Chapter 1

Maisie Stone has known Ethan Ford for 15 years. She's gone from being a young woman to a married one. She's also gone from being Ethan's true love to an old flame.

He cheats on her repeatedly, and she forgives him every time. After a suicide attempt, Maisie finally sees the light.

This rotten world is just a competition to see who can be more shameless than others.

In an open relationship, both parties live their own lives. Since he's messing around with her sister, she can mess around with his friends and brothers.

Chapter 1

When Maisie Stone received a call from Ethan Ford, the man behind her flipped her onto her front, making her kneel on the bed.

He pistoned into her, making her lose her balance. She almost smacked her head on the wall. Fortunately, he grabbed her waist in time and pulled her back, preventing her from getting hurt.

The man usually looked gentle and composed, but he was so wild in bed that it was almost scary. Maisie placed a hand on the wall to stop him from nearly making her smack into it again. Then, she unlocked the phone with her other hand.

The caller ID indicated that the person calling was her "Honey".

The man asked, "Who's calling?"

She said, "Your cousin."

He snorted. "Shouldn't he be busy banging Felicia now? Why does he have the time to call you?"

"How would I know?"

"Are you going to answer it?"

Maisie grumbled, "Of course. Shouldn't you keep your distance a little, Seth?"

Not only did Seth Shaw not keep his distance, but he even pistoned harder into her. And so, when Maisie answered the call, her voice trembled rhythmically. "Hello?"

Ethan asked, "What are you doing?"

"Can't you tell?"

He paused. "Are you jogging?"

"No. I'm making love."

"With whom?"

"Why don't you come and see for yourself?" she asked.

"Where are you?"

"The room beside yours."

Ethan fell silent for a long while. Maisie listened to his breathing and waited without urging him to respond. She suddenly felt vindicated when she heard his breathing grow a little heavier.

She and Ethan had dated for ten years and had been married for five. He was willing to die for her when his love was at its peak. Now that he no longer cared, he could sleep around with various women, not bothering about how it would make her feel.

It wasn't that Maisie had never tried to save the relationship. She'd cried, begged, attempted suicide, and even pleaded with him. She'd pleaded with him to return to her, seeing as they'd been together for 15 years. She could overlook his past misdeeds as long as he came back to her side.

But Ethan had merely flirted with his lover on the phone while telling her indifferently, "In the natural world, no capable male creature has only one partner. Asking a man to spend his life with one woman goes against the rules of nature."

Maisie had given in. She'd silently agreed to Ethan having affairs left, right, and center as long as he didn't bring them home.

The straw that broke the camel's back came on the day she discovered she was pregnant. She'd called Ethan to ask him to go home, but a woman had answered. She'd panted and told Maisie she and Ethan were busy. She'd also asked Maisie to call back in two hours.

Ultimately, Maisie had climbed onto the roof and jumped off. Her child had died—as had her soul. From that day on, she'd seen sense.

If a man wanted to cheat and fall in love with someone else, it didn't matter who his wife was. This rotten world was just a competition to see who was the most shameless.

Ethan didn't say anything for the longest time.

Maisie deliberately asked, "Are you coming over? I'm in the room next door—it's just a few steps away.

"You can get a high-definition livestream with 3D surround sound. I won't charge you for it. Oh, you might also be surprised when you see who I'm with!"

Every word out of Maisie's mouth made her vindication grow. She wanted to stab Ethan with the same blades he'd stabbed her with.

She didn't know whether they'd done anything to Ethan, but Seth was provoked. He suddenly picked up the pace and force. She turned to frown at him. "Be more gentle. It hurts."

He grinned at her. "I'm just going along with you, aren't I?"

He was right. She wanted Ethan to hear them loud and clear. The clearer, the better.

Finally, Ethan said, "Maisie."

"Hmm?"

"Are you inviting me to join you?" He snorted. "How about I bring Felicia along, then? It'll be more exciting with the four of us together."

