"Hi. I heard you can arrange a selection of men. Is that right?"
The very next day, a "male best friend" appeared in our home.
Brian would make up excuses about working late and sneak off to see Joan.
The second he walked out the door, I'd call Mervyn to come over for a candlelit dinner.
Brian spent five thousand dollars buying Joan clothes and handbags.
I turned around and swiped his card for a luxury watch worth ten times that, a gift for Mervyn.
One night I found lipstick on Brian's collar.
The next morning, I personally knotted Mervyn's tie in front of him, all smiles and affection.
Brian's eyes went red with fury, and something inside me finally unclenched.
That evening, Brian didn't leave after all.
He couldn't stomach the thought of me, drugged with an aphrodisiac, alone in a room with a strange man.
So he decided to play the antidote himself.
He loosened his tie, undid a few buttons on his shirt, and backed me into the corner.
"Eleanor, seeing you suffer like this... as your husband, I just can't bear it."
"Isn't this all because you're jealous?"
"Tonight, I'll keep you company..."
But before he could get any closer, I raked my nails across his face.
"Don't touch me. You disgust me."