“Once, when I was 27, my uncle asked me, ‘Are you a virgin?’ From that moment on, I began to be afraid of him. A few days later, when he took me to a hotel on the outskirts of the city, he leaned close to my ear by the pool and whispered, ‘After the pool, come up to my room…’”

But

during the last year, Richard had changed.

He started asking strange questions.

“Did you keep any of your mother’s old belongings?”

Or:

 

“Have you ever wondered why your father never liked to talk about his youth?”

Normally, I would just laugh and change the subject.

But then, one day, he suddenly asked me a question that left me frozen.

“Emily, are you a virgin?”

For a few seconds, I honestly thought I had misheard him.

“What?”

Richard looked away.

“I’m asking if you’ve ever been in a serious relationship.”

I stared at him.

“What does that have to do with you?”

He immediately changed the subject.

But I couldn’t forget the question.

From that day on, every time he called me, I felt uneasy.

Then, a few days later, Richard called me on Saturday morning.

“Emily, are you free today?”

“I think so.”

“Come with me. I’ve reserved a