My useless brother-in-law

Chapter 1

When you first got to know Dan, you would think he was that cool, ‘already-made-it-in-life’ kind of guy. He was very chill and projected an image that he was loaded, and everything he did was just for fun. His social media feed was the standard ‘made-it-in-life’ package. By that, I meant pictures of him leaning against his BMW, hands in his pockets, attached with some cringeworthy quote. Then there were the fine dining meals, the holiday pictures in Europe which would start off with a picture of the Singapore passport and the half visible words, ‘business’ or ‘first class’, peeking at you from the boarding pass. And to take the cringe level up another notch, there would be the ‘checking the time’ on his Rolex, against the steering wheel of his BMW. It was not exactly cryptic, and definitely not subtle.

I didn’t know what Suzy, my sister-in-law, saw in him. Because she, of all people, knew it was all an illusion. Dan worked in facility management, his pay was barely five thousand, and it was amazing how he managed to create that illusion with such limited resources. Perhaps not paying for mortgage was a crucial factor, since all of us stayed in the same landed property that belonged to my in-laws. My wife, Lisa, and I were waiting for our BTO in Tengah. Once it was ready in a year’s time, we would be moving out and starting a life of our own. Dan, however, had other plans. He wanted that private address on his IC. He wanted that sheltered car porch where he could drive his BMW right to the front door.

Now, my in-laws didn’t exactly like Dan. They didn’t express it verbally because of Suzy, but you could tell from their body language. My father-in-law, Keng, was a businessman for many years before he retired. If there was one thing you could not hide from someone in business, it was bullshit. It didn’t matter if you were running a small business or a big conglomerate, the underlying idea was the same - as long as you were in business long enough, you could smell the bullshit from a mile away. But smelling the shit and calling it out were two different things. Keng did not call out on Dan’s shit because, like a poker player, he held his cards close to his chest. He knew, one day, the truth would eventually surface. And that day came in July of 2017.

Dan came home that day with a private hire sticker on the windscreen of his BMW. Needless to say, Suzy was horrified and demanded to know what that meant. Dan reluctantly admitted that to keep up the instalments, he was doing some private hire jobs after work and on weekends. Now, of course there was nothing wrong with that. After all, he was putting in his own effort to make money. But Suzy was very upset with Dan. My father-in-law said nothing but he could not hide that smirk on his face when he turned away. It was like a confirmation for his shit-smelling ability.

The dominoes started falling from that point. In 2018, Dan’s mounting credit card debt came up to a whooping 63,000 dollars. However, he did not declare bankrupt. He borrowed money from Suzy to pay it off and had been returning her 1,000 every month. He could have paid it off in five years if nothing else fucked up. Then, in the December of 2019, he happily accepted a new job with a 25 percent increment. He started work in March before the company folded after five days. And instead of coming clean, he still pretended to be employed before the Covid lockdown forced him to stay at home. He didn’t even have a laptop to pretend to work from home with. Suzy forced him to sell his car, his only Rolex, and basically every shit he bought on instalments, from his latest mobile phone to his gaming console.

Suzy told Lisa everything and I always got the latest gossip from my wife. So, when she told me that Dan was looking to start his own business and required some capital, I could tell it was the beginning of another disaster. That Friday evening, when my mother-in-law, Wen, set down the pasta she made for dinner, Dan said he had an announcement to make. Out came a vanguard sheet with diagrams and scribbles which reminded me of a primary school project.

Dan: I am starting a workshop to DIY and make perfume.

With our chopsticks frozen in mid-air, everyone turned to the diagram.

Dan: People now want to go for unique experiences… I believe that…

I zoned out after that. I was more interested in the pasta my mother-in-law had prepared. My attention went back to Dan when he stood up proudly, getting to the most crucial part of his presentation, declaring that he was giving us a chance to invest in his business.

Dan: I’ll give you all early access; 10 thousand for 10 percent of the business.

He first looked at me before turning to my wife.

Dan: Ahhhh, James has no money, I know. Haha… Lisa, how about it? What do you think?

