2025-03-10 14:05:13Ethan stood awkwardly by the wall, Henry's sarcastic voice cutting through the room.
"Hey, Ethan, you forgot to shine my shoes again."
The laughter around the table erupted, but Henry didn’t even glance his way.
“How am I supposed to enjoy my birthday if you can’t even do the basics?”
Ethan forced a smile, though it felt tight and uncomfortable. "Sorry, Henry. I didn’t realize."
Helen, his mother-in-law, chimed in, sipping her wine with a superior smirk.
"Honestly, Ethan, how Sophia puts up with you is beyond me. You’ve been in this family for two years, and still, you can’t manage to do anything right."
Max seized the moment, not missing the chance to take his usual shot at Ethan.
"She must be a saint. I mean, being married to someone who can’t even hold down a decent job? No offense, Ethan, but what is it you do again? Oh, that’s right… nothing."
Heat crept up Ethan's face, and his hands clenched at his sides. No matter how hard he tried, he always felt like the outsider, the one who wasn’t good enough for Sophia or her family.
"I manage… different projects,” he mumbled.
Max rolled his eyes. "Different projects? Sounds like a fancy way of saying unemployed."
Laughter once again filled the room. Ethan shifted uncomfortably, his gaze flicking toward Sophia, who was silently slipping out of the room.
Helen leaned forward, her voice dripping with fake sympathy. "It’s just such a pity. Sophia could’ve had anyone, you know. She’s beautiful, smart… successful. But instead, she chose you. You're lucky, Ethan, really lucky. Not every woman would settle."
"I know," he said quietly, swallowing the bitterness rising in his throat.
"Do you?" Max shot back. "Because from where I’m sitting, it doesn’t seem like you do. You're just taking up space."
Ethan's fists balled under the table, but he forced himself to stay calm. There was no point in arguing with them. It was always the same, nothing he did would ever be enough.
He was just the burden, the man who wasn’t supposed to be there in the first place.
Henry raised his glass lazily, barely acknowledging Ethan.
"To my son-in-law, who does his best to fit in, even though we all know he never will."
The laughter grew louder, filling the room. Ethan tried to keep his face neutral, but it was getting harder.
After a while, Helen's sharp, condescending voice cut through the noise again.
"Oh, Ethan, why don’t you go check on Sophia? She’s probably tired of hiding from all of this. It might be nice for her to have a husband who actually looks after her, don’t you think?"
The laughter followed him as he stood up, grateful for an excuse to leave. His heart pounded in his chest, but not from anger he was exhausted. Tired of trying, tired of hoping they would see him differently. He headed down the hall, searching for Sophia, desperate for anything to remind him why he was putting up with all of this.
He passed by several empty rooms before hearing something from down the hall a voice, familiar, laughing. Sophia's voice. His stomach twisted as he quickened his pace, following the sound until he reached a half-open door at the end of the corridor.
Ethan froze.
Sophia was there, leaning into someone Brian, one of Max’s rich friends. Brian's hand gripped her waist, and their lips were locked together in a passionate kiss, the sight tearing Ethan's heart apart.
"Sophia?" His voice cracked.
They pulled apart, turning toward him. Sophia's eyes widened for a moment, but then her expression hardened. She didn’t look guilty or ashamed, just... annoyed.
"Ethan," she sighed, rolling her eyes. "What are you doing here?"
"What am I doing here?" Ethan's chest tightened as he stepped into the room. "What are you doing? With him?"
Brian smirked, straightening his jacket like nothing had happened. "Relax, man. You're making this a bigger deal than it is."
"Are you serious right now?" Blood rushed to Ethan's head. "You're kissing my wife, and you're telling me to relax?"
Sophia folded her arms, her eyes cold.
"Oh, don’t act all surprised, Ethan. What did you expect? You thought I was happy? Stuck with a failure like you?"
"A failure?" The word stung, deepening the ache inside. "I thought..."
"That's the problem," she interrupted, stepping closer, her eyes narrowing.
"You thought. You thought I actually cared. I married you because you were easy to control. A spineless man who does whatever he’s told. I never loved you, Ethan. Never."
The room spun around Ethan. His chest felt heavy, like someone had punched him in the gut. "You… you never loved me?"
She scoffed, shaking her head. "How could I? You're nothing. A man with no ambition, no drive. You can't even make it through a birthday party without embarrassing yourself. I was going to send the divorce papers anyway."
Brian stepped forward, his smirk turning into a sneer. "You should leave, man, before this gets ugly."
"Ugly?" Ethan’s fists clenched, his body shaking with rage. "You think you can just..."
Brian cut him off, stepping closer. "Yeah, I do. You want me to make you leave?"
Ethan stared at him, his pulse racing. For a moment, he considered hitting him, but what would it solve? They weren’t worth it.
