Don's world had changed overnight, and now he found himself walking on eggshells at home. His encounters with Alan had left him with a dark secret, one he dared not share with his wife. Each conversation was a delicate dance, carefully avoiding any mention of his pain. 

"Don, you seem... different," his wife probed one evening. Her brow was furrowed with worry, eyes searching his face for answers. Don merely offered her a wan smile, the hollow echo of his old self. 

At work, Alan continued his torment. The office had transformed from a place of productivity to a den of predatory advances. His demands became more outrageous, escalating to a point where he proposed a chilling ultimatum.

"You won't need sex anymore, Don," Alan told him, a sickening smirk playing on his lips. "I'm all the intimacy you need."

Don could only stare in horror. Alan's twisted idea of intimacy was far from what he knew and cherished. As he navigated through his tumultuous life, Don felt a part of him being stripped away piece by piece, leaving him adrift in a sea of despair.

The deafening silence of his hidden ordeal was swallowing him whole, but he knew he couldn't give in. He had to fight back, even if he didn't quite know how yet. The storm was far from over, and Don found himself searching for the strength to weather it.