However, the sight of the lipstick stain on the coffee mug that wasn't mine and the underwear scattered in the couch cushions slit still stung my eyes.

"You've always wanted to sleep with me, haven't you? It's been five years. I don't believe it if you say that you've never wanted it," Austin said.

I turned back in shock to meet his gaze, watching as the corners of his eyes turned a little red.

Yet, as I recalled the filthy things he'd said to his friends about me just now, I averted my gaze at once.

"I'm tired. I just want to rest," I said.

The lust in Austin's eyes vanished almost immediately when he heard me turning him down. Instead, a look of impatience appeared in his eyes.

"You used to beg me to touch you. What's your problem now? You're my wife, so behave like one. Be good."

Then, he forcefully pinned me against the wall before stripping off every last clothing item on my body, exposing my naked body to the air.

I gasped in shock. However, a split second later, I was suddenly shoved into the master bedroom while he stayed outside the door and locked it from the outside.

He coldly said, "I'm still busy with other things. Stay in there by yourself for the night."

I searched the entire master bedroom but couldn't find a single shred of clothing anywhere. Even the bedsheets and curtains had all been removed.

Just when I thought perhaps it wasn't too bad since I was only naked inside a room, I suddenly caught sight of something glinting from the windows in the villa opposite our own.

It was from a pair of binoculars, and several men were falling over themselves trying to have a look through the lenses.

"That's her! That's Stella Leblanc, the woman whose virginity was put up for auction! What a good thing that Austin let us check out the goods beforehand so we could bid higher later. This is just brilliant!"

"Let me see! Let me see! Oh, my god! She looks pretty good. I just don't know if we can beat any of those big shots at the auction, you know? The people attending it are all big bosses and tycoons."

"That's something else to worry about for another day. Let's just feast our eyes on her for the time being! It's not like we're risking anything for this free show anyway—we've got nothing to lose!"

I stood frozen in place. Those perverted men's lewd, obscene gazes pierced through my entire body like sharp thorns, causing excruciating pain everywhere. And the worst part was that I had nowhere to hide.

Amidst the lewd laughter and exclamations that still made their way to my ears, I hugged my body in an attempt to hide myself as I shivered in a corner.

Meanwhile, Austin made himself busy downstairs. I could tell from his voice that he was happily cuddling with Carol somewhere on the couch.

"Stella actually thought that I was going to touch her! You should have seen the near-deranged look in her eyes just now. It was as if she wanted to devour me straight away. Such a shameless bitch!"

I even heard the sound of disinfectant being sprayed around as Austin spoke.

"But don't worry, Carol. You're the only one who can touch me like that. I will never let myself get filthy by sleeping with other people."

Then, the sounds coming from downstairs became increasingly obscene and vulgar.

I hugged myself tightly, feeling utterly hopeless. I would probably be numb to it all if there were even more eyes on me at this point.

It wasn't until long after midnight that Austin finally unlocked the bedroom door like nothing had just happened. He then said in an indifferent voice, "I forgot about you because I was too busy with work. Put this on and go to sleep. Don't go around catching a cold."

He then tossed a sleeping robe at me hastily, as if just the mere sight of me would make him "unclean".

I wrapped the robe around my body at once, but the chill in my bones just wouldn't go away.

Austin then looked at his phone and muttered to himself, "That's strange. Grandma hasn't recovered yet, so why did she suddenly get herself discharged?"

I lied and said, "Maybe she was getting bored and decided to come out for a little breather."

Then, his phone buzzed again with another incoming text message, and I happened to catch sight of the text in the preview notification.

"Hey, Austin! The nude video really worked! Some rich dude just said he'd bid three million for her, but he's pushing 70. Stella's virginity is in for a treat! Haha!"

It wasn't until then that I realized there had also been a hidden camera in the bedroom, the kind that could be watched and monitored in real time.

In other words, it hadn't only been the perverts in the next villa who saw me naked—even all the other wealthy businessmen and tycoons who qualified to attend the auction had also seen every inch of me.

Austin hurriedly put his phone away, his eyes flashing in slight guilt as he changed the topic.

"I just asked you to wait for a moment. There's no need for you to look so down and upset about it. I'll try my best to overcome my phobia next time. There'll be other opportunities soon."

My heart clenched when I saw the casual and even disgusted look on his face.

He could fully enjoy sexual pleasure whenever he was with Carol, and his "mysophobia" certainly didn't happen then.

However, when it came to me, he would probably never "overcome" his phobia and physical aversion to me.

I clench my fists tightly, no longer able to feel any physical pain.

Meanwhile, Austin rummaged through his wardrobe for his suit while casually remarking, "Go and shower. I'm bringing you to an auction with me. I heard that there's a highly anticipated last lot for the auction this time around.

"Practically everyone is going for it tonight. Let's go and join in on the fun."

I felt as though I'd been electrocuted as soon as I heard him say that. I shook my head in terror and refused.

"I'm not going. I'm not planning to bid on any collectibles anyway."

At that, Austin's expression turned dark instantly.

"What's with the tantrum? And to think that Carol even told me to bid on a few more jewelry sets for you this time. Why are you still acting like a spoiled child at your age now?

"I don't care. You're going there even if you don't want to. Ever since we got married, all you do is just cook and clean, and nothing else. Even the maids don't have anything to do anymore. Anyone would think you were trying to steal their jobs.

"You are coming out with me to see the world tonight if it's the last thing you ever do!"

My gaze fell on my rough, battered, and calloused hands. I suddenly found everything just too hilarious to be true.