Lisa: Ermm… we’re kind of saving up for our government flat… and we don’t know anything about doing business…

My wife kicked me under the table and shot me a look that told me I needed to shut this down now. I quickly turned to Dan and delivered our ‘unfortunate’ rejection.

James: Sorry Dan, we can’t afford the 10k. We’re barely putting together the sum needed for the fridge, the aircon, the oven… Hey, remember that time you said you were going to sponsor the microwave?

Dan: Whoa, James, please. It was so long ago but you still remember. When my business becomes big, I’ll sponsor you for everything. You also don’t have 10k?

James: Sorry bro, we’re saving up for the house furnishings and all.

Dan turned to our in-laws and tried to pitch it to them, only to have them turn him down outright. Keng and Wen were more subtle and polite in their rejection, they simply said that they were retired and could not afford to invest in high-risk ventures.

Keng: Our money is mostly in fixed deposits… and…

Keng did not forget to throw in a jibe.

Keng: We’re paying for the house’s utilities, the maintenance and upkeep, even the internet.

Dan: Pa, don’t put it like that. We’re paying for the Netflix and Disney plus subscription okay? Those ones you all also get to watch.

I wanted to roll my eyes when Dan said that, because Suzy was the one paying for those subscriptions.

Once he realised that no one was supporting him, Dan turned his attention to his wife. Suzy, my sister-in-law, was a nice person, but I didn’t know what she saw in Dan. Starting with her looks, she was hot. At 1.65 metres tall, Suzy carried herself with an air of effortless grace. One look at her and your mind would be screaming ‘class’ and ‘old-money’. Suzy always wore skirts, even at home. It was not like I was constantly checking her out or anything, it was just something that you couldn’t help but notice. And my god, she looked hot when she wore them. Why? Because of her legs. Suzy had long, slender legs that seemed to go on forever. She took good care of them too, always making sure they were moisturised and perfectly smooth. She also had a habit of crossing her legs whenever she sat, giving a glimpse of those toned calves and thighs. She had a slender frame, not thin, not bony or anything, but slender, and yet she still had a nice firm pair of boobs. Suzy probably got all the good genes because my wife had to contend with a rather sad A-cup. It might sound creepy that I was noticing these things about my sister-in-law, but hey, I was just a guy with functioning eyes and raging hormones. My wife, Lisa, was pretty, yes, but her legs, well, they were passable but lacked the oomph.

Suzy: Sorry, dear, I don’t think it’s a good idea.

Dan: What?

Dan’s sudden exclamation startled the table. It was like he could not believe his own wife was not supportive of his idea.

Dan: So, you want me to be an employee forever?

Suzy: Dear, I don’t mean that. It’s just that…

Dan: Just what!

Keng looked up from his bowl with a raised eyebrow. Dan saw that and knew when to give in. He took a deep breath before walking away.

Suzy: I’m sorry guys…

Suzy said as she stood up and went after Dan.

Lisa: Poor sis…

I thought that was the end of it and the family drama would stop there, but no. At around midnight, when I went to the toilet, I overheard something - something that blew my mind. Usually, I would go to the ensuite toilet, but because I needed to take a shit, I chose to go to the common one so I didn’t stink up the bedroom. The common toilet had a vent window that opened to a balcony which connected the entire level two, linking two bedrooms - mine and Dan’s. That balcony had some outdoor rattan seating where we could chill and have a drink while enjoying the view which overlooked the rail corridor. Before I could switch on the toilet light, I heard Dan and Suzy talking on the balcony. Their voices came to me as clear as day while I stood in front of the toilet bowl in the dark.

Suzy: I don’t have any more to lend you already!

Dan: How could that be?!

Suzy: I had to clear your debts, I had to pay your car instalments, your trading losses, your failed drop-shipping thing, what more do you expect me to do!

Dan: Your whole family is not supportive of my business! If I continue to be an employee, my whole life will be a failure!

Suzy: What’s wrong with being an employee?

Dan snorted.

