The Beggar Husband Is a Trillionaire God

A sharp pain drilled into Claire Hayes's skull.

Her eyelids felt heavy, glued together by dried sweat. The air in the room was cold, smelling of damp concrete and cheap soap.

She shifted beneath the rough blanket, her muscles aching.

Then, her bare skin brushed against something solid.

Something warm, hard, and breathing.

Claire froze.

A chill raced down her spine. Her breath locked in her throat, and her heart began to hammer like a trapped beast.

Slowly, she lifted the blanket.

Her clothes were gone.

Her designer dress, her earrings, her underwear. Everything was scattered across the cheap floor in torn pieces.

Between her thighs, a dull ache told her the brutal truth.

She was completely naked. And she was no longer a virgin.

"No... this cannot be real," she whispered in horror.

She whipped her head to the side.

Lying on the single pillow next to her was a man.

He was sleeping soundly, bare above the waist. His chest was wide and corded with lean muscle, marked by pale scars. Dark hair fell over a sharp jawline.

As she moved, the man stirred.

His eyelids opened, revealing pitch-black eyes. There was no sleep in them. They were alert, calm, and sharp.

He looked at her, his lips curving into a lazy smirk.

"Good morning. Last night was intense. Want to keep going?"

He sat up easily, showing no shame. His powerful chest was on full display in the dim light.

He reached for a bottle of water on the nightstand, twisted the cap, and offered it to her.

"Drink this. That poison dried you out."

The humiliation and fury inside Claire snapped.

Her hand moved on pure instinct.

SMACK!

The loud slap echoed off the bare walls.

Ethan Cole blinked.

His head barely moved, though a red handprint rose on his cheek.

He did not get angry. He simply looked at the woman in front of him.

She was mesmerizing. Silky black hair tumbled over porcelain shoulders, framing a delicate face. Even with tears of rage in her hazel eyes, her beauty was breathtaking.

"You animal!" Claire screamed, clutching the blanket to her collarbone. "Who are you?! What did you do to me?!"

Her eyes darted down, and she noticed his body reacting to her presence.

"Look away, you pervert!" she shrieked, backing into the headboard. "Tell me what you did, or my family will bury you alive!"

Ethan set the water bottle down. His voice remained cool.

"Lower your voice. I did not do anything to you. You were the one who kicked my door open and begged me to sleep with you. Don't you remember?"

"Liar!" Claire shouted. "I am Claire Hayes, CEO of Hayes Bio-Pharma! I would never touch a dirty stranger! You must have drugged me and dragged me into this pigsty!"

Ethan sighed, running a hand through his hair.

"Watch your accusations. If I were a criminal, you would not be sitting there with your diamond ring. This is my room. You can check the hallway camera downstairs. See if I dragged you, or if you were clinging to my shirt."

Claire glared at him, but his calm words hit her like ice water.

Suddenly, her head flared with a sharp ache.

Memories rushed back.

Last night at the Starlight Hotel.

She had met Richard Vance, heir to Vance Logistics, to stop him from blocking her company's shipping contracts. She had agreed to a private drink in the VIP lounge to negotiate.

Richard had smiled, poured her wine, and promised to release her cargo if she was sweet to him.

She had taken three sips.

Within minutes, her blood felt like fire. Her legs turned weak, and her heart raced wildly.

She remembered Richard locking the door, his eyes dark with lust.

'Claire, why fight it?' his voice echoed in her mind. 'Tonight, you belong to me.'

In terror, she had smashed a bottle across his bodyguard's shoulder and fled down the fire stairs into the stormy alley.

The rain poured over her, but the heat in her blood burned hotter. It was Crimson Lotus, a deadly aphrodisiac that melted away a person's sanity.

She remembered stumbling into a cheap motel. She remembered seeing an open door, a man walking out with a towel, and throwing her burning body into his arms.

'Please... help me... touch me...'

Claire's face turned from pale white to burning red.

The memory was real. She had torn off his shirt. She had kissed his neck. She had begged him not to let her go.

"No..." Claire buried her face in her hands, shaking with shame. "No, this cannot be happening..."

"Remember now?" Ethan asked, leaning back against the pillows. "You begged me for hours."

"Shut up!" Claire hissed, lifting her head with blazing eyes.

Her tears spilled over, leaving hot streaks down her cheeks.

She had saved her virginity for twenty-four years, waiting for a true hero worthy of standing beside her.

Now, it had been stolen by a stranger in a thirty-dollar motel room.

Ethan looked at her distress. His tone stayed calm.

"The poison in your blood was lethal. If we did not release your blood flow through intimacy, your heart would have burst before midnight. I did not harm you. I saved your life."

He paused, then added:

"I took your virginity, so I will take responsibility. I will marry you. How about that?"

Claire stared at him in disbelief.

Then, a harsh laugh tore from her throat.

"Marry me? You want to marry me?!"

She looked around the room with total disgust.

On the chair sat a faded green army shirt with frayed cuffs. On the floor was a pair of dusty sneakers with holes in the sides. On the table lay a scratched phone with a cracked screen, beside an old wooden toolbox tied with hemp rope.

Not a single trace of wealth.

This man was just an ordinary wanderer, a penniless loser who struggled daily to make ends meet.

"Do you know who you are talking to?" Claire sneered, her voice dripping with poison. "I am Claire Hayes! The top beauty in Riverdale, head of a multi-million-dollar empire! Billionaire heirs line up to take me to dinner! And you, a dirty beggar in rags, dare to ask to marry me?!"

Ethan looked at her calmly.

"I arrived in Riverdale yesterday, so I do not care about your local billionaires," Ethan said evenly. "All I know is, if you marry me, you will never have to worry about wealth, safety, or medicine for the rest of your days."

Claire scoffed, her disgust turning into pure fury.

"You shameless leech! You think because you slept with me, you can latch onto my family and live off my success?! Look at your dirty shoes! Look at your cracked phone! Your entire year of salary would not buy a single tire on my car!"

She grabbed her torn dress from the floor and pulled it over her body. She opened her designer purse with shaking fingers, pulled out five thousand dollars in cash, and threw it directly into Ethan's face.

The bills fluttered in the air, scattering all over the bed and floor.

"Take this money and shut your mouth!" Claire yelled, pointing a shaking finger at him. "Forget what happened here! If you ever dare to come near me, or tell anyone what happened in this room, I will have you locked in prison until you rot!"

Ethan did not touch the money. He did not even blink.

He just looked at her with a calm expression.

"Believe me, Miss Hayes," Ethan said in a low voice. "You have no idea who I am. And you have no idea what you just threw away."

"I threw away a parasite!" Claire spat.

She grabbed her purse, pulled open the door, and ran out into the chilly morning air, slamming the door behind her.

Silence settled over room 204.

Ethan Cole looked down at the money scattered around his bare feet.

He let out a quiet chuckle, reached into his old wooden toolbox, and pulled out an ancient velvet pouch containing nine blackened silver needles.

"The Ghost Needle Sovereign returns to the mortal city," Ethan murmured to himself, his eyes gleaming like cold stars. "And the first person I meet treats me like trash. What an interesting world."