My mornings started earlier so I could shower before work. I became more careful about choosing clothes, hoping everything about my appearance would meet his approval.
In the evenings, I showered again.
What had once been a refreshing routine became a stressful obligation.
I bought different body washes, deodorants, powders, and scented products, searching for anything that might remove the odor Jacob claimed to notice.
Even though I was doing everything he asked, I became increasingly self-conscious.
I constantly wondered whether I smelled strange, whether other people noticed, and whether Jacob was silently judging me.
Several weeks later, during another quiet evening, he asked to speak with me again.
The tension in his face told me the conversation would not be easy.
“Soph, I really like you, but the showering isn’t helping,” he confessed.
Then he hesitated before saying what he claimed he had been avoiding.
“I didn’t want to hurt your feelings, but I asked you to shower more because you have a body odor issue.”
The words were humiliating.
No one had ever mentioned such a problem before. I had never noticed anything myself. Yet hearing it from someone I trusted made me doubt my own senses.
I had already changed my routine, spent money on new products, and become anxious about my body.
Now Jacob was telling me none of it had worked.
After that conversation, I became obsessed with finding an explanation.
I researched possible causes of body odor, medical conditions, treatments, and specialized products.
My bathroom shelves filled with increasingly expensive soaps, sprays, and powders. I bought anything that promised complete odor protection.
But the more effort I made, the more disconnected I became from my own perception.
I no longer trusted what I smelled or did not smell.
I trusted Jacob.
