Stars Shine, No Return

Chloe’s knuckles whitened around her chopsticks as she glared at me, teeth nearly cracking.

During dinner, she pretended to drop the check in front of me—obviously trying to show off.

But before she could pick it back up, I snatched it first and slipped it away.

Chloe’s eyes widened. “Lily, what are you doing? That’s mine!”

Unbothered, I glanced at the name and amount on it, snapped a photo, then waved it before everyone.

“The name here is Ethan Walker’s. This is marital property. Any expenditure should be clearly accounted for—it can’t just vanish without explanation.”

I turned to Ethan.

“Darling, you’ve always reported your spending to me. Why didn’t you this time? What exactly is this for?”

Ethan’s face darkened with embarrassment. He stammered,

“Baby, I…”

“Give me back the check!” Chloe snapped.

Shoving her chair back, she stood and rolled up her sleeves, ready to fight me.

I almost forgot—she was the only woman in this clique, yet always claimed to be “one of the guys.”

She drove away any girlfriends that the men brought in, sneering and sowing discord until they broke up.

She thrived on being the only girl among men, enjoying the attention.

Too bad I wasn’t about to indulge her.

I leaned back with a cold smile. “I won’t return it. What will you do about it?”

Chloe punched me square in the face.

“Lily, I’ve put up with you long enough.”

She yanked my hair, forcing my head down.

“Just because you’re a woman doesn’t mean I’ll go easy on you. Even if you’re Ethan’s wife, I’ll hit you all the same.”

Gasps sounded around us.

“Chloe, stop it—don’t go too far.”

“If Ethan sees this, he’ll go ballistic.”

“That’s his wife, for God’s sake…”

Chloe sneered over her shoulder.

“So what? You all know Ethan values his ‘brothers’ above all else. I’ve beaten up his past girlfriends plenty, and he never said a word.”

Her grip tightened, nearly ripping my hair from my scalp.

Her eyes gleamed with spite, as if to say: Even as his wife, you don’t matter.

She lowered her head and whispered where only I could hear,

“Lily, what are you so smug about? Can’t you see? When it comes down to a choice, Ethan always picks me. Every time I see you with him, it makes me sick.”

But the next second, her smug smile froze—

and a scream of agony tore from her throat.

I had pulled out my self-defense knife and driven it into her left shoulder, steady and precise.

As her face twisted in shock, I sneered coldly.

“Feeling better now?”

The onlookers, who had been waiting for drama, went wide-eyed.

Whispers broke out.

“Never thought Lily was so ruthless. She looked soft, but she’s deadly.”

“Proves you can’t underestimate anyone—especially not her.”

“Chloe’s in for it now. No way she’s walking this off.”