Chapter 2: You're Too Poor

Lily was shocked to see Ethan at the door. Her face went pale as she quickly pushed the man off her and covered herself with the duvet, looking at Ethan with a mix of shock and guilt.

The man, on the other hand, had an ugly expression on his face as he quickly scrambled to his feet, reaching for his clothes in a hurry. As he dressed, he shot a look of disdain at Ethan, as if he found the whole situation amusing.

"Ethan, what are you doing home so early?" she asked, trying to hide the nervousness in her voice.

Ethan chuckled bitterly as he stepped closer to her. "Were you expecting me to stay late so you could enjoy your intimacy?" He asked, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

Lily's face went pale as she looked down at the ground, unable to meet his gaze.

"Ethan please." She said. "It's not what it looks like," she said, her voice trembling with emotion. "I can explain. Just give me a chance to explain."

"Bullshit!"

He replied with a yell. "Are you telling me it's not what it looks like when another man is on top of you having sex with you?" Ethan's voice grew louder.

"Who is he, Lily?" The man asked with an angry expression.

"Who am I? Am I not the one supposed to ask you such?" Ethan pushed past Lily and walked over to the bed, where the man was still trying to get dressed. "Who are you?" he asked, his eyes blazing with fury.

The man sneered at Ethan. "None of your business," he said, trying to brush past him.

But Ethan wasn't about to let him go that easily. He grabbed the man by the collar of his shirt and pushed him up against the wall. "You come into my home and sleep with my wife, and you have the nerve to tell me it's none of my business?" he spat.

Lily was seething with anger as she watched Ethan push the man up against the wall. "How dare you!" she yelled, rushing over to them.

Ethan let go of the man and turned to face Lily, his eyes blazing with fury. "How dare I? How dare you cheat on me with this man?" he spat.

"So what if I cheated on you? Do you know who he is? He's Mr. Roger Anderson, a big businessman helping my company out; are you qualified enough to stand against him?" Lily yelled.

"You have no right to attack him like that, Ethan. He's a successful businessman in Ashville, and he deserves your respect," she said, her voice shaking with anger.

Ethan was taken aback by Lily's defense of Roger. He had never seen her so protective of anyone before, especially not a man she had been caught cheating with. "What the hell is going on here, Lily?" he asked, his confusion mounting.

Roger, who had been watching the exchange with a bemused expression, finally spoke up. "Who is this guy, Lily? And why is he treating you like this?" He asked, his tone curious.

Lily looked at Roger and sighed. "He's my husband," she said, her voice barely above a whisper.

Roger frowned in confusion. "Your husband? But you said you didn't have a husband," he said, looking at her quizzically.

Ethan felt his world collapse around him as he heard those words. Lily had been lying to him all this time, and he had no idea what else she had been hiding from him.

"Mr. Anderson, you don't have to worry. Ethan and I are only having a fake marriage; we have never done anything couples do, so it shouldn't be a problem." Lily added

As Lily finished speaking, Ethan's body vibrated with shock and hurt. He took a step backward, his eyes fixed on Lily, trying to comprehend what he just heard.

"What are you saying, Lily? Is our marriage fake?" His voice quivered with pain.

Lily rolled her eyes and scoffed. "Of course it is, and you know that. You're only here because you were willing to be my fake husband and pretend to be married to me so I could inherit my father's properties."

One year ago, before Lily's dad's death, he only gave her the option that she would be able to inherit his company and other properties if she was married. Desperate to get all the properties, she promised Ethan, who used to work as a cleaner in a company she knew, a sum of $50,000 in order to get married to him.

Desperate to improve his financial situation, Ethan agreed to the proposal without hesitation. Besides, Lily was a beautiful and successful businesswoman, so he felt like he hit the jackpot. They got married in a simple ceremony, and Lily's father handed over the paperwork for the properties to her, making her the sole owner.

Ethan's shoulders slumped as he struggled to process the truth. "But... but we've been married for a year. How could it be fake?"

Lily shook her head. "Don't be naive, Ethan. You knew what you were getting into when you agreed to this. You're just a part-time delivery boy and a part-time cleaner. You could never give me the kind of life I wanted. Roger, on the other hand, is a successful businessman. He could give me everything I ever wanted." She said as she moved towards Roger, throwing her arm around his waist.

Ethan's heart shattered into a million pieces as he heard Lily's words. He was always sure that their marriage was not real, but he had hoped that one day they would fall in love and make it work.

"Even if our marriage is fake, I'm still your husband, Lily. Did I deserve to be cheated on?" He asked with tears dripping down his cheeks.

"Stop spewing nonsense, Ethan." Lily sneered. "I paid you $10,000 for this deal, and you wasted it even expecting us to be couples? Tell me, have I ever slept on the same bed with you before? She asked

Ethan's body was only vibrating because he was not quite able to answer. Even though they're married, Lily always slept on the bed while he slept on the floor. Not only that, she had never allowed him to get closer to her.

He wiped the tears from his eyes and tried to steady his voice. "Lily, didn't you always want a gift?" he asked, his hand shaking as he held out the cake box he had left on the floor. "I saved up for weeks just to buy you this."

Lily laughed bitterly and snatched the box from his hands, throwing it across the room. The box opened as it hit the floor, and the cake tumbled out, smashing against the ground.

Ethan felt his heart break at the sight. He had worked hard to save up for that cake, and now it was ruined. But more than that, he felt the finality of the situation settle over him like a heavy blanket. There was no going back from this.

"You brought a $50 cake to me as a gift; how poor you are, Ethan!"

"Mr. Anderson bought me a necklace worth $15,000; tell me, can you ever afford that in your entire life?" Lily teased.

"When you couldn't even manage the $50,000 I gave you, do you think you would be able to manage any amount of money? I feed you with my own money; do you still dare consider yourself my husband of I Lily Johnson?" She sneered at him, her eyes cold and hard.

Ethan felt his anger rising at her words. "What I've done? What about what you've done, Lily? You cheated on me!" He yelled, his voice echoing through the room.