A Cold Marriage with a Cruel Husband

"But..." Alex started to say something else when Lily Lewis's video call came in. Ethan abruptly ended the call with his assistant and accepted Lily's video invitation.

On the other end, Lily was wearing a strappy nightgown, her face beaming as she pointed at the necklace around her neck. "Ethan, I absolutely love the gift you sent me! How did you know I’d like this necklace?"

Ethan was momentarily speechless.

It was no wonder he couldn’t respond; the necklace was actually a custom wedding anniversary gift he had designed for me based on my preferences just a while ago.

Unfortunately, our anniversary hadn’t even arrived yet and here we were, embroiled in a divorce. The irony stung as he passed such a meaningful gift on to Lily.

"I just thought... you know how girls are. You all like things like this," Ethan replied vaguely.

"But I remember this brand doesn’t have this style. Did you customize it just for me?"

"Uh... sort of," Ethan's tone shifted, revealing his discomfort.

"So... does Jenna have one too?"

At my name, Ethan showed a brief flicker of guilt, but quickly responded coldly, "Does she even deserve that?"

A glint of satisfaction flashed in Lily's eyes, but she feigned concern. "Ethan, let's just chalk up the dog incident to bad luck for me. Don't let it affect your marriage. You know I can't stand to see you troubled."

Ethan sighed. "You're just too kind. If Jenna had even half of your understanding, I’d be satisfied."

"I can't help it. A girl who’s been spoiled feels confident. As an orphan, I’ve learned to be cautious. Honestly, sometimes I really envy Jenna. She has a husband who loves her..."

Hearing that made me feel sick, but Ethan seemed to eat it up.

As expected, the next moment, he spoke with genuine concern. "You mustn't talk about yourself like that. You're not alone. If anything happens, don’t hesitate to reach out... Just call and I’ll be there. Do you understand?"

"Really?"

"When have I ever lied to you?"

"Then... could you take me to your and Jenna’s secret hideout?"

A sharp pang of pain shot through my heart. Ethan had even shared that with her.

Ethan was an orphan, while I was the daughter of the Summers Family, a prominent name in the city. Our lives were like two parallel lines, with little chance of ever crossing.

Yet, fate had a different plan for us.

During our first year of high school, I went with my parents to my grandmother’s house in the countryside. One day, while we were out, I was suddenly chased by a wild dog that seemed to spring up from nowhere.

It was Ethan who showed up just in time to drive the dog away.

In gratitude, my parents decided to support his education and arranged for him to attend the same school as me.

From that moment on, we began to look out for each other at school and our friendship blossomed.

It wasn't until our sophomore year that a senior at school confessed his feelings for me and that’s when Ethan suddenly showed up, whisking me away to the countryside overnight—to the very spot where we first met.

“Jen, this is the secret hideout I’ve built for you. Sorry, it took me a long time.”

“I know I don’t deserve you right now, but can you wait for me? Just three to five years. I promise I’ll work hard to become someone worthy of you.”

As I gazed at the once overgrown wilderness transformed into a vibrant garden bursting with flowers, I was deeply moved and agreed to give him a chance right then and there.

For a long time afterward, we maintained a relationship that was “more than friends but not quite lovers.”

Then tragedy struck when my parents unexpectedly died in Africa. I was devastated, but Ethan was always by my side, encouraging me to find hope in life again. That’s when I officially agreed to date him and we quickly got married.

After our wedding, he took care of my family’s business and treated me with utmost care.

I thought I was the happiest woman in the world, but it wasn’t until Lily entered the picture that I realized everything had been an illusion.