Sophia crossed her arms again, her expression smug.
"You're pathetic, Ethan. You can’t even stand up for yourself. No wonder my family can’t stand you."
His heart shattered beyond repair, but there was no anger left, only a deep, numbing emptiness. "I loved you," he whispered. "I thought we had something real."
Sophia laughed cruelly. "You thought wrong."
He looked at her one last time, shaking his head. "You're not the person I thought you were."
Without waiting for a response, Ethan turned and walked out. Her laughter followed him down the hall, but he didn’t look back.
As he descended the stairs, the sound of the party grew louder. Helen spotted him first.
"Where are you off to in such a hurry, Ethan? Did you finally realize you're out of place here?"
Henry's booming voice followed from across the room.
"You better not be leaving, Ethan. It’s my birthday. You still haven't done your part."
Ethan kept walking, heading for the door. But Max blocked his path before he could make it out, grabbing his arm roughly and yanking him back.
"Are you stupid or something? Where do you think you’re going?"
Ethan stared at him, his jaw clenched. "Let go of me, Max."
Max scoffed, refusing to release him. "You don’t get to leave yet. You need to help clear the tables. You know, pull your weight for once."
Ethan pulled his arm free, his voice low. "I’m done."
Max blinked, momentarily taken aback, then his expression twisted into a sneer.
"What did you say?"
"I said, I'm done." Ethan shouted, pushed Max aside, turned away and headed straight for the door, ignoring the shouts behind him, the insults thrown like daggers.
"Yeah, keep walking, you useless idiot!" Max called out in embrassment.
"You think Sophia's the only one who's sick of you? We all are." He said drinking five more shots of wine.
Ethan didn’t turn back. Let them say what they wanted. None of it mattered anymore. This was over.
His hands trembled slightly as he reached for his phone and texted his driver:
"Pick me up. Now.”
***
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Henry Steele sat in his lawyer’s office, an air of impatience thick around him.His lawyer, a shrewd man with years of courtroom experience, was flipping through the latest reports on Henry’s case.“The FBI doesn’t have much,” the lawyer said, his voice clipped. “The evidence against you is circumstantial at best.”Henry gave a curt nod, his face flushed with anger and humiliation. “Good. Then I can get back to business.”The lawyer, unfazed by Henry’s arrogance, leaned back in his chair. “I’m working on securing your release. But, Henry, the damage is already done.”Henry’s eyes narrowed. “What do you mean?”“The media’s run wild with the story. Investors are spooked. Steele Industries is taking a hit.”Henry slammed his fist on the table, sending a coffee mug teetering to the edge.“Damn it! I’ll fix this. I just need to get back in control.”But control was slipping away faster than Henry realized.Two days later, Henry was bailed out of FBI custody, his lawyer managing to poke hol
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Chapter Seventy Nine
As Ethan arrived back home, there was a mixed feeling inside of him while he thought that he had probably handled things the wrong way and there might have probably been better ways to avoid the situation.But as he arrived back home, he had noticed Zara's car in the driveway, yet there was no sign of her anywhere. He took his bath, got changed into a better outfit before walking over to the balcony and was stunned to see Zara seated there with a glass of wine and her gaze fixed outside the swimming pool.“Ethan! "You are back!” A flash of excitement raided her face as she rose to her feet and gave him a quick hug.“I saw your car outside but wasn't sure you were in here”“Yeah, I just thought that I should cool off. So go ahead and tell me how the date went with this strange girl. Were you able to get all the information that you were hoping to get?”She asked, but he groaned and finally sat next to her, pouring himself a glass of wine.“Yes I did, and she is not the kind of person I
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Chapter Seventy Seven
As Ethan and Sasha took a stroll back home, while Ethan had a wide smile on his face, the more he thought about the humiliation Brian and Sophia had gone through, the more satisfaction he got as he played the whole scene in his over and over again.But Sasha, on the other hand, had a deep frown on her face. There were so many things she kept on thinking about, yet she didn't have the gut to ask him about them.But after walking for a while and realizing that Ethan wasn't ready to give the answers that she sought, she stopped walking and turned to him.“Are we not going to talk about what happened?” she bit her lips, trying to contain the rage that was slowly building inside of her.Ethan also stopped walking, seeing the sore expression on her face. “Oh, I had no idea that you wanted to talk about it.”“Are you for real Ethan? You had no idea that I wanted to talk about the fact that Sophia Steele is your ex-wife and I just found out that you were also dating Zara Bennet. Now I underst
Chapter Seventy Six
