I WAS A USELESS SON-IN-LAW, NOW I DECIDE FATE

Decline? No, unlimited? yes!

Edward knew the voice belonged to Ethan's even before he turned.

His eyes swept from Ethan to Ava, who stood side by side, their hands were locked like lovers, How shameless.

This morning, anger had burned through him like gasoline, but now? He felt Nothing. His face stayed calm, and so did his mind. Maybe what had happened at Ethan's villa had broken something loose inside him, or maybe his new identity came with a thicker skin. Either way, the breakup wasn't cutting as deep as he'd expected not even seeing them standing like lovers.

A month ago, if someone had told him he could move on from Ava so easily, he would have called them a liar.

His eyes caught the bandage on Ethan's cheek, a tiny white square. All because of one smack Edward almost laughed.

Ethan had an ugly smirk curling at the corner of his mouth. He hadn't expected to see Edward still in the city, but here he was, standing at the front desk like he belonged. He had expected him to be tucked away somewhere, crying and drowning in his miserable little life. Yet here he stood, asking for the most expensive room in Goldmere Grand.

Ethan was sure Edward had seen them together, gotten rattled, and meant to say "cheapest" but his tongue had betrayed him, trying to cover his shame. Even the cheapest room here cost more than Edward could scrape together if he sold his own teeth, So why come here? Why not slink off to one of those motels that looked like abandoned buildings and spare himself the embarrassment?

Ethan stepped closer, close enough for Edward to smell his woody, expensive cologne, the kind that cost more than Edward’s monthly grocery budget. He was determined to embarrass him.

"Edward, why are you here? Can't you stop embarrassing yourself already?" Ava finally spoke. She'd been frozen, staring at Edward like he'd crawled out of a grave she'd already buried. "Is it because of that little change you took before leaving the house? That can't even rent any room here, Edward."

She'd thought their paths wouldn't cross again, at least not until the divorce papers were signed, and then he'd disappear completely. But here he was, asking for a room that cost over a hundred thousand dollars. She scoffed, wondering who his confidence plug was.

Ethan's driver had taken them to the hospital hours ago. Ethan had gotten a drip, and they'd bandaged his precious cheek all because of the bruise caused by Edward. Now they'd come to relax after all that stress, yet this man still appeared.

Ava felt something flicker in her chest. At first, she had felt pity for him, but now it was replaced with disgust. Couldn't he just move on from her? She hissed under her breath, irritated by his stubbornness.

"Oh, I see." Ethan laughed, but in his heart, he felt a pang of pain that made his chest tighten. So Edward still had some money? That explained the boldness the way he'd walked in here like he belonged. "No wonder he rejected my little gift the bonus from his boss."

"Some little change," Ava jumped in quickly, smoothing the sharp line between Ethan's eyes the way she always did. "It wasn't even up to a hundred dollars. Apparently, he's been saving it." She chuckled, as the words made her uncomfortable. Married to a man whose entire savings weren't even up to a hundred dollars, what an insult to her beauty.

"Oh, I see." Mockery dripped from Ethan's voice now. A grown man with under a hundred dollars in savings, breathing the same air as him?

Edward just looked at Ava. The woman he'd loved…truly loved deeply with his whole heart, now stood beside another man, talking about him like he was garbage. He shook his head for ever believing Ava loved him all this while.

"Look." Edward's voice came out low but steady, a warning tucked beneath his calm tone "I don't have your time. I came here to rent a place, so do what you're here for and stop bothering me." Then he turned to the receptionist.

Ethan's palm cracked against the desk. He was infuriated by Edward's boldness "I want this man out of this building. Else I leave, and you know what that means for Goldmere Grand." He said it proudly.

He stretched out his arm, letting his diamond watch catch the light. I am money, and I am power So choose wisely.

Fighting Edward wasn't an option, John hadn't brought the new security yet, so this was his only way to get rid of Edward at the moment. No hotel clerk in their right mind would risk offending the son of the city's fifth-richest man to favor a nobody like Edward.

Meanwhile, the receptionist was in another world. She'd swiped Edward's card so as to humiliate him. She wanted to watch the screen flash DECLINED so she could look at his shabby clothes and tired face and say, Sorry, sir, this appears to be a fraudulent Mastercard.

But the screen didn't flash DECLINED. She'd swiped it to their internal system, expecting a good laugh. But Instead, her mouth fell open.

The card was real. The balance read UNLIMITED, the kind of account that didn't just have money but had a black hole where a limit should be.

Ethan's card, by contrast, had a limit. A generous one, sure. But a limit nonetheless.

If anyone should be asked to leave, it was him. But she couldn't say that as she dared not offend Ethan.

Ethan’s family owned half the city so she couldn't offend him for a man in a wrinkled shirt with no designer tag.

Everything about Edward screamed nobody, which meant one thing…Edward had stolen someone's unlimited Mastercard.

"Security!" Her voice rose, pulling every eye in the lobby toward them. "We have an imposter! He's stolen a wealthy man's card!"

Security men rushed forward.

But then…

Click, click, click. Heels hit the floor as a woman pushed herself through the small crowd.

Her dark hair swept over one shoulder. Merely looking at her, you could tell she came from serious money. She moved straight toward Edward, her face softening into something warm and intimate, like she'd known him forever.

"There you are, darling." Her melodic voice echoed while she slid her hand into Edward's. "I've been looking everywhere for you.”