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The house was enormous, with each room decorated in its own unique color and style.

When the kids had friends over, they could run wild without restraint—there was no one around to complain about the noise.

We also had a vegetable garden, an herb garden, a small orchard, and a pool that naturally attracted friends in the summer.

It was, indeed, a little paradise, one my parents had left me, and where we lived as a happy family.

At least that’s what everyone believed—including my wife, my children, and my in-laws.

It wasn’t that I was unhappy, but the secret about the callboys was something I had been living with for fourteen years.

It had been so long that I no longer even questioned whether I was okay with it or not. I simply didn’t know any different.

My house of cards was stable, and that’s how it should stay.

The mere thought of anyone finding out and having to answer questions—a nightmare!

I preferred to keep this little secret to myself, believing it would make everyone happy.

I loved my wife, and this gay thing was just something that happened on the side. Occasionally. Nothing more.

A quick hand sanitization, and everything’s fine.

I quietly closed the car door and massaged the sanitizer into my hands as I walked down the gravel path to the house. Although there was no way to sneak through the front door, the bedrooms were on the upper floors, so no one was awakened.

I removed my shoes and climbed the stairs to the top floor, where the kitchen was. After drinking a glass of water, I headed into the bedroom. If Viktoria knew I was coming home, she would leave the light on in the bathroom—a silent signal that she was expecting me.

I went straight there and got into the shower.

The cigar smoke clung to my hair, and my wife would never have allowed me to lie next to her like that.

I brushed my teeth, put on boxers and a T-shirt, and crawled under the covers.

It took less than three seconds for Viktoria to turn toward me and snuggle up.

“Hello, honey,” she said, kissing me with her eyes closed.

“Hello,” I replied softly.

“How was it?”

Hot! “Good. It was a nice game.”

“Did you win?”

“No.” Though… counting Rossi… I wonder what his real name is. “And here? Everything good?”

“Yes, Melanie is sleeping over with Luna tonight. And Mina is with Jessica. Rony said he’d bring her home around noon.”

I let out a confirming hum.

“And Sylvia is sick, so I’m covering her shift on Sunday. You’ll get to play dad all weekend long.”

“I have a lot of work,” I said, which wasn’t even a lie.

“Good thing the kids are old enough to entertain themselves,” she teased me with a drowsy smile.

“Good thing,” I said, not very enthusiastically. “So we’ll see each other Sunday evening?”

“More likely Monday morning.”

Since I usually took care of a few things from home on Monday mornings, we often had breakfast together. But this coming Monday, that wouldn’t be possible.

“I probably won’t be able to wait for you,” I said. “The intern is coming.”

“Oh, is this the Monday when Leo’s son starts working with you?”

“Yes. I have no idea how this will go. I’ve never had an intern before.”

“But you were an intern once yourself,” she reminded me lovingly.

“If he wasn’t Leo’s son, I would never have said yes. But Leo was my mentor, and I owe him a lot.”

“I’m sure you’ll be a good mentor. You’re a good father too.”

I laughed. “That’s probably not the same thing.”

Viktoria snuggled closer to me, resting her forehead against my neck. “I didn’t know Nils studied law.”

“It’s not Nils. It’s the other son, the one from that short marriage.”

“Ah, how long ago was that?”

“Twenty-seven years.”

“Do you know the boy?”

“No, we’ve never met. He grew up with his mother. I tried to google him, but the guy can’t be found online.”

“No photo in the application?”

“No. It wasn’t necessary, since Leo is his father. But from what I’ve heard, he’s supposed to be quite the genius.”

“In what way?”

“I don’t know, but it gives me hope that he can do something.”

At that, Viktoria slipped her hand into my pants and started to massage my penis. It wasn’t the first time I had come home already satisfied—and from a man, no less. As so often before, nothing stirred.

“Aren’t you tired?” I asked, knowing Viktoria had to get up early the next day.

“I’m just taking a break from sleeping. You, on the other hand, must need to unwind a bit—you work so hard all the time.”

“Sorry, Vicky, but… I don’t think I can. I’m really tired,” I said, though my body still felt heated and electrified. The encounter with Rossi had just been magical.

“Too bad,” she murmured and rolled back to her side of the bed.

It took her less than three minutes to fall asleep again. A talent I envied. But sometimes she worked thirty-hour shifts at the hospital, so it was probably no wonder she’d learned to sleep on command.

I often had nights when I lay awake for hours.

Sometimes, I could sense during the day that winding down later would be difficult, so I’d skip going home.

Instead, I’d ask Linda, my secretary, to reschedule any early appointments and work late into the night.

I’d usually stay in Zurich, sleeping in the city apartment, and wouldn’t return to the office until around noon.

This arrangement was feasible because Viktoria’s parents lived right next door.

I would have loved to savor the memories of Rossi and his irresistible, nonchalant smile a bit longer. But tonight, of all nights, it took less than five minutes before I, too, was fast asleep.