Chapter 4

The rest of the party went soured and Ethan could hardly contain himself. He whispered something to the MC before storming off with Lexi. Not even Sophia's fake voice could calm him down.

Lexi just had a smile on her face, one that could crush the pride of any man.

The penthouse was silent when they walked in. 

Ethan threw his jacket onto the couch as he paced the living room, a storm waiting to break. The smell of whiskey and stale perfume clung to him. The very scent that lingered around Sophia too.

Lexi instantly felt disgusted, but she pulled herself back. It wasn't yet time.

She stood by the doorway, clutching her bag and waiting for the explosion.

It didn't take long.

“What the hell was that?” he snapped, spinning toward her.

She blinked slowly, keeping her face blank. “What was what?”

“Don’t play dumb, Lexi.” His voice rose, echoing off the high ceilings. “You danced with him. Maxwell Reed. My rival. In front of every investor I have!”

Lexi stayed quiet. 

He stepped closer, jabbing a finger in her face. “Do you have any idea what that looked like? You embarrassed me tonight. You humiliated me.”

“Ethan, I—”

“You think that man cares about you?” He laughed, a bitter, ugly sound. “He’s using you to get to me! Christ, how can you be so stupid?”

There it is. That word again. Stupid. 

“I wasn’t thinking,” Lexi said softly, forcing a tremor into her voice. “I just wanted to fix things. You were so angry… I didn’t want people to make a scene.”

He exhaled hard, rubbing his temples aggressively. “Well, you made it worse.”

“I’m sorry,” Lexi whispered, taking a step closer. “You know I would never try to hurt you. I love you too much.”

He looked down at Lexi, suspicious. But he saw what he wanted to see: a submissive, apologetic wife. One that he assumed should remain stupid.

Lexi reached out, her fingers brushing his chest as she loosen his tie. “You’ve had too much to drink,” she soothed. “You’re stressed. You should relax.”

For a second, he stayed rigid. Then, slowly, his shoulders dropped. His anger dulled, replaced by arrogance.

“You always know how to calm me down,” he muttered.

Lexi smiled faintly. “It’s what wives are for.”

He smirked, his hand gripping her waist a little too hard. “You’re lucky you’re beautiful, Lexi. You know that?”

Lucky.

She let him kiss her as her hands rested gently on his chest. Suddenly, Ethan pulled back, his eyes hazy. Lexi's hand on his chest froze for a second or less, the text messages of last night invading her memories.

She watched as Ethan checked his watch. “I have to go out for a bit. A client needs to see me.”

It was almost laughable that Lexi had ignored these signs all these years. He didn't even try to make the lie convincing anymore.

“At midnight?” Lexi asked, keeping her tone light.

He shrugged, already grabbing his phone. “Business doesn’t sleep, Lexi. Neither do I.”

She nodded. “Okay. Don’t stay out too late.”

He didn't reply. He didn't even look back. The heavy front door clicked shut a few seconds later, and he was gone.

The moment the lock clicked, the act dropped.

Lexi's shoulders relaxed. The fake sweetness vanished from her face. She walked to the window and watched his car pull out of the driveway, heading straight out of the penthouse.

She waited. 

One minute. 

Then two. 

Lexi quickly slipped on her robe, picked up her keys, and followed him. She told herself it was just to ease her mind. Just to prove she was wrong.

But when she saw him step into the entrance of the Langston Resort, where Sophia had mentioned in her texts, every denial fell apart.

Still, Lexi followed him until he stopped at the entrance of one of the rooms. Smiling bitterly, Lexi brought out her phone and took a video of him and Sophia kissing affectionately and roughly. It was as if they were about to make love on the spot. 

Her hands shaking, Lexi was about to leave when Sophia's nightingale voice stopped her right on track. She had pushed Ethan away from her, seemingly angry. 

" Ethan, I hate the way we sneak around even when I am your legal wife. Isn't it time for you to leave that woman?" 

Lexi thought maybe she heard wrong. Just, maybe. How could Sophia be his legal wife when she was the one who married him? 

" Babe, just give me another three years. I just need to stabilise the Blackwood family and gain leadership before I can discard her. You know I can only fully access her inheritance only if I keep the marriage together for five years. And that's why I had to fake the marriage certificate," Ethan's voice soothed, his hands playing on Sophia's waist.

Lexi stood rooted on the spot, her world gradually turning darker. Her fingers clasped too tightly on the phone with her edgy breathing. 

It's been a lie...

Everything has been a lie from the start. Her two years of marriage was just a sham, a stepping stone for that despicable husband of hers.

Scratch that husband shit!

He wasn't even married to her in the first place. Everything was fake. Marriage certificate. The act of a loving husband. Everything was fake!

Unable to watch further, Lexi turned around and left. 

That night something in her broke as she walked absentmindedly out of the resort, walking into oblivion. Even after minutes of walking nonstop, her mind was still a mess and to worsen it all, the sky just had to pour in torrents.

" Ethan...how could you?" Her faint whispers as she stood akimbo in the rain were like a goddess challenging the weather. 

Her blue eyes glowed differently, emotions dancing all around. Her luscious lips bit even harder than the droplets of rain on the ground. She looked lifeless, almost like a ghost wandering in the dark. 

Everywhere was gloomy, dark...

Not until, lights shone bright into the night as the blaring sound of a car approached. Impeding danger as the world watched her reaction. 

But she stood defiantly, oblivious to whatever danger was ahead of her. Only her husband's name kept resounding amidst the rumbling sound of thunder. 

One second. 

Two seconds.

But definitely less than four seconds and the screeching sound of a sleek black sedan luxury car hit but an inch away from Lexi whose eyes were fixed on nothing in particular. For her, the world was already still, feelings destroyed. 

Not until her blank eyes looked upon the man stepping out of the car. It was a feeling, one that seemed to make her blank eyes glint, only for a second.

" A painful death you are planning, woman. You could make use of the pharmacy instead," The man's cold voice rang through the stormy weather.

Just a glimpse at the person before her and Lexi's heart hardened. Not with the betrayal she had felt a while ago, but with an unquenchable fire.

A fire of revenge.

" Mr. Reed, do you care for a deal?"