Dan: And what, be like James eh? Huh, Earn 3,500 drawing shit in a manufacturing company? Any future in that? Huh? Then what? Apply for a government flat, wait for government to give a voucher…

Suzy: At least he has a job! And he’s taking evening classes to upgrade himself! He has plans for the future!

Dan: Please, he only married your sister for money.

Suzy: You take back those words! You’re horrible!

Dan: I’m not going to be an employee for the rest of my life. I’m born to do business.

Suzy: You are not even an employee now!

Dan: Because my boss gave me attitude that’s why! You think I can take it lying down? Of course I resigned.

Suzy: You think it’s that easy to find a job!

Dan: Why not? Worse come to worse, you can go and do it again and I’ll be your agent!

I felt my heart skipping a beat. Then I heard a smack.

Dan: What’s wrong with you!

Suzy: It was a one off! And I did it because of you!

Dan: You hit me for what! You go and do, and one time earn 900! No need for one week, I can finish clearing.

Suzy: Arghhhhhh!

I heard the toppling of outdoor furniture and I quickly backed away from the toilet. The shit that was at the exit of my butthole had mysteriously disappeared. What exactly did Dan mean when he said those words? And why was Suzy so angry? I heard the distant slam of the sliding door and then the familiar sound of Suzy sobbing. I quietly climbed onto the toilet bowl, stepping on the edge and trying my best not to make a sound. Looking out the ventilation window, I saw Suzy sitting on the ground. Her white, cotton skirt hiked up high as she hugged her knees sobbing. I felt a strange stirring in my belly when I looked at my sister-in-law. Would I pay 900 for her? A straight-A student from Raffles all the way from primary to Junior College, with a direct route to National University of Singapore? Of course, I would. I went back to my room and climbed into bed beside Lisa. As my eyes shut for the night, a smile spread across my face. A slew of ideas just came flooding into my head. I wanted my sister-in-law. I had always liked her. The challenge, however, was, how could I shit in the same place I lived in without getting caught.

Chapter 2

When I woke up in the morning, a plan had started to form in my head. Based on what I had overheard, it was not hard to draw a conclusion as to what my brother and sister-in-law had been up to. Dan was neck deep in debt, and not for the first time too. Suzy was sick of bailing him out but she had no choice. It was like quicksand; she had to keep doing it to keep Dan afloat, even though she knew he would not get back on his feet. Suzy already had a pretty stressful job working in an auditing firm. While it was not one of the big four, it was still a rather well-established SME. I didn’t know exactly how much she made, but my wife mentioned in passing that it was in the low seven-ish range before bonuses. Dan had always been a little sore about the fact that he was not earning as much as Suzy given that he was a man. He had that traditional mindset that as a man, he must be doing better than his wife. Perhaps his only consolation was that he made more than me. However, the latest revelation of him leaving his job meant that was no longer the case. Instead of being humbler, now that he was relying on his wife’s income, he still had that stuck up attitude of need to prove himself better than others.

Now, I didn’t have anything to brag about my job, I was just doing simple computer aided design work, but it was relaxing, and stress free. Sure, I made less than 4,000, but I didn’t work like a dog. My colleagues and bosses were nice and easy-going, sometimes I got to take two-hour lunches with them too. There is a saying in Chinese that would describe me as someone who didn’t harbour bigger ambitions - someone who was not destined for the big things in life - and it was something that Dan always used to put me down openly. I didn’t really give a fuck, however. I was just happy doing my own stuff. Pressure in life usually came from external sources and, in my case, it used to come from my father-in-law, Keng.

When I first moved into his place, he had a conversation with me about my plans for the future. He was aware I was taking classes in the evening about finance and he was wondering what I was planning to do.

Keng: You going to switch industry to do investment or financial planning or something like that, James?

James: No, no, it’s just something I’m interested in. I plan to continue in my current field and just manage my own portfolio. Lisa and I have some plans and we felt it would be better if we did it on our own.