Ethan crossed his legs while he felt so relaxed as he watched the wines and food being served to them. He was very conscious of the price of this wine and couldn't wait to see the amount of wealth that Brian had acquired for him to be able to afford this wine.“So, Miss. Sophia, how do you know Ethan here?” Sasha tends to grow more curious seeing the cold attitude both Brian and Sophia have been displaying.“He was my ex-husband, my broke ex who had nothing, yet I took him in and fed him. At a point, I just couldn't continue and had to let go of him.”She shrugged, staring down at Ethan, yet he remained calm, a blank expression on his face.“Ethan, are you okay sitting here and watching them treat you in such a manner?”“It's fine, I have been here on several occasions, and I am used to it”, he assured her as he whispered to her, and the more he stared at her and the concern in her eyes, Ethan was starting to believe that she was truly not a spy.Sophia and Brian enjoyed themselves so
Chapter Seventy Five
Sasha had immediately recognized Sophia as soon as she stood before their table. She was a model and, not to mention the fact that she had been involved in a few scandals lately, it was only natural for her to be familiar with her.But what Sasha could not comprehend was how Ethan would be familiar with someone like Sophia Steele, and she could see the uneasy feeling on his face.“How can someone like you be able to get in here?” Sophia asked, her eyes brimming with intimidation. Brian had just landed more wealth and, for her, she felt like she was on top of the world.“Sophia, please, I don't want any trouble. How about you go ahead?”“Trouble, of course, I am not here to cause trouble. I was only hoping to have a good meal, yet I had to meet you here and, since we haven't met in a while, wouldn't it be nice for all of us to stay at one table?”She suggested, her gaze turned to Brian, who seemed to have liked the idea. Ethan was about to refuse when Sasha touched his hand.“Ethan, yo
Chapter Seventy Four
Sasha stood outside the restaurant for hours waiting for Ethan, but there was no sign of him anywhere. Her entire bones were becoming cold as she fiddled with her fingers.She felt this lump in her heart, knowing that she had just been stood up by this man and even when she thought about calling him again, just to be certain that everything was fine, but after thinking about it, she kicked against the idea.After a long while, Sasha was exhausted from waiting. The thought of it almost brought tears to her eyes, but as she turned around and was about to leave, she heard someone calling out to her.“Sasha!” The voice sounded so much like Ethan but even as she came to a halt, she was forced to believe that it was her ear playing tricks on her until he called out to her again.“Sasha!” That was when she finally turned around and saw a man dressed in a worn-out outfit running towards her. This brought tears to her eyes. She could not hold it anymore and cried uncontrollably.“I am so sorry
Chapter Seventy Three
It was dark, Ethan was all dressed in a warm shirt and ragged trousers and was about to step out when Zara walked into his room. At first, she was stunned to see her brother dressed in such a manner, but as she moved closer to him, she started to understand what was going on here.“So you truly are going on a date with that girl”“Yes, I just need to find out if she is truly a spy sent to me”“And how are you going to find out when you will be so lost in love and nothing else will matter to you?” She asked, but he ignored her question, staring at his reflection in the mirror from head to toe.“Wait, does it mean that she doesn't know about your identity?” Zara narrowed her gaze. For a moment there, she seemed even more confused.Ethan was reluctant to speak to her, but after a deep breath, he finally turned around as he held her shoulder.“There is something that has been going on which I didn't want to tell you about since I was afraid that you would become extremely worried.”“What
Chapter Seventy Two
Even though Max didn't say anything, he was more furious than his Dad, yet he remained silent. He was more interested in the food than what he would hear.The dining room had an intense silence in the air as they all ate in silence. From time to time, Henry could not stop himself as he kept peaking glance at Brian and then his daughter. After a while, he could not hold it any longer and decided to crack his throat.“Sophia, you were so happy when I came back today, and now it seems like Brian was the reason for all the excitement. Care to share what is going on?”“Brian has decided to push our wedding forward”, she blurted out. At the same time, Henry was about to have a glass of water and, as a result of the shock, he didn't realize when he spat it out.“Is this some sort of joke?” He sneered, his eyes turning red as he was starting to lose patience and could no longer hold back the anger.Sophia was about to speak again, but Brian immediately took the lead. “No Sir, this isn't a jok
Chapter Seventy One
Henry and Max both arrived back from the office feeling so hectic, all the contracts that they were supposed to handle were all taken away from them while some of them insisted on paying a fine.No matter what they tried to do to salvage the situation that they were in, nothing seemed to be working and, not to mention, they had not yet found the identity of the man behind Bennett corporation.But as soon as they stepped inside the large living room, they were welcomed by the aroma of something special emanating from the kitchen. Both men were stunned, knowing fully well that they hadn't had a decent meal to eat at home for days now, and today it seemed like a feast.Max walks over to the kitchen with Henry suspiciously following behind, hearing the sound of a female humming. And realizing that it was Sophia, this got them even more confused.Because earlier today, as they left for work, every contract Sophia had was canceled, not to mention all the things that were said against her o