Fatal Temptation Read Free Page A

slightest ounce of sexual attraction for her husband any longer.
    She forces a smile and walks away from him, the remaining empty cups of hot cocoa in her grasp. “Can you please lock up and turn off the fireplace?” She calls out to him, not even bothering to turn around and make eye contact.
    “Of course, as long as I can wait a while to put out the fire burning inside of you.”
    Sadie can feel herself involuntarily roll her eyes and she continues walking headstrong into the kitchen, swallowing the anxious feelings and wishing she could close her eyes and that she would wake up lying next to Chris, him post orgasm and ready for sleep.
    It’s not that she doesn’t enjoy sex. If anything, Sadie is in love with sex; it’s just that things between her and her husband have become so complacent; it’s not exciting anymore. He doesn’t put in the effort to try new things and in their five years of marriage together, with five years of love prior to that, she has yet to have her own orgasm. It’s becoming a taxing event rather than a moment of enjoyment and release. When you have to grit your teeth and bear it for your husband’s sake, that’s when you know something is wrong. Sadie can’t bring herself to tell him though. Not now, at least.
    Not yet.
    Sadie knocks on Ling’s bedroom door before entering the room, just to ensure that her daughter is ready for her.
    “Come in mom,” Ling calls out from her lying position on the bed. She is already under the cov ers with the lamp on nestled beside her on the bedside table. For a five year old, she takes immaculate care of her room. There isn’t a speck of dust to be found and everything is tucked away in its proper place. She has more accolades to her name than most adults have in their entire lifetime. She is a brilliant kid and it shows, through the endless amounts of trophies and ribbons for both athletic and academic achievements that line her shelves and dresser tops.
    Sadie enters the room and sits on the bed before Ling. “Well sweetie, you had a very long day and you deserve a long rest. Your dad and I are so proud of you and we are honored to call you our little girl.”
    Ling smiles at her, grinning ear-to-ear. “Thanks mom,” she says. “And thank dad too for me. Thanks for letting me do what I love.”
    “Thank you for showing us the true meaning of love,” Sadie whispers as she kisses her daughter on the forehead. “Goodnight sweetie.”
    “Night mom,” Ling replies as Sadie shuts off the lamp. “I love you.”
    Those three words have never been uttered before from her little mouth and they make Sadie feel weak in the knees. It’s not that Ling doesn’t love her; it’s just that it has been a big few years for the little girl. Coming overseas to live with a new family and to learn a new language has been a big task for her. It feels as though now, in this very instant, Ling is coming into her own and maybe for the first time in her life, feeling at home.
    “I love yo u too darling,” Sadie says to her through a smile and joyful tears. Thankfully, the darkness of Ling’s room helps to conceal her moment of weakness and keeps it as something personal for her.
    She rubs Ling’s legs through the blankets and leaves the room, leaving the door open just a crack for a ray of light to be shone through from the hallway. She stands for a moment, staring at her daughter from a d istance. She clutches her chest and silently thanks Ling for being her salvation and her reason.
    She strolls down the hallway and enters her bedroom with Chris as she thinks about Ling. Finally, her goal of helping Ling to feel at ease and at home has come true. It is a moment of pure and utter happiness for Sadie, feeling as though as a parent, she has done right. It was a tough realization when she found out that she was infertile and she thought she would never get to enjoy the experience of motherhood. Now, with a daughter who is excelling, who is happy and who loves