He didn’t really understand what I meant, and I could tell he was worried about me staying in the same SME for the rest of my life, until one day, he chanced upon something in the mail. Previously, my wife sent all her investment related stuff to my parent’s place because she was afraid of what her parents would think if they knew she was dabbling in the stock market. But upon us moving into Keng and Wen’s place, her address changed and the annual reports, and the colourful slips of corporate actions, all started arriving in her parent’s mailbox. Keng’s attitude changed, especially when he realised how thick the envelope from her broker was at the end of the year for Lisa. Without telling anyone, ever since we got married, I had built my wife’s portfolio of stocks to more than 200,000 dollars. She was getting about 12,000 dollars in dividends every year.

Keng was pleasantly surprised when he saw the portfolio. He asked me about it and I told him Lisa had her reservations until she saw what I was doing with my own portfolio. When my mail started arriving because I changed my address as well, it reassured Keng that I was not fucking around. I meant business when it came to managing my money and being really careful with it. Sure, I might be getting less than 4,000 in pay every month, but Keng knew I received a significant sum of money in dividends every year. I did not tell him the exact figure, but my wife admitted her tongue accidentally slipped one evening - close to 22,000 in passive income from my portfolio, and the entire sum got reinvested into the market so my money could continue growing. I wanted to become financially free before the age of 45 and, if nothing went wrong, I was well on my way to hitting my target. Not only that, I was actively doing side gigs as well - ghost writing for blogs and the occasional erotica.

We started talking late into the night, when the rest of the family was asleep, about money, companies to invest in and which ones had potential to grow. No one knew I was having such conversations with Keng, not even my wife, not even my mother-in-law. Why? Because Keng had a secret vice - cigars and whisky. I chanced upon him at a corner of the small landscaped garden, lighting up at one in the morning, and I decided to join him with a bottle of single malt I had kept for a special occasion. I was not very comfortable with my in-laws knowing about my portfolio and money, but I had another stash that even my wife didn’t know about. I had started buying physical pieces of gold one month after the September 11 incident. Every year without fail, I would spend some money on physical bars. I kept everything in my safe back at my parent’s place. I had almost 800 grams of gold saved up and that would be part of my retirement ticket.

While it sounded like I had my shit sorted out and everything was all good, that was not the whole picture. Everyone only saw the good stuff, but if one dug deeper, that was where you would find the secrets. No one could claim to have always made good investments; there would always be times where you would make shitty decisions. And I made one of those when everyone was buying up industrial property. Call it an itchy backside or whatever, I hopped onto a joint venture with my parents, and the three of us threw a significant sum of money into an industrial property at Bukit Batok.

It fucked us up really good, as we had not done our own research about the place, because there was no demand to rent the place and we still had to pay the mortgage on it. When we finally rented it out, the rent could barely cover the monthly repayment, and to make things worse, after a while, the tenant could not afford to pay the rent, resulting in an even bigger mess. It was a 2000 square foot unit with double volume space. A mezzanine level had been built, and it had everything ready except a tenant. Tenants came and went, the longest lease only lasting six months. Anyway, we were pretty much resigned to our fate and were just waiting for someone to buy the property. Meanwhile, I continued to pay my share on top of other commitments.

Sometimes I took on impromptu gig jobs as well, disappearing over the weekend to man booths at flea markets or help a friend with deliveries. As long as it was fun and I got to make some extra cash, why not? And by taking on all this extra work, I had a never-ending list of conversation topics with my father-in-law. We talked about everything over drinks and cigars - flea market setup, delivering vegetables in the middle of the night, doing vehicle parts runs to workshops. I had even done gigs which he never knew existed. He roared with laughter when I told him I had rejected a promotion and a raise, because by keeping Lisa’s and my income under a certain threshold, I would be getting a shitload of subsidies from the government for buying a flat.

Keng: Are you serious?

James: Yeah, I mean the difference is like 20,000. The increment is like 200. That’s such a big difference, so of course I chose the subsidy.