Chapter 2

This time, it was Maisie's turn to fall silent.

Ethan asked, "So, should we come over?"

Maisie still didn't respond.

"I'll take that as a yes. Wait for us, alright? We'll be right there."

"No. Don't come over. I don't want to see Felicia right now."

"That's fine. I can just make a call and ask someone else to come over. You might have to wait for about half an hour, though. Can your man hold out for that long?" Ethan said.

Maisie was wordless.

Ethan asked, "Hello? Is that okay?"

She flung the phone aside, feeling angry at herself. How could she lose to him even when it came to being shameless?

When Seth saw that she was distracted, he pulled her up and made her sit on his lap. He leaned back against the headboard and lit a cigarette, slowly caressing her flawless skin with his other hand. "So, which number am I?"

Maisie returned to her senses. "What are you talking about?"

"You want to get revenge on him, don't you? How many of his friends and relatives have you slept with? Which number am I?"

Her eyes glinted. "Why are you asking?"

"No reason. It's fine if you don't want to tell me."

Maisie's heart was in a mess. Since childhood, she'd been raised to be obedient and demure. People had even called her an innocent little thing during her school days.

Ethan had pursued her for four years, from middle school to high school. Every morning at 6:30 am, he would travel halfway through Rhode City to wait outside her house so he could take her to school on his bike.

When she went to the library to study, he would sit beside her and fan her, helping to chase away annoying mosquitoes.

When she said she didn't like guys with bad grades, he'd used one semester to improve his grades until he was the third in the class. After sitting for his college entrance exam, he'd gotten into Shelkin College.

When her favorite lollipop went out of production, he had gathered all his friends to buy the remainder of what was left on the market.

Maisie couldn't understand it. How had Ethan, who'd loved her so much, become like this?

"Why don't you want to see Felicia?" Seth moved his legs when he was done with his cigarette. He smiled when he saw her bob up and down with his actions. "Does he want to marry her?"

Maisie became even more irritated. "Don't ask."

"Looks like I've guessed correctly."

Maisie didn't respond. Seth continued, "You didn't react much to his previous lovers. Felicia is the only one who's made you break down."

"Could you stop talking?"

"Mad already?"

Maisie got up and picked up her clothes, which were strewn across the floor. She put them on and said, "I'm leaving."

…

When Maisie got home, she wanted to head straight to the bathroom. But she stopped short when she saw the person seated on the couch in the living room. "What are you doing here?"

Ethan was reading the newspaper with his legs crossed at the knee. "This is my home. Why can't I be here?"

"Your home is with Felicia, not here with me."

He smirked. "Are you jealous?"

"As if!"

"Try something else next time," Ethan said. "We've been together for so long, and I know you too well, Maisie. You would rather commit suicide than sleep with any random man. You're just not that type."

She let out an exasperated laugh. "Which type am I, then?"

He said confidently, "You couldn't possibly sleep with anyone if you didn't have feelings for them. You just wanted me to come home, right? You didn't need to lie like that.

"How would you have handled the situation if I'd really gone to the room next door yesterday? What would you have done if I hadn't seen you there?"

"Didn't you hear us?"

"Hear what?"

"A man was talking to me when we were on the phone last night."

Ethan looked at her like he wanted to see how long she could keep the act up. "You even got an extra to act with you? How much did you pay him?"

Maisie said, "Don't think you know me that well. It's much easier to be a slut than to be a faithful wife."

"You're all bark and no bite."

That pissed Maisie off more. "What makes you think so? I can call him and tell him to come over right now."

"Sure," Ethan said. "Seth is coming over soon. So, he can hear about your sexcapades, too."

"Who is coming over?"

"Seth. Have you forgotten him? Seth Shaw, my cousin."

Chapter 3

The doorbell rang, and Ethan answered the door. "Took you long enough, Seth."

Seth had already changed into a clean suit. His gold-rimmed glasses had been wiped clean, too. Last night, he'd pushed it into Maisie's body.

