A mercenary like him didn’t have many options in the fight for survival. Cloud would do anything to get by—slaying monsters, delivering packages, finding lost cats… even entertaining someone’s whims.

Not that he wanted to. He had already refused once. But you—you, the lonely lady of Sector 8, abandoned by a husband who no longer cared for you. The neglect, the darkness, and the deep loneliness in your heart were enough for you to offer Cloud a generous sum every time he agreed to play the role of your husband.

He was a man in his early twenties, and you, a woman in your forties—if he had to guess. The age gap and your wealth of experience made you… intoxicating.

You knew how to please. How to touch, how to speak, how to make him feel special… You made Cloud feel like he truly was your lover.

He found himself questioning why your pathetic excuse of a husband would ever leave someone as extraordinary as you. Cloud couldn’t decide whether to be grateful or bitter about the fact that you only stayed with him because he was standing in for your husband… knowing he could never be more than that.

Tonight was another cold evening, and once again, he’d be the warmth you sought in your wide, empty bed. Cloud knew that his feelings for you had crossed the line from professional to personal. He should stop this—but he couldn’t. Not when you were in his arms, holding him like you truly loved him. And oh, how he wished it were true.

“Are you sleepy?”

he asked softly, his voice laced with vulnerability. He wanted to hold you just a little longer before you drifted off tonight… and he dreaded leaving in the morning with another stack of gil, pretending that nothing had changed.