I had been compromising and accommodating to his so-called "mysophobia" for so many years that I washed the bedsheets twice a day in the morning and at night, and also hand-washed his clothes every day.

As it turned out, he only saw it as me acting like a maid after all. He even thought that it was unseemly.

Austin's patience wore thin when he saw me staring at my hands. He dragged me off and shoved me into my personal "disinfecting bathtub".

After I was done washing up, he looked like he was mustering all of his courage to dry me off with a towel, his disgust clearly visible on his face.

When he was done drying me off, he then disinfected himself once more before dragging me into the car.

As soon as we arrived at the auction house, I saw everyone clinking champagne glasses and discussing the upcoming auction.

When Carol caught sight of me, she immediately rushed over with a smile on her lips as she carefully examined my hands.

Both my hands were bright pink from being washed with disinfectant. My skin was also as thin as a membrane and even covered in red rashes.

"You've got such delicate skin, Stella! I heard that Austin can't even bear to touch you for fear that you'd break, right?"

Just a split second later, someone exposed her unexpectedly and said, "Of course not! It's not because he's afraid of hurting her—it's because he just simply doesn't want to touch her at all! Otherwise, how could she still be a virgin after five years of marriage?"

Another wave of laughter rose and fell, overwhelming me without mercy.

I frowned. My face burned as I said coldly, "Are you all done yet?"

Austin clicked his tongue in displeasure, his eyes turning dark and dangerous.

"You're not happy about being praised as a virgin? Don't you know praise when it happens to you? Anyone else would have been ecstatic to hear that. Don't be so ungrateful."

When the others saw that my expression was still as icy as ever, someone picked up a glass of wine and handed it to me, saying, "Yeah, he's right, Stella. Don't be such a spoilsport. They were just praising you.

"Here, have a drink. This wine is very expensive."

I looked around, noticing everyone's gazes fixed on me.

I immediately understood why as soon as I recalled that they were going to auction off my virginity. I pushed the glass away coldly and said, "Wasn't this only supposed to be an auction? I don't drink."

Austin's grip tightened on his wine glass, his knuckles turning white. He was barely able to suppress his anger as he growled, "If you still refuse to behave yourself when we're still being nice to you, you're going to have to suffer the consequences later.

"I already said that you've gone mad from staying at home all day. You can't even take a joke, and you even refuse to drink now. What the hell do you want, exactly?"

I took a few steps backward, looking at Austin with utmost seriousness.

"That's what I should be asking you. What exactly do you want from me, Austin Salazar—"

Before I could even finish, I felt something prick me right in the back of my waist.

I yelped in pain.

The drug seemed to take effect immediately. My head began throbbing in pain, and my hearing was also becoming blurry.

"What's the point of wasting your breath on her? All it takes is just one injection, and it's over for her. Don't forget that she's the last lot for the auction tonight! Those big shots are going to get anxious if we keep delaying this further!"

"It's a good thing you came prepared. Stella's too street-smart for her own good. If that hadn't worked, I bet almost everyone at the auctions would be disappointed."

Carol leaned bonelessly against Austin's shoulder, looking at me with a smug, defiant smirk.

"Stella's going to be so lucky tonight! There are so many people lining up for her virginity. I bet tonight's going to be the best night of her life!"

I staggered on my feet as I tried to steady myself, looking at Austin with pleading eyes.

"Don't do this to me… I don't want to sleep with other men…"

I didn't want him to turn me into a laughingstock and be trampled on by the other scumbags.

However, Austin pretended not to hear my intermittent pleas and instead tightened his arm around Carol's waist. He scoffed at me and said, "Don't you love it when men touch you?

"Since there's no way for me to 'overcome' my phobia, I have no choice but to hand over the reins to somebody else and let them exercise my rights as your husband for me. Isn't that the best of both worlds?"

He deliberately made a huge shot of caressing and touching Carol's body. Every touch of her body was like a direct mockery in my face.

I closed my eyes in despair. The fear was beginning to subside.

A split second later, I was completely stripped naked and locked in a transparent crystal box before getting thrown backstage.

"Let me out…"

However, the place was filled with Austin's men, and nobody paid any heed to my pleas.

"There are so many wealthy tycoons clamoring to meet Stella before the auction. Who knew that she'd be so sought-after even at her age?

"I bet we'll never know who will finally win the bid for her until the very end!"

Austin probably looked a little unpleasant at that moment, so someone patted him on the shoulder and said, "Don't worry about anything. Stella won't remember a thing after tonight. Just remember to share the proceeds with us!"

The explosive laughter outside the box faded into the distance. Meanwhile, I kept pinching my thigh to keep myself awake.

Just then, Enid appeared. She ordered her personal bodyguard, Leo Stanton, to release me from the box and wrap me up in some clothes.

"I can't believe that Austin would go to such lengths!"

She then had me sign the divorce agreement before telling Leo to send me straight to the airport.

As soon as I got into the car, I couldn't hold up any longer and passed out in the backseat.

…

At the same time, the auction hall was buzzing with excitement.

"And now, for the last lot! This is 'A Maiden's Dream', and it's already reached a minimum bid of 600,000 dollars! Wait—someone just bought out the room!"

After a burst of enthusiastic cheers, everyone—including Austin—turned to look in the direction of the auctioneer's finger.

When Austin caught sight of Enid, he frowned at once.

Enid went up to him and slapped him in the face with the divorce agreements.

"Since you don't want Stella Leblanc to be your wife, she's no longer your wife from today onward!"