Seth smiled. "I got caught in some traffic on the way."

Maisie was still rooted to the spot when he entered the house. He nodded at her in greeting. "Hi, Maisie."

She was briefly taken aback but soon smiled. "Seth."

Ethan led Seth to the couch and told Maisie, "Mais, make Seth a cup of coffee."

Maisie felt disgusted when she heard him call her that. It was an affectionate nickname he'd used when they were madly in love, but it now made her feel like a snake had slithered all over her. She felt cold, icky, and uncomfortable.

"Mais?"

She scowled. "Can you mind your words? Don't call me that."

Ethan chuckled. "Fine. Could you please make Seth a cup of coffee, Ms. Stone?"

Maisie didn't want to spare either of the men another glance. She was no match for one of them when it came to being shameless and was no match for the other when it came to acting. Neither of them was better than the other.

She went to the kitchen, but it wasn't to make coffee. She just wanted some peace. The kitchen was the furthest from the living room, after all.

…

In the living room, Seth watched as Maisie left. He asked Ethan, "Did you two get into a fight again?"

Ethan chuckled. "Nah. She's just throwing a tantrum."

"I think Maisie's a great woman. Are you sure you want to go through with the divorce?"

"That's why I asked you to come, Seth. Can you help me draft a divorce agreement?"

Seth said, "You'd better think this through. With Maisie's looks and figure, plenty of people will fight to be with her once she's single. You'd better not regret it."

"No matter how delicious a dish is, you'll get sick of it after eating it for a long time," Ethan said breezily.

"Has she agreed?" Seth asked.

"She probably won't. She's on the traditional side and won't easily agree to a divorce if she's set on being with me. You've got to help me with this, Seth."

"How do you expect me to help?"

Ethan snickered. "How about you pursue her?"

Seth raised an eyebrow. "Are you serious?"

"I'm joking, of course!" Ethan laughed. "You're Gramps' only grandson, though. Stop being so focused on work and get married so you can give him a great-grandchild."

"Yeah."

Ethan suddenly narrowed his eyes at a spot on Seth's neck. "What is this?"

Seth pulled his collar tighter.

Ethan cried, "You weren't caught in traffic, were you? You were caught up with a woman! Come on! How could you not tell me you were involved with someone?"

Seth said, "It's not convenient now. I'll introduce you guys when the time is right."

"Alright, then. I'll introduce Felicia to you, too."

"Don't."

"Why?"

Seth cleared his throat."I should keep my distance."

Ethan chuckled. "She's your new cousin-in-law. What's there to be shy about?"

"It'd be inappropriate for us to be together."

"Tsk! Why should it bother you if it doesn't bother me?"

"Wouldn't you be bothered if Maisie and I were to be alone in the same room?" Seth asked.

Ethan looked like he'd heard a joke. "You know, you and Maisie are quite in sync when it comes to these things."

"What do you mean?"

"You're both so conservative, yet you like to make these jokes," Ethan said.

Seth smiled. "I can help you draft the divorce agreement, but you'll still need Maisie to agree to it. In other words, you have to make her give up on you."

"Yeah, I know. She was just bragging to me about having slept with another man last night. How's that even possible? You know how innocent and naive she is. She'd rather die than sleep with a stranger."

Seth rubbed the hickey on his neck and smiled without saying anything.

Ethan teased, "What's with the touching? Didn't you have enough fun last night?"

"Yeah, I didn't. She had to leave halfway to attend to something."

"Man, what a wildcat! She bites hard, doesn't she? I can see the bite marks."

Seth leaned back and said indifferently, "She's usually quite gentle, actually. Maybe it's because… the man she was with before never made her orgasm."

Chapter 4

Maisie's legs started giving way after she'd stood in the kitchen for a while. She didn't know how long Seth had gone without a woman, but he'd been rough with her last night. Her thighs were trembling until now.

