Chapter 2

She froze, then asked cautiously,

“Ethan, are you angry?”

When I didn’t answer, she continued,

“You know Liam and I have been close since we were kids.”

“He came all the way here alone to find me. Of course I have to take good care of him.”

“Don’t act like a child. Can’t you be a little more generous?”

I was speechless.

Was I not supposed to be angry?

I had done everything I could to give her the best, and she had turned around and given it to someone else.

When had she ever considered me?

My clothes had been patched, worn out, and patched again. I had made do with them for half my life.

Why had it never occurred to her to make a single outfit for me?

I served the food onto plates and said calmly,

“Wash your hands and eat.”

Since her heart was with someone else, I didn’t want to say anything more.

Maybe I should have realized long ago that she either took everything I did for granted or had become used to it.

I pulled out a chair and started eating by myself.

For the first time, I didn’t wait for her to pick up her fork before I began eating.

Maya opened her mouth, but in the end, she said nothing.

That night, she got into bed and said gently,

“Ethan, you’ve worked hard today. Let me rub your shoulders.”

With that, she placed her hands on my shoulders and began massaging them slowly.

It was precisely this caring, gentle-wife act that had made me fall so deeply for her back then.

When she was young, she always liked wearing that blue dress, with a small wildflower tucked into the ends of her hair, speaking in a soft voice.

Her family was well-off, and she was a teacher at the school in town, beloved by both her students and their parents.

Back then, everyone envied me for marrying such a wonderful woman.

I had believed it too.

But after Liam took her away from me again and again, I could no longer lie to myself.

She loved me, but she loved Liam more.

I turned around, removed her hands, and said flatly,

“I’m tired. Let’s go to sleep.”

Maya’s expression stiffened. She frowned and said unhappily,

“How long are you going to keep this up?”

“He has no family or friends here. I’m the only person he has. If I don’t take care of him, who will?”

“We’ve known each other since we were kids. How can you be so heartless?”

I lost my temper and retorted,

“He’s a grown man in his thirties. Does he still need you to take care of him?”

“Does he really see you as a friend? From where I’m standing, he treats you like his girlfriend!”

Maya’s face flushed bright red. She pointed at me and cursed,

“Ethan! What kind of nonsense are you talking about?”

I let out a cold laugh and continued,

“Maya, when you secretly quit my job at the steel mill for me, I thought you felt sorry for me.”

“But it wasn’t until I heard Liam say it himself today that I realized you wanted to give my position to him.”

“You knew exactly how much effort and hard work I had put into getting that job, yet you still gave it to him without hesitation. Tell me, who is your husband?”

Maya froze. Clearly, she hadn’t expected me to know. She hurriedly defended herself,

“That’s not what happened, Ethan.”

“I only quit for you because I saw how exhausted you were from working two jobs every day.”

“Liam couldn’t find a job after coming here, but he still had to survive, so I happened to introduce him to the steel mill.”

As soon as she finished speaking, someone knocked on the door.

Then Liam’s voice came from outside.

“Maya! The light in my place is broken. I’m scared of the dark. Can you come help me fix it?”