Greta was the only child in the James family, but she'd never had a head for business. Nine years ago, a catastrophic miscalculation nearly drove James Corp into bankruptcy. Her parents had even floated the idea of marrying her off in exchange for a project deal and adopting a nephew to carry on the family name.
She'd come to me in tears, thrown her arms around me, and said I was the only one she wanted to marry. She begged me to help her.
I remembered how, when I'd first been brought back to the Gilbert household, she was the only person who hadn't mocked me or looked at me with contempt. That small seed of affection in my chest couldn't help but bloom.
I said yes. And with that, I began over three thousand days of quiet misery.
Outside of our wedding night and the occasional crisis at the company, Greta never shared a room with me. She said she was naturally frigid and told me not to be disgusting by always thinking about sex.
So I respected her wishes. I held myself back, never once crossing the line.