MY HUSBAND OWNS HALF THE CITY

The Showdown

Maya stood near the bar, a drink in her hand, her eyes fixed on the elevator. When Kai stepped out, her face flickered with surprise, then unmistakable displeasure. She’d been waiting to hear he’d been turned away. Instead, here he was, walking in like he belonged.

What the hell? Maya’s grip tightened on her glass. Those useless security guards couldn’t stop one person? They just let this loser waltz in here like he owns the place? Her jaw clenched. Fine. If they couldn’t handle him, she would.

She recovered quickly, her smile sharp as a blade.

“Everyone!” Her voice cut through the noise. Conversations stopped, heads turned. “I want you all to meet someone very special.” She gestured at Kai with exaggerated warmth. “This is Kai Walker—Lila’s new husband. It’s his first time at Apex, so please make him feel welcome.”

The silence that followed was heavy and loaded, until laughter ripped through the crowd.

“That broke nobody?” a woman sneered, voice dripping contempt. “Lila’s family lost their minds?”

“Marrying her off to trash like him?” another hissed. “She’s throwing away everything!”

For a moment, all eyes were on Lila—filled with sympathy, pity, and ridicule, as if she had suddenly fallen from her place in society.

Her face went pale. She grabbed Kai’s arm. “Let’s go. Now.”

Before they could move, Daniel Cross stepped into their path.

Daniel Cross—the sole heir of the Cross family. Seventy percent of the region’s tax revenue flows from his family’s empire, Cross Steel. This steel giant has dominated the local economy since his grandfather’s era, a true king among men. With a background like this, almost nothing is out of Daniel’s reach—if he wants it, he gets it.

But now, he was like an eggplant struck by frost—wilted and drained of all fire.

“Is it true?” His voice shook. “Is this guy really your husband?”

Lila’s face flushed with embarrassment. Daniel’s shouting was drawing every eye in the room. She stepped forward, voice sharp. “Daniel, don’t push this any further. Move aside.”

“You can’t be serious.” Daniel’s hands clenched into fists.  

In his mind, this was impossible—Lila was supposed to be his, the perfect match to seal his family’s rise. He’d spent months courting her, showering her with gifts, making sure everyone knew she was off-limits. This nobody couldn’t just steal her.  

“Did they force you? Did your family pressure you into this?” His voice rose, desperate. “If you can’t fight back, I will. I’ll talk to them. I’ll help you get out of this marriage. You don’t have to—”

Kai’s eyes narrowed as Daniel’s hand shot toward Lila’s arm. Another man touching his wife—forced or not. The doorman’s sneer, the crowd’s whispers, the endless underestimation since the door... it all clicked into place.

But Daniel grabbing at Lila—his wife, whether either of them wanted it or not, was a line.

“Let go,” Kai said quietly.

Daniel ignored him completely, his fingers closing around Lila’s other arm. “Just tell me the truth. Did they make you—”

The dismissal stung more than the words. Like Kai wasn’t even worth acknowledging. Like he didn’t exist.

“I said let go.” Kai’s voice dropped lower, colder. The anger he’d been suppressing since the entrance finally started to surface.

“You have no right to speak here! You tricked her family into—”

That was it. Kai’s control snapped.

He grabbed Daniel by the collar and slammed him into the wall.

The impact rattled the picture frames. Daniel’s breath left his lungs in a wheeze. His face went red, then purple. Kai held him there, his expression carved from ice, the anger finally released but controlled—cold and precise.

“I said,” Kai repeated slowly, each word deliberate, “let go.”

He released him. Daniel collapsed against the wall, sliding down, coughing and gasping for air.

Daniel pushed himself off the wall, his face flushed dark red. He jabbed a finger at Kai, voice dripping with contempt. ‘You think that proves anything? Any thug can throw a sucker punch.’ He turned to address the crowd, playing to his audience. ‘This is the man Lila married? A nobody who can’t win with words so he resorts to violence? How pathetic. How did you do it, Walker? What lies did you feed her grandfather? What strings did you pull to trap her into this joke of a marriage?”

“What’s it got to do with you?” His voice was calm, dangerous. “She’s already married to me. What are you trying to do—steal another man’s wife?”

The crowd erupted.

“Fuck off, who the hell does he think he is?”

“Get back here! Who the fuck are you pretending to be?!”

“Don’t fucking run! If you’ve got the guts, fight me straight up. You think you’re some badass just running off after talking tough?!”

Kai raised a brow, his gaze sweeping over the hostile faces with open contempt. He snorted softly.

“You’re not even worth fighting.”

The crowd completely snapped—faces flushed, necks bulging as they shouted for Kai to stop, yet not a single one dared to actually make a move.

Until Maya stepped forward, her face flushed with anger she’d been holding back all night. “Then fight me.”

The crowd fell quiet—then whispers surged back in like a rising tide.

“What did she just say? Did I hear that right—Maya’s going to fight him?”

“He deserves it. No money, no backing, and still acting all high and mighty. Someone needs to teach him a lesson.”

“Exactly! Maya’s top three in the national fighting tournament. If she doesn’t beat the crap out of this guy today, it won’t be enough to vent our anger.”

“Go, Maya! Show him no mercy—we’re all behind you!”

A bad feeling crept up Kai’s spine as the situation grew trickier by the second. He sighed helplessly.

“Okay—but I don’t hit women.”

Before the words could fade, a fierce palm strike cut through the air, carrying a faint, intoxicating trace of her scent. Kai’s eyes flickered. He moved in a flash, meeting force with softness, his broad hand closing around Maya’s punch.

Her fingers were shockingly cold. “A real cold-blooded one,” he muttered.

He released her at once, retreating to safety, brushing past her flowing hair as it whipped through the air.

“Save your breath,” Maya snapped, lunging at him again. “Take it like a man.”