Our business was on the verge of collapse. Bills piled up, employees threatened to leave, and the bank had stopped taking our calls. Every night felt like an endless loop of worry and despair. One evening, my husband came home, his face pale, his hands trembling as he set his briefcase down.

“There’s someone who can help us,” he said quietly. “An investor who’s willing to fund everything we need.” Relief washed over me, but it was short-lived. He hesitated before continuing, his voice breaking. “He…he has one condition. He wants you to spend the night with him.”

The words hung in the air like a dark cloud, suffocating us both. I felt a wave of anger, disbelief, and heartbreak all at once. “How could he ask something so disgusting?” I whispered, my voice trembling. My husband took my hand, his eyes filled with guilt. “If there was another way, I wouldn’t even bring this to you. But we’re out of options.”

We spent the night talking, weighing the consequences. If we refused, the business we’d poured our lives into would crumble, and so would our employees’ livelihoods. But agreeing felt like a betrayal of everything I believed in.

In the end, I made the decision. It wasn’t just for us—it was for the dozens of families relying on us to survive. As I left the house that evening, my heart was heavy, but I told myself it was the price of survival. One night, so that we could keep everything else.