I was not stingy or anything, I just veered towards the efficient deployment of resources. While the rest of the family was asleep, we chuckled over lit cigars and laughed in the garden till four in the morning. The funny thing about our secret gatherings though, was that neither of us let it show. Keng always held a strict, no-nonsense demeanour in front of everyone. He only let his hair down during our meetups once or twice a month. There were no fixed dates, no messages. It was just a look, a second of eye contact, and that was it. I would know we had a man-to-man date over whisky and cigars that night.

During our chats, my father-in-law had never talked down about Dan before. That was not who he was, but you could see it in his eyes. Some things need not be said; you could feel it. And I knew he was worried about Suzy. If he knew my sister-in-law had to sell her body to help Dan, he would probably kill Dan and bury him in the backyard. And if he knew I was lusting after Suzy while I was married to Lisa, it would also spell certain disaster for me.

Any sane individual would not think even to try, but here was the thing - I was not sane. I was not your average sister-in-law lusting pervert. My brain worked differently, and the harder it was, the more excited I would be about the challenge. I wanted to fuck my sister-in-law and I wanted to keep doing it. I wanted her to want me too. I wanted her to want me enough to keep it from her sister and from her family. I wanted to be the man she needed in her life, and I wanted to be the one she needed so badly that she would do anything to

protect me.

From the corner of my eye, I had seen how Suzy looked at me sometimes. It was like when she saw me doing something for Lisa and she would get jealous, secretly hoping her husband would do the same. I would be upfront here and say I was not exactly some good-looking, handsome guy, I would say I was average at best. Everything about me was average, nothing outstanding. I didn’t even have a thick or long penis. I would say I was just stable, reliable and dependable. That was the kind of vibe I gave off. That was what attracted Lisa to me, and I suspected that the same vibe was making it painfully obvious to Suzy that Dan lacked all those attributes.

When it came to my sister-in-law, despite growing up in a sheltered environment and getting everything she wanted since young, she was not some spoilt princess. Suzy was a very simple girl. She wanted pure, simple love from someone who loved her. My sister-in-law had this innocence about her that was most endearing. She was gullible too, always falling for my lame jokes and tricks. Suzy had her flaws too. She cared a lot about how people looked at her - perhaps a bit too much.

My plan was simple. I was going to alienate Dan, make Suzy fall head over heels for me, and I would fuck her brains out - preferably when she was wearing one of her short skirts. However, I didn’t want it to be a wham bam, press her down on the bed and get it over with kind of sex. I wanted it to be slow, I wanted it to be sensual. I wanted to be able to look at Suzy in her eyes, seeing her guilt and confusion as she moaned with my cock inside her.

The first order of the day would be to find out more about Dan’s financial situation. I knew it was shit, but I needed to know what degree of shit it was. Dan kept his unemployment a secret, and if I hadn’t happened to eavesdrop on him, I wouldn’t have known. My wife had told me before that Dan took on side gigs every now and then. Her sister had explained to her why on some weekends, Dan would disappear completely. He sometimes helped to cover his friends’ taxi or private hire shifts when they went on a break. He paid the rent of the vehicle and kept the earnings. I was not allowed to talk about that, and it was something my wife regularly warned me about.

I began observing him more closely, trying to find an angle and opportunity. He still dressed up in the morning and left home with a gym bag. Dan had always made it known that he was hitting the gym after work to lose weight. The truth was that he was doing food deliveries. I chanced upon a notification on his phone one evening and saw some reward for hitting certain tiers of orders. It amazed me how long he managed to keep his situation under wraps. I even discreetly followed Dan one morning, taking a few hours off work to do so. He took the train from Holland all the way to Tampines where his parents stayed, then he would start doing deliveries from there after changing his clothes in their place. In order to keep up the facade of still being in an office job, Dan made sure he came home for dinner twice a week, missing out on the evening peak for deliveries. Although I suspected that all this time Keng knew but he chose not to talk about it.

The lie held up because he lost weight, and Wen even commented during dinner that hitting the gym seemed to be working for Dan. At that moment I could see Suzy looking down and trying to concentrate on her food. As for Dan, he started going on about working different muscle groups, balancing cardio with weight training and shit.

