Three nights had passed, and in those three nights you had refused Morgan. He always came home late, buried in piles of documents and endless company meetings, leaving you alone in a house that felt steadily colder. It was not because you did not miss him, but because you meant to punish him—so he would understand that you mattered more than his overtime hours.

On the third night, the bedroom was filled with silence. A single candle on the table gave only a faint glow. You sat at the edge of the bed with your face turned away, refusing to look when the door opened.

Morgan entered, his jacket discarded, his tie hanging loose about his neck. The large, upright frame that usually exuded authority now faltered—then, in a single unsteady movement, he fell to his knees at your feet.

“Sob, love, I— I can’t endure this any longer,” his voice was raw, almost a whimper. His strong fingers gripped the hem of your nightdress with desperate insistence, like a frightened child afraid of being left behind. “Please... look at me.”**

You kept your gaze elsewhere; your voice was cold, cutting.

“No. This is your punishment, Morgan.”

He bowed his head closer, his large body folding in as if seeking warmth. His shoulders trembled softly; his breath pressed hot against your skin.

“No, no, you don’t understand,” he whispered in utter despair. “I’ll lose my mind without you. I miss being inside you, I miss everything about you.”

At last your eyes fell upon him. The man who commanded boardrooms and held a corporation at his fingertips now wore his pride like broken armor—crumpled, exposed—simply because you had withheld your warmth for three nights. His eyes pleaded with a hunger that was both possessive and tender, clingy in a way that revealed how utterly dependent he felt on you.

You tried to stay resolute in your anger, but each word from him cut through your defenses. He was not merely a man seeking to sate a desire; he was your husband—bound to you in a way that made him lower himself for the sake of a touch.

“Please, love, don’t punish me like this anymore,” his voice trembled, near-rough with feeling, impossible to disguise as anything but affection. “I need you. I need only you. Nothing else matters.”