Chapter 2

When Lana got home, dawn was breaking.

As soon as she opened the door, Ethan grabbed her arm. "Where have you been? Why didn't you answer your phone?"

Though his tone was urgent, there wasn't a trace of worry about her being out all night on his face—only interrogation.

She had injuries on her face and neck, but he couldn't see them at all.

Back in the day, he would notice immediately if she even trimmed her bangs slightly.

It was true what they said—whether a man loves you or not, his eyes are the first to give it away.

Actually, all the signs had been there for a while. Last month when she had the flu and was bedridden, he didn't spend a single day with her. She even went to the hospital alone.

She hadn't complained because he really was busy—after all, the company was about to go public.

Back then, she had been so love-struck and naive.

Lana shook off his hand. "What about you? Were you really busy last night? If it wasn't for all the news flooding the internet, I would never have known that my husband, who didn't even have time to spend our anniversary with me, somehow had time to have sex with his secretary in a car!"

Ethan's expression changed. "You've got it all wrong. Miss Walsh and I aren't what you think at all. Last night we attended a business reception, and someone spiked our drinks. The reporters were arranged by them too. The company goes public in a month. We've grown too fast these past years, and plenty of people resent our success. That's why they chose this critical moment to set us up!"

Neither Ethan nor Lily had ever considered that Lana might be behind what happened.

Especially Lily.

She didn't think Lana—who couldn't even confront her cheating husband when she caught him red-handed—had the guts for something like that.

Besides, even if she had the guts, she didn't have the ability.

She was nothing more than a pitiful woman who just cooked, cleaned, and waited around for Ethan.

Staring at Ethan's hypocritical face, Lana's eyes darkened. "If you want me to believe you, then fire Lily Walsh."

"Impossible!" Realizing he'd said something he shouldn't have, Ethan's dark eyes flickered. "What I mean is, the company is about to go public. She's been handling all the projects, and we can't find anyone to replace her right now."

"I can!" Lana jumped in. "I used to be your secretary. I know all the projects pretty well."

"...Lana, we've been together for ten years. Is this how little you trust me?" Ethan looked disappointed.

"Since you don't want Lily to leave..." Lana looked at him without a flicker of emotion in her eyes. "Then I can step aside."

Ethan's face grew even uglier. "What do you mean?"

Lana smiled slightly. "Let's get divorced. That way, you and Lily can have sex however you want!"

He suddenly grabbed her chin. "Lana, I've explained everything I need to explain. Believe it or don't believe it, but divorce? Don't even think about it!"

Not only was she thinking about it, she had already done it. She even had a plan ready to leave him with nothing.

Probably feeling truly guilty, Ethan surprisingly stayed home for half the day. Around noon, he came to the bedroom to find Lana. "I didn't spend time with you last night, so I'll make it up to you today. What do you want to eat? I'll take you out later."

Just as he finished speaking, his phone rang.

It was that special ringtone. Lana had heard it many times before.

He'd told her his mother was getting older and her health was declining, so he'd set a special ringtone to make sure he could answer her calls immediately.

What bullshit!

He didn't answer, just hung up directly, then said to her, "Mom's health isn't good to begin with, and last night's incident was a huge shock to her. I need to go see her first, then I'll come back and take you out."

Without waiting for her response, he turned and left.

"Ethan, let me come with you. Even though your mother doesn't really like me as a daughter-in-law, I still need to show my respect," Lana said, making as if to get up from the bed.

She hadn't slept all night and wanted to catch up on sleep, but couldn't fall asleep no matter what.

"...She's in a bad mood. You better not come. I'll be back soon."

After saying this, Ethan strode away quickly, as if afraid Lana would follow.

He said he'd be back soon, but ended up being gone for two days without even a phone call or text.

However, that anonymous number sent her many photos of Ethan and Lily.

Going to work together, leaving work together, having candlelit dinners together, sleeping in each other's arms...

Lana looked through them one by one until tears blurred her vision.

Just as the tears were about to fall, she roughly wiped them away.

From now on, she would never shed another tear for Ethan.

As for the photos, she immediately forwarded them to the paparazzi from that night.

Since Lily had delivered herself on a silver platter, she might as well make good use of it.

After all, the private investigator she'd hired to follow them hadn't captured anything this explicit.

Why not send them directly to Ethan to show him what kind of person Lily really was?

She would, just not now!

Pulling herself together, Lana put on light makeup and left the house in the evening.

She had arranged to meet someone for dinner.

After all, if she wanted to completely destroy Ethan's reputation, those scandals alone wouldn't be enough. She needed allies.

This was a war without gunfire, and she was determined to win.

The entire dinner went very pleasantly. As she was leaving, passing by a private dining room with an open door, she heard a conversation about herself.

"Keeping the wife at home while playing around outside—Ethan’s been living it up for over a year now. If he really had to choose, who do you think he'd pick?"

"Isn't that obvious? Six months ago he made Lana step aside for Miss Walsh. Isn't his attitude clear enough? Lily is his treasure now. Ten Lanas probably couldn't compare."

"True. There are so many women in the world. With Ethan’s current status, he could sleep with anyone just by crooking his finger. Why waste his whole life on Lana!"

"Clap, clap, clap..."

The sudden applause made everyone look toward the door. When they saw it was Lana, their expressions varied.

"Beautifully said!" Lana leaned against the doorframe with her arms crossed, her tone lazy but her eyes completely different from before. "For you to say things like that proves you all think the same way. You've probably even done the same dirty things as Ethan. In that case, I'll tell your wives later so they can step aside and stop wasting your time."

Their faces grew even uglier. Lana smiled at them. "I'll definitely pass along the message. If they can't understand, I'll help convince them."

Just as she finished speaking, a female voice came from behind her. "They were just joking around. Miss Carter, why take it so seriously..."

She turned to look—who else could it be but Lily Walsh.

Ethan was standing next to her.

They must have planned to meet these guys. So all those times over the past year when he stopped taking her out, Lily had been going with him. Even to his boys' nights.

They'd been keeping her in the dark for over a year!

"Slap!" Without a word, Lana raised her hand and gave Lily a hard slap across the face.