Dan: I monitor my resting heartrate also. And lately, I’m trying to do a zone two run training so I can try a marathon…

I wanted to roll my eyes but I just concentrated on my food. He had that ‘even if I’m dying, I still need to brag’ kind of mentality. I knew that knowing about how Dan was pretending to be employed was not enough. I needed more information, and for that I needed to create an opening. My in-laws were retired, so there was always someone at home. It made snooping around a bit challenging. Even when I was on leave, my in-laws would be at home. If I wanted to snoop around properly, I needed them to be gone.

My opening came when I came across some leaflets for those one-day Malaysian tours to durian farms and pastry shops. I brought some home and left them on the table. While waiting for dinner to be ready, I pretended to talk to my wife about going for those tours.

Lisa: You want to go?

James: Quite a good deal, isn’t it? Only fifty-eight dollars per person, transport both ways, and you can eat unlimited durian… also buy fresh pastries and all.

Lisa: Weekend departure is 20 dollars more…

James: Oh yeah, they put it in small print… disgusting… They have like daily weekday departures though.

I said it loud enough to attract Keng’s attention. He loved durians and at the first mention of them he had come over to look at what we were talking about.

James: Pa… durian farm day tour… you should go with Ma… Just meet at the community centre there and…

Dan, who happened to walk by, smirked and made a condescending comment.

Dan: Hey Pa, if you want to go for holiday, at least go for a cruise or something. Air tickets are so cheap, Singapore Airlines fly to Hong Kong for only a few hundred… Taking a bus is so troublesome…

Suzy: Speaking of which, it’s been a while since we last went on a holiday as a whole family.

Lisa: Good idea! Maybe we could fly somewhere together at the end of the year…

Dan: Sure… Your treat eh, Sis? Hehehe… if you treat, I’m in. Any time…hahaha…

My wife rolled her eyes as I watched Keng looking through a leaflet. I could see that he was considering. He had nothing to do during weekdays anyway. And sure enough, two days later, he informed everyone that Wen and he would be going for the day tour on a Thursday.

My heart started beating faster as I mentally counted to the date he mentioned. It was going to happen in two days’ time. I dropped my boss an email that evening and applied for leave. Two months after my accidental eavesdropping, I finally could put my plan into motion.

Chapter 3

I watched from my room window as Keng and Wen left the house at 5:30 a.m. in a taxi. I got changed as usual, pretended to leave for work with my wife and got onto the train. The moment we parted ways, I made my way to have a quick breakfast. While other customers binged on Netflix and other streaming apps, I turned on the remote CCTV setup at home. From there, I had a tiled view of the common areas, corridor, yard, entrances, balcony and porch.

By 8:30 a.m., Suzy and Dan had left the house together and the house was finally empty. I finished my coffee and slowly made my way back home. Before I entered, however, I stopped the CCTV recording - not that anyone checked it but me; no one even knew how it worked. No one gave a fuck about the CCTV, the numerous routers and shit I set up around the house. They only came to me when the WIFI was not connecting or the signal was not strong enough. I dropped my bag on the floor in my room, changed into something comfortable, then went straight to Suzy and Dan’s room. Despite staying together for so long, I didn’t remember stepping into their room before. I simply had no reason to. If we needed to talk or gather, there were plenty of common areas in the house.

I couldn’t explain it, but the moment I stepped in, I felt this wave of arousal. There was this tingling excitement in my spine as I took in everything. I could feel my erection building as the scented air - the smell of Suzy’s perfume – of their bedroom flowed through my nostrils. My eyes went to the laundry basket, a duo rack setup with a ‘his’ and ‘hers’ printed on the canvas fabric. I felt a breeze and realised that the curtains were moving slightly. I knew Dan and Suzy did not close their balcony door again. It was a bad habit of theirs. Once, monkeys came in and raided their room, leaving droppings and food scraps all over the place. Another time, there was a crow trapped inside the room, and the best of all was the family of bats that decided to roost at a corner of their ceiling. No one knew until Suzy started screaming in the room.