She cursed him silently, feeling like a fool. She thought she'd served herself to him on a silver platter. Honestly, she knew now why Ethan and Seth were relatives. Seth was a fake gentleman, while Ethan was a genuine asshole. They were both bastards!

She was still covered in Seth's saliva, and she felt icky. Throwing caution to the wind, she stormed out of the kitchen and headed to the bathroom.

Seth and Ethan jolted at the noise. Seth said, "She must be angry."

Ethan said, "She might be mad at you, you know?"

Seth curled his lip. "Oh?"

"It's not every day that I'm at home, yet you had to come and disrupt us."

"So, should I go?"

"Nah. You're already here, anyway. I'll buy you lunch," Ethan said.

…

Maisie took a nice, long bath. She soaked in the warm water until her body relaxed. She was almost nodding off when someone knocked on the door, jolting her awake. "Who is it?"

"Who else?" Ethan asked. "Seth and I are going out for lunch. Do you want to join us?"

"No."

"You sure?"

"Bring Felicia with you." Maisie didn't want to see any of them now. She continued soaking in the tub and only woke up when the water started turning cold. She regained some energy after dozing off for a while but was still sleepy.

She left the bathroom while yawning. Then, she was spooked by the person before her. She pulled her towel tightly around her as she backed into the bathroom, slamming the door shut. "Why haven't you guys left yet?"

"We were waiting for you," Seth said. "You didn't eat anything this morning and used a lot of energy last night. You'll have low blood sugar if you still don't eat."

Maisie frowned. "I'll order takeout."

"It's not nice."

"I'll cook something, then."

Seth scoffed. "Do you have the strength for that?"

That pissed Maisie. "You—"

"I found it, Seth." Ethan came out of the master bedroom. "Why did you want to see our marriage certificate?"

Seth had been leaning by the bathroom door while chatting with Maisie. When he saw Ethan come out, he straightened up, his smile fading a little. "You wanted me to help you draft a divorce agreement, right? I need to see when you guys registered."

"I could've just told you the date."

"You still remember?"

"Yeah. It's Mais' birthday."

Seth took the marriage certificate from him and checked it. His lips curled slightly, but the smile was a little colder this time. "You guys have been married for five years."

"Yeah. Does that affect the divorce?" Ethan asked.

Ethan and Maisie had pinned a photo of them to the marriage certificate. Seth traced it softly.

24-year-old Maisie had her hair in a ponytail, and her face still carried a hint of baby fat. Her eyes were bright.

The only flaw was that her head was tilted toward Ethan. Seth didn't like seeing this.

He returned the marriage certificate to Ethan and said, "If the marriage is too short-lived, you can ask her to compensate you for a portion of the wedding gifts."

Ethan laughed. "You've been with us at every step of our relationship. Shouldn't you know better than anyone how long we've been married? Did you have to look at the marriage certificate for that?"

Seth said, "I just wanted to be sure in case I was remembering it wrongly."

Ethan nodded. Then, he urged Maisie, sounding impatient, "Aren't you done yet? Seth's already waited for you for two hours."

"He can continue waiting if he wants," Maisie retorted.

Seth knocked on the bathroom door. "Are you going to stay in there forever?"

Maisie took a deep breath. She looked at the hickeys and marks all over her body, wanting nothing more than to bite him. "Wait outside."

Seth chuckled. "Alright. We'll go out. There's no need to rush."

He patted Ethan's shoulder. "Let's go to the living room."

Maisie came out of the bathroom and ran to the bedroom, changing into a simple outfit of a T-shirt and jeans. Then, she blew her hair half-dry before leaving the room.

Ethan raised an eyebrow. "You haven't thrown this outfit away yet?"

It was one Maisie had often worn in college. It was plain and simple but extremely comfortable. In the past, she would put on a full face of makeup and dress presentably so she could match up her identity as Ethan's wife.

