"Hi. I heard you can arrange a selection of men. Is that right?"
The very next day, a "male best friend" appeared in our home.
Brian would make up excuses about working late and sneak off to see Joan.
The second he walked out the door, I'd call Mervyn to come over for a candlelit dinner.
Brian spent five thousand dollars buying Joan clothes and handbags.
I turned around and swiped his card for a luxury watch worth ten times that, a gift for Mervyn.
One night I found lipstick on Brian's collar.
The next morning, I personally knotted Mervyn's tie in front of him, all smiles and affection.
Brian's eyes went red with fury, and something inside me finally unclenched.
That evening, Brian didn't leave after all.
He couldn't stomach the thought of me, drugged with an aphrodisiac, alone in a room with a strange man.
So he decided to play the antidote himself.
He loosened his tie, undid a few buttons on his shirt, and backed me into the corner.
"Eleanor, seeing you suffer like this... as your husband, I just can't bear it."
"Isn't this all because you're jealous?"
"Tonight, I'll keep you company..."
But before he could get any closer, I raked my nails across his face.
"Don't touch me. You disgust me."
Brian clutched his cheek. He touched it once, then stared at the blood on his fingers in disbelief.
"You're vicious, Eleanor. You really are."
I shoved him away hard and staggered toward the bedroom. The drug was coursing through me now, turning my limbs to cotton, draining every ounce of strength.
"Mervyn. Come help me."
He stepped out obediently and draped my arm over his shoulder.
Brian's gaze locked onto him, eyes bloodshot, and he hurled a glass that shattered at Mervyn's feet.
"Get the hell out."
"This is my home. Mine and my wife's. What the hell are you?"
"Keep meddling in our marriage, and don't blame me when I call the cops and have you arrested for trespassing."
Brian was livid.
So livid that every shred of composure he'd once prided himself on had evaporated completely.
Mervyn put on an awkward expression and rose hesitantly, as if to leave.
But I wrapped my arms around him from behind.
"Stay."
"You're sleeping here tonight."
With my arms still around Mervyn's waist, I walked into the bedroom without sparing Brian so much as a glance.
Behind me, Brian's voice erupted into a string of furious curses. Something about how if I dared make a fool of him, he'd divorce me.