Anyway, first things first, where did people hide most of their secrets? In secret hiding places of course. I started by opening every drawer and cabinet, trying to feel for hidden compartments and shit. The wardrobe in my room came built in with a hidden compartment. It was not a lot to expect the same for Suzy since her room was a mirror image of Lisa’s. Leaving the bottom drawer for the last, I pulled open drawer after drawer and was given a visual treat of Suzy’s lingerie. I was literally shaking with excitement when I looked at the neatly rolled up undies and stacked bras in a variety of designs and colours. I knew the hidden compartment was right beneath the bottom drawer, and I could have gone right for it, but no, I could not resist touching Suzy’s panties. Taking a pair of shorts with white and grey stripes, I unrolled it and pressed it to my face. I sniffed it hard and, although I could only smell the same detergent scent the whole family used, my brain associated the smell with Suzy's natural scent. My heart raced as I imagined her close to me, our bodies pressed against each other. I couldn't help but give in to the temptation and pull out more underwear, feeling their softness and exploring the designs. It was like a treasury of sensual items, each one more alluring than the last. I picked up a bra and covered my face with the bra cup.

Then I laughed at my ridiculous act. It was sick and nothing short of desperation, but it satisfied something in me. I replaced the lingerie and went for the hidden compartment. Opening it, I realised it was empty. I shut it and turned my attention to the rest of the room. There was a locked drawer at Suzy’s work desk and I looked around for the key. While I went through her table, in between some books, I saw a series of credit card bills belonging to Dan.

James: Holy fuck…

Dan owed a total of 17 thousand in credit card debts to four different banks, and that was just the overdue payment part. He had at least six ongoing instalment plans ranging from 12 to 36 months for various shit he bought on shopping platforms. And he was still actively charging those cards for everyday purchases of coffee and overpriced kaya toast. There was no easy way he could crawl out of that shit hole. I saw the statement for his banking account and he only had 2,500 dollars left. I shook my head and continued to snoop around. There was no sign of the key so I gave up on the locked drawer for now.

From the table, I worked my way to the bookshelves, then I made my way to the bathroom - it still had the fresh smell of Suzy’s shampoo. I turned to the laundry basket and could not resist reaching in. At the top of the pile was Suzy’s pyjamas - her old PE shorts and a faded loose top from her university netball team. The fabric felt cool to the touch. I picked up the clothes and breathed in deeply, savouring the scent that clung to them. It was a mix of her natural fragrance and a hint of lavender from her bath products. I held them close to my face and inhaled once more, feeling a wave of desire wash over me.

Next was her work clothes from the day before. I groaned as I brought each piece to my face. Her blouse, her bra, her work pants, everything smelled so deliciously sick, the act itself feeding the famished pervert in me. I kept going, reaching deeper down into the pile for her underwear - a lacy black thong, curled up into a tight ball, no doubt preserving the essence of her pussy scent. My heart pounded in my chest when I held onto her lacy black thong. I couldn't help but bring it to my nose, inhaling the lingering scent of her arousal mixed with her body heat. A shiver ran down my spine when I imagined her wearing it just the day before, feeling the soft fabric against her skin. With trembling hands, I carefully unfolded the thong and held it up to the light coming in from the balcony door. It was still damp, slightly misshapen from being worn for an entire day - a testament to Suzy's presence, her warmth, and the one thing I craved: her touch. It made me wonder if she did her work better when she was wearing something sexy underneath. I couldn't resist running my fingers over the satin material, imagining the soft skin beneath it that I had so longed to explore. A low groan escaped my lips as I felt a growing bulge in my pants, desperate for release.

Suddenly, my ears picked up something. A creak. A sound that made my heart stop beating for half a second. It was a creak from the main gate - one made by an old, unoiled hinge. I froze. That was the unmistakable sound of someone coming into the compound. I immediately turned on my phone app for the camera and, to my horror, I saw Dan at the front door. What the fuck was he doing at home when he should be doing his deliveries at a town halfway across the country?