Now, however, since she'd already given up on him, she would wear whatever was comfortable. She said, "I didn't throw you away, did I? I've had you around for much longer than this outfit."

Ethan's expression darkened. "Whatever. Let's go."

"Go dry your hair completely before we leave," Seth said with a frown. "It's windy outside."

Chapter 5

Maisie said, "It's unnecessary. It'll dry faster with the wind blowing."

"Go dry it," Seth said.

"I won't."

Ethan looked at her with her hair cascading over her shoulders and her face free of makeup. His gaze turned a little more gentle as he said, "You look better like this."

Maisie looked annoyed. "Well, it's all your fault for being such a successful businessman, Mr. Ford. If I were to leave the house looking like this every day, the media would probably make you out to be a frugal man who refuses to buy his wife something nice to wear."

He rubbed his nose without saying anything.

In truth, Maisie and Ethan's love story was a little like something out of a romance drama. During their school days, she'd been a good girl, and he'd been a bad boy. After graduation, they'd been a perfect couple who had supported each other through the difficulties of starting a business.

When Ethan had just graduated from college, he'd developed a game with a few of his coursemates. How many fresh graduates had money in their pockets? Ethan and Maisie had no choice but to rent the basement of a place in the suburbs of Shelkin City.

Food in the city was expensive, so Maisie had bought a secondhand gas stove and traveled to a market far away to buy groceries. She'd also carried the gas tank to the gas station to fill it up herself. Then, she'd cooked various dishes for Ethan.

She knew the prices of all the stalls at the market like the back of her hand. She knew which stall had discounts that day and which stall would give her a little something extra if she were to purchase above a certain amount.

Fresh fish cost five dollars a pound, so she would wait there until one of the fish died. Then, she would immediately buy it at one dollar a pound, which was the price for dead fish.

Maisie had worn the outfit she had on for three years. She'd washed it when it got dirty, and the jeans had faded from the number of washes. Even the T-shirt's material was thinner now.

Ethan seemed to also remember the difficult times they'd had when he'd been trying to start his business. He patted Seth's shoulder, saying, "I'll always remember the help you gave us at the time, Seth."

Ethan and his friends had developed their first game three years after establishing their company. Due to their inexperience, someone had tricked their source code out of them.

For the second game, they'd learned their lesson and hadn't gotten their source code stolen. However, an established gaming company had launched a game similar to the one they'd developed. Ultimately, their small company couldn't compete with the established one, leading to the failure of their game.

As for the third one, they'd finally managed to find an investor for the game, but the guy had run away halfway through. Another game had turned out to be a failure.

At the time, Ethan had basically given up on his dream. He'd wrapped his arms around Maisie as they lay on the bed in their cold basement. He'd said grimly, "I called my cousin, Mais. When he gets here, I want you to leave with him."

Maisie had almost exploded with rage. "What the hell do you mean by that?"

"Seth has a successful career and is handsome. Once you leave with him… life won't be so tough for you anymore."

Maisie had smacked him angrily. "What do you think I am?"

Ethan had suddenly burst into tears and held her tight. "I know I'm a failure, Mais. You're so beautiful and capable. I shouldn't be wasting your time. But when I think about how I might not see you anymore, I just want to die."

"So, you thought we could still see each other after introducing me to your cousin? What? Is it more exciting to have an affair with your cousin's woman?"

Ethan had smiled through his tears and tightened his hold on her. "Let's have ravioli for lunch, Mais."

At the time, they'd already run out of money and food. Where would the ravioli come from?

Later, Seth arrived. He'd been on a business trip to Shelkin City. When he saw the basement that was their home, he'd frowned deeply.

Then, he'd seen Maisie bustling around by the stove in her T-shirt and jeans, her hair tied up loosely. There wasn't any ventilation in the basement, and her face and hands were covered in grease. She'd still smiled brightly at him, though.

"Have a seat, Seth. I'll cook a couple of dishes while you two have some drinks."

