Chapter 2

I waited at home until midnight before Ethan finally returned.

When he opened the door and saw me sitting on the couch, there was neither any trace of guilt on his face nor the urge to explain.

Instead, he barked an order, "Run the bath for me. And pour me a cold drink."

When I didn’t move, he pressed his fingers to his brow in irritation. "Maya, what little tantrum are you throwing now? I’m exhausted, alright?"

"Exhausted from drinking? Or from making out with another woman?" My words dripped with sarcasm. "And you still expect me to treat you with respect?"

Ethan gave a short, cold laugh. "I’ve already told you, it was business. I was playing along. You’ve been out of work for years; you wouldn’t understand. But even you must see it was because Victoria and I acted the part that Lewis signed the contract so quickly."

His words hit me hard, stealing my breath and planting seeds of self-doubt.

It was true. At first, Lewis had kept stalling, but the moment he was led to believe Ethan and Victoria were a married couple, he’d signed the deal without hesitation.

Still, something about it felt wrong. I couldn’t quite name it, and the words died on my lips.

All I could manage was, "Business or not, I’m your wife. How could you be that intimate with another woman?"

Ethan shot back with scorn, "So what was I supposed to do? Not protect a subordinate? Start a fight with Lewis? Walk away from a multimillion-dollar deal? Stop providing for us?"

Like always, our quarrel spiraled into him insisting I didn’t understand the workplace, that I was being unreasonable.

In the end, he delivered his judgment from on high. "Maya, see? I’m right. You’re not suited for the corporate world. Just stay home quietly. As Mrs. Graves, you’ll never want for money. Tomorrow I’ll hand in your resignation on your behalf."

I bit my lip so hard I tasted blood and refused to answer. Out of patience, Ethan left me with one last line before slamming the bedroom door shut, "We’ll do it my way."

Left alone on the couch, tears streamed silently down my face.

Fine. Let’s say he was only putting on a show for business.

But what gave him the right to so easily declare that I wasn’t suited for the workplace? That I could only survive by relying on him?

Back then, when his mother fell ill and the caretaker abused her, I had quit my job to care for her.

I had already received the contract for my promotion as manager. On the other hand, he was just another ordinary employee. I lost that position and my career. When he was fired, I even poured my parents’ entire inheritance into his first venture.

I nursed his mother for five years, never letting him lift a finger at home. Without me, he never could have become the Ethan Graves everyone admired.

Now that his mother had passed, just as I finally had the chance to step back into my career, he dismissed me in a single breath.

As for the reason? Because I didn’t "understand" his intimacy with another woman.

The thought of divorce thundered in my mind, relentless.

But… I couldn’t bear it. Ethan wasn’t just my husband; he was the boy I’d loved in secret since I was young.

Aside from tonight, he had never betrayed me. No matter how busy he was, he always came home. He remembered my birthday. He brought me gifts. He checked in with me.

More than anything, I couldn’t swallow the bitterness.

Why was it that I had given five years of my life, poured in all my money, and raised him into the powerful Ethan Graves while I was nothing more than little Maya from the office, a nobody at work, a servant at home?

I smothered the doubts in my chest again and again, forcing myself to believe it was just an act, nothing more.

However, I never imagined that once the first crack appeared in the heart, the dam would burst faster than you ever thought it could.