I panicked and quickly replaced the clothes in the laundry basket. I needed a place to hide, but there was no time. I heard the slam of the main door and knew he was just a few steps away from the stairs. If I ran out of his room when he came up, I was fucked. If he saw me in his room, I was also fucked. There was no way I could explain myself out of the predicament. At that moment, I was certain my life was over. The tiled windows on my phone showed me that Dan had come up the stairs and was walking along the corridor. I took a deep breath, bracing myself for the inevitable when he opened his room door. To my surprise, however, he did not come to his room. I watched him walk right past his room and he slowed down his approach as he neared the entrance of my room. Dan looked around in a suspicious manner and he glanced at the camera for a brief moment before reaching for my door handle.

James: What the fuck…?

Chapter 4

Dan cautiously opened my room door and shut it behind him. Why the fuck would Dan go into my room? I went over to the opened balcony door and stepped outside. Unlike Dan and Suzy’s room, my balcony door was always closed when we left the room. The curtains, however, would be partially drawn. I kept away from the field of view from my sliding door and my eyes widened when I saw the fleeting shadow of curtains being drawn. Nothing I could think of could explain why Dan would go into my room and draw the curtains. There were no cameras in my room and I wouldn’t know what he was up to, but this was a good opportunity for me to get away. However, my work bag and my work clothes were still in my room, and I couldn’t possibly run anywhere except try to hide in the house until Dan was gone. I took a deep breath and quietly opened Dan’s room door. If I ran out the moment Dan came out of my room, it was also a game over moment for me. I exhaled twice and stepped out. I closed Dan’s room door with a trembling hand and I ran down the hallway, jumping down the last few steps of the stairs. I barely got to the kitchen when I heard my room door open. Diving behind the kitchen island, I hugged my knees and held my breath. Clutching my phone in hand, I watched the camera, tracking Dan’s movements. He was walking down the corridor and coming down the stairs. He was holding onto something in his hand.

When I saw what he was holding on to, my blood was boiling. It was money. Dan had a stack of dollar bills in his hand and I knew exactly where those came from. It was from my wife’s stash. She never kept track of her loose change, and lately, she had been complaining that her stash of Chinese New Year notes and red packets seemed to have gotten thinner. I wanted to rise up and confront Dan, but he was not done. He went right into my in-law’s room on the ground floor. The camera in the living room clearly captured Dan going in. At that point, I decided to take another gamble. I needed to change my hiding position, so I crawled towards the stairs. After taking a deep breath, I ran back up to level two. Heading straight for my room, I quickly shut the door. I knew Dan had not noticed my work bag and clothes in the corner of the room. The first thing I did was to take in the room’s layout. Everything seemed to be in order - not that I deliberately positioned things in a certain way to see if anyone came into my room. At least it didn’t look like it was ransacked. I didn’t know why, but I took a look at the laundry basket and saw my wife’s pyjamas and lingerie at the top of the pile.

Unlike Dan and Suzy, who separated their laundry, my wife and I didn’t really care. We just threw everything into the same basket. I clearly remembered putting mine in after hers, which meant my clothes should be on top of the pile. Upon inspection, I realised that not only were my wife’s pyjamas up on top, her work clothes, the dress she wore the day before, her blouse, her bra, even her underwear were brought right up to the top of the pile. There could only be one reason to that and it was rather obvious. Dan was doing the same thing I was doing with Suzy’s clothes.

But enough about the clothes. I went straight to my own money stash. I kept a money diary with separate Ziploc folders to hold my foreign currency and some spare cash. Every folder was clearly labelled with the amount in there. I hardly used the money unless it was an emergency, like I forgot to withdraw cash for red packets for a wedding and stuff, so I only did a count like once a year or after each trip overseas, to replenish and update. And since it had been a while since a holiday trip, I barely touched the money diary. I pulled it out from among the books on the shelves and, after a q