Chapter 31 The Honeymoon Routine
The days had settled into a dangerous rhythm that felt almost normal. Elena woke up hopeful each morning, took her new medication with religious precision, and spent her evenings planning every detail of their expanding future. She spoke about baby names over dinner, showed Marcus nursery color swatches on her phone, and kissed him with genuine affection before bed. To the outside world, they looked like the perfect newlywed couple building their life together.
Marcus played his part flawlessly during daylight hours. He held her when she needed comfort, laughed at her jokes, and made love to her with careful tenderness on the nights her temperature chart said it mattered most. But the moment Elena fell asleep, the mask slipped away. The real version of him emerged, hungry and restless, already moving toward the room down the hall.
Lucy had stopped pretending she was just a temporary distraction. She waited for him every night with quiet certainty, her body ready, her eyes knowing exactly what he needed after giving his wife hope.
Tonight was no different. Elena had fallen asleep with her head on Marcus’s chest after another round of careful, loving sex meant to create their child. She whispered “I love you” as her eyes drifted shut, full of trust and quiet excitement about the medication finally working.
Marcus waited until her breathing deepened, then carefully extracted himself from her arms. The walk down the hallway had become muscle memory, yet each step still carried fresh conflict. He hated how easy it had become. He hated how much he looked forward to it.
Lucy’s door opened before he even touched the handle. She stood there in the moonlight wearing only a thin slip, her nipples already tight with anticipation. “She’s asleep?” she asked softly.
Marcus answered by pulling her against him and kissing her deeply, his hands sliding under the slip to grip her bare ass. There was no slow seduction tonight. He backed her toward the bed, pushed her down, and entered her in one smooth thrust. Lucy moaned into his mouth as he began to move, deep and steady, claiming what had become his secret reward after performing his husbandly duty.
The difference between the two women had never felt more stark. With Elena, sex had become purposeful and gentle, focused on creation and connection. With Lucy, it remained raw and consuming. Marcus fucked her with long, powerful strokes, savoring the way her body welcomed him so eagerly after he had just been inside his wife.
“You still taste like her,” Lucy whispered against his ear, her nails dragging down his back. “Does that turn you on? Knowing you just tried to get her pregnant and now you’re emptying the rest into me?”
Marcus groaned and drove into her harder, the filthy truth only heightening his arousal. He flipped her onto her stomach and took her from behind, one hand covering her mouth to keep her quiet while the other gripped her hip. The bed creaked under them in a rhythm that would have been unmistakable if Elena were awake.
Every thrust carried layers of conflict. He loved his wife. He wanted to give her the baby she desperately prayed for. Yet here he was, buried deep in her daughter, chasing a pleasure that felt darker and more real than anything he shared with Elena.
After they both came, Marcus stayed inside Lucy for a long moment, breathing hard against her neck. The guilt hit him harder tonight than usual. Elena’s hopeful face from earlier that evening kept flashing through his mind. She was taking medication now, putting her body through changes, all while believing her husband was fully committed to their future.
Lucy turned her head to look at him. “You’re thinking about her again,” she said quietly. There was no accusation in her voice, only tired understanding. “Every night it gets worse. You fuck me like you’re trying to punish yourself for wanting this.”
Marcus pulled out and sat on the edge of the bed, running both hands over his face. “I don’t know how much longer I can keep doing this. She’s starting to notice things. The way I zone out. The way I sometimes can’t look her in the eye after I leave your room.”
Lucy sat up behind him and rested her chin on his shoulder. “Then make a choice. Her or this. Because pretending is going to break all three of us eventually.”
The words landed heavily. Marcus knew she was right, but the thought of choosing felt impossible. Walking away from Lucy meant losing the only thing that made him feel truly alive. Staying meant destroying the woman he had promised to love and protect.
Later that night, after Marcus had slipped back into the master bedroom and lain down beside his sleeping wife, Elena stirred. She turned toward him in the darkness and nestled against his chest, her hand resting over his heart.
“I’ve been thinking,” she murmured sleepily, her voice soft and full of quiet longing. “Once the medication really kicks in, I want to try even more intentionally. I want this baby soon, Marcus. I want our family to start growing.”
Marcus swallowed hard and kissed the top of her head, murmuring agreement. But his mind was still in the room down the hall, still feeling Lucy’s body wrapped around him, still tasting the guilt on his tongue.
Elena had spoken her deepest desire out loud. She wanted a baby soon. And Marcus knew that every attempt to give her that dream would be followed by him immediately seeking relief in the arms of her daughter.
The honeymoon phase of their marriage had ended. What remained was a carefully maintained illusion, growing more fragile with every passing night.