Brian's father had been the cause of this pity.
Brian's father was one of those powerful CEOs who never believed beautiful women should be left alone for too long.
He was careful and secretive, not because he respected boundaries, but because he knew his wife's temper well. She was explosive, sharp-tongued, and relentless. A woman married to her work more than to her husband, she lived for schedules, negotiations, and endless nights buried in documents.
Despite being married to a man wealthy enough to buy entire districts, she remained a workaholic. When she returned home, she didn't indulge in luxury. She ate mechanically, barely spoke, and slept as though her body had finally shut down after running nonstop.
Brian's father never minded.
If his wife had no time or energy for him, there were always other women willing to fill that space.
One day, his wife fell seriously ill and her assistant was sent to deliver urgent files to their mansion. The girl was young, beautiful, and efficient, someone Brian's father had noticed long before that day. He had always kept his distance, knowing his wife would never tolerate even the smallest hint of impropriety.
But that day, control slipped.
He had just returned from a trip when he heard shouting echoing down the hallway. He wasn't surprised. His wife was proud, volatile, and easily provoked. If not for his size and well-built frame, he sometimes wondered if she might have actually tried to lay hands on him during her outbursts.
Everything irritated her.
The money she earned through sleepless nights and relentless ambition was rarely spent. She had no time to enjoy it, no patience to rest.
"You think he'd be home so you could seduce him, huh? You shameless slut!"
He was already standing near the door of her home office when those words reached him.
Then came the sound of fabric tearing.
He opened the door at the same moment.
What he saw rooted him in place.
The assistant stood frozen, her clothes torn messily, barely holding together as she struggled to cover herself. The thin fabric she'd been trying to put back on did little to hide her. His eyes widened before he could stop himself.
She quickly covered herself with her hands and turned away, her back facing him.
Fear was written plainly on her face. She had been accused of plotting to seduce her boss's husband and now, to her horror, he had walked in on her like this.
The room was tense, suffocating.
Her clothes were ripped beyond repair, and his wife's nails had even left faint marks on her skin. What was meant to be humiliation turned violent in its own way. The woman had immediately felt irritated at the sight of her assistance that looked like the version of her that had been lost due to extreme stress from work and nonstop travels.
She wanted to disgrace her assistance to vent off her insecurities.
Instead, she awakened something dangerous in her husband.
He couldn't bring himself to look away from the girl's trembling back, smooth and unmarked, until his wife's voice rose again, hurling insult after insult at her.
It was a terrible day.
He forced himself to turn away and leave the room. Behind him came the sharp sounds of slaps and shrill screeches. His wife couldn't stomach the fact that her husband saw her assistant almost naked. She forgot the fact that she had been the one to cause the situation.
He shook his head as he walked down the hallway, but the image refused to leave him, the girl's frightened eyes, her golden irises, the way her body had fit so perfectly within his gaze.
Lewd thoughts consumed him.
Days passed, and his desire only grew.
Fortunately for him or unfortunately, depending on perspective, his wife's condition worsened. Years of neglecting rest finally caught up with her. She was admitted into one of his own hospitals and placed under strict supervision. Doctors forbade her from working until she fully recovered.
She agreed outwardly.
Internally, she resisted.
She was the type who believed nothing could be perfect without her involvement. Every file, every decision had to pass through her hands to be deemed acceptable.
The moment she felt even slightly better, she demanded her laptop. She ordered her assistant to retrieve it from the mansion.
The girl hesitated.
Since the incident, she had avoided her boss's husband as much as possible. She hoped she would never have to step foot in that house again.
But she needed the job.
She depended on it to survive.
Opportunity presented itself, and Brian's father seized it without hesitation.
He believed everyone had a price.
Money.
The girl worked for money. And he could offer far more than she earned, enough to cover two full years of her salary. He could also ensure his wife treated her better, shield her from further abuse.
But she refused.
She said she loved her job. She said if she wanted to sell herself, she wouldn't be struggling so much to please her boss. She'd received offers like his before and had rejected them all.
She thought she was safe because the maids were around.
She was wrong.
With a single command, the house emptied.
Doors locked.
Silence swallowed the room.
He made it clear she couldn't escape. That it would be easier to close her eyes and endure it just once, or he could force her hand.
Either way, he said, his wife would scream, and the blame would fall on her.
She refused again, saying she would rather quit.
In most situations, he might have backed down.
But not after seeing how beautiful the body beneath her yellow long-sleeved shirt truly was.
Understanding where the situation was heading and unwilling to live with the memory replaying endlessly in her mind, she chose to fight.
She stopped being the quiet, accommodating assistant.
She attacked him with anything within reach.
Then she heard his voice, calm, amused.
"Complete lockdown of the room, Sheila."
"Yes, master."
The robotic voice echoed through the space, and his smile widened at the terror on her face.
"This isn't a big deal," he said lightly. "Tomorrow, we can pretend we're strangers. Don't make me use force."
To him, it was all a game.
He never took anything seriously unless it served his interests.
When she accused him of already using force, he chuckled, telling her she wouldn't want to see what he truly meant by that word.
As he advanced, she threw everything she could reach. He dodged each object easily, almost entertained, smiling mockingly as her strength drained away.
Once she was exhausted, he started again, calmly outlining how his wife would accuse her of seduction, how he would play the innocent victim.
It would be easier to give in now, he said. He promised he would never bother her again.
With no way out and no strength left to fight, she gave in.
But things did not unfold the way he expected.