said. “You know what I’m talking about.”
“You should have thought of that before getting involved with him.”
Claire let out a quiet scoff. “I’m asking whether you would tell him.”
I didn’t answer.
“I knew you’d tell him,” she said.
I remained silent.
Then she suddenly said, “Fine. Why don’t I cheat on him with you?”
She reached for me.
“Wait. No, that’s not right. It would be perfectly legal and reasonable. We’re already boyfriend and girlfriend. If I were with you, you wouldn’t tell him, would you?”
I hurriedly stepped away.
The color drained from her face. Her chest rose and fell as she stared at me.
“Am I really that unattractive?” she demanded.
“At least not to each other,” I said. “We shouldn’t do this.”
Then I left.
I didn’t return until late that night. Claire’s bedroom door was only half closed.
I quickly went into the spare room and shut the door.
Fortunately, she never came to knock.
Everyone at work knew that Claire and I were together. They kept asking when we were going to get married.
I always gave them the same answer.
“It’s too soon. We’ve got plenty of time.”
“Too soon?” my coworkers would say. “You’ve been together for five or six years. You work in the same organization, so it’s not like your careers are pulling you in different directions. What are you waiting for?”
“We still have things to sort out,” I would reply vaguely.
Since everyone at work knew Claire and I were together, finding another girlfriend within our professional circle was impossible. If I wanted to meet someone, she had to be an outsider.
Then one day, while I was shopping, I noticed a quiet-looking young woman standing on tiptoe, trying to reach a bag of snacks on the top shelf.
I stepped over and took it down for her.
“Thank you,” she said, her voice soft and pleasant.
We started talking. When she heard where I worked, her eyes brightened with interest. I seized the opportunity and added her on WeChat.
Her name was Maya Brooks, and she used her real name for her account.
After we parted, we began messaging each other regularly. But I never told her I already had a girlfriend—Claire Hayes, Adrian Sterling’s secretary, whom Adrian himself had paired me with.
I knew what would happen if Maya found out.
More than once, I wanted to tell her the truth, but I had no idea whether she would understand, let alone accept it.
I did, however, tell Adrian that I had met her. He required me to report everything happening in my personal life.
Chapter 3
He didn’t forbid me from seeing Maya. He merely warned me to be careful—just as careful as he and Claire always were.
I cautiously asked whether Claire and I could break up.
His answer was still no.
Then, in the patient tone of a mentor explaining something for my own good, he said, “You and Claire have been together for five or six years. Everyone here knows about you. If you suddenly break up, people will ask questions. The best thing you can do is marry her. That will put me in a better position to promote you and see how far we can take your career.
“You need to build a respectable public image, Ethan. You can’t afford a scandal right now. There’s more than one pair of eyes watching you. I have six years left before retirement, and I expect they’ll move me into some ceremonial position with no real authority within two or three. Once that happens, I won’t be able to help you nearly as much. You need to act while I still can.”
Every word made it sound as though he had only my interests at heart.
But I knew what he truly feared. As retirement approached, the last thing he wanted was a private scandal threatening what remained of his public power.
Claire was the first to realize I had someone else.
One evening, she asked, “Why are you always glued to your phone? Who are you messaging?”
Another time, a voice call came through. I hurried into the spare room and shut the door before answering. When I eventually opened it again, Claire was standing in the hallway outside.
I couldn’t tell whether she had heard anything.
I only knew what happened later, when I drove to a mall to meet Maya.
Claire appeared without warning. Before either of us could react, she slapped Maya across the face.
“You home-wrecking bitch!” Claire shouted. “How dare you go after my boyfriend?”
I grabbed her arm before she could strike again.
“Stop it!” I snapped.
I told her to quit shouting. If she turned this into a public spectacle, none of us would benefit.
Claire understood that as well as I did. Fortunately, the mall wasn’t crowded, and no one had taken out a phone to record us. Once the confrontation appeared to be over, the handful of bystanders wandered away, looking almost disappointed that there wouldn’t be a bigger scene.
Maya stared at me, humiliated and furious.
“Explain,” she demanded.
Claire folded her arms. “Go ahead, Ethan. Explain.”
Before I could get the words out, Maya slapped me hard across the face and walked away.
I ran after her, but she had already climbed into a cab. By the time I reached my car, it was pulling away.
I followed her all the way home.
I stood outside her door calling her name and begging her to let me explain. It took what felt like forever before she finally opened it.
My whole body trembled as I apologized. Then I told her everything—from Adrian ordering Claire and me to maintain a public relationship, to the affair he was hiding, to the reason I had never been allowed to end things with her.