Maisie had cooked two simple dishes—spicy fried peanuts and vegetable stir-fry. She'd used the most simple of ingredients and seasoning to prepare the tastiest dishes.

Seth drank some of the cheap wine they had and frowned at the taste. However, he had been completely sincere when he said, "I'm quite jealous of you, Ethan."

Ethan had been a little tipsy and didn't understand what he meant. He'd laughed and asked, "What's there to be jealous about? The fact that I live in a basement or that I haven't achieved anything in life?"

Seth hadn't answered.

Later, Ethan had never again brought up wanting to introduce Maisie to Seth.

Before leaving, Seth had stuffed a bank card into Maisie's hand. There'd been 100 thousand dollars inside.

She and Ethan survived for just over one year with that money. Finally, the fourth game Ethan and his friends had developed won the interest of angel investors. The first round of investment brought in over ten million dollars, and the game had been a huge hit.

It was also thanks to this game that Ethan's company had gone public, turning him into the billionaire he was now.

He now wore sharp suits and looked like an elite entrepreneur. His smile was roguish as he asked, "Have you made the call, Maisie?"

Maisie was pulled out of her memories. "What call?"

"Didn't you say you wanted to call the man you were with last night so I could meet him? Since Seth is here, invite him over, and we can have a meal together. Seth and I can help you see whether he's good enough for you."

Chapter 6

Maisie looked Ethan in the eye for a long while. They'd known each other since they were 14 years old, and they were now almost 30. He'd been there for half of her life.

Ethan's appearance hadn't changed much from the arrogant teenager he'd been to the elite businessman he was now. His features had become more chiseled, but Maisie could still see the face of the young man who had loved her more than life itself.

Yes. She couldn't bear to part with him. It felt like Ethan was a part of her heart, mind, and soul. Now, she had to tear him away.

"Ethan." She cocked her head. She was smiling, but her gaze was filled with sorrow. "Are you hoping that I'll call him over or not?"

His roguish smile faded a little.

Maisie continued, "I know you want a divorce so you can marry Felicia."

Ethan lowered his head. It was hard to tell what he was thinking. He didn't admit or deny it.

"It's not that I'm refusing to let you go—I just want an answer. Why does it have to be Felicia?"

…

Seth chose the restaurant they went to for lunch. It was a quiet bistro that was tastefully decorated. It had a courtyard with a pond and a small footbridge. There was even a quaint little building to the side.

Maisie didn't say a word. Her eyes were red as she looked at the scenery outside. Ethan pushed the menu to her. "Why don't you pick what you want, Maisie? Anything is fine."

She didn't even look at it. "I want spicy fried peanuts and vegetable stir-fry. You guys can order the other dishes."

Those were the two dishes she and Ethan had eaten almost daily. Back then, Maisie would pick up the old leafy vegetables that the stall owners at the market had discarded. She would boil them before stir-frying them so that they would taste better.

The peanuts were from their neighbor. He owned a supermarket, and his warehouse had been flooded. All of the peanuts had gotten soaked, so he couldn't sell them anymore. He'd given them all to Ethan and Maisie.

The waitress looked like she was in a tough spot. "Our bistro doesn't have those dishes… Is there anything else you would like?"

Ethan pulled out a stack of cash from his wallet and handed it to her. "Think of something."

"Yes, sir." The waitress took the money, rolled it up, and stuffed it into her pants pocket.

Ethan pushed the menu to Seth. "You choose something, Seth."

He ordered a bottle of whiskey.

The waitress was taken aback. "Is that all?"

"Yeah," Seth said.

The dishes were soon served. There was a plate of spicy fried peanuts that had been purchased for cheap somewhere and a plate of vegetable stir-fry that had obviously been hastily prepared.

Seth opened the whiskey and poured it into a dispenser. Then, he placed two glasses before himself and Ethan.

Ethan wiped his face and smiled wryly. "Doesn't this bring you back to that winter in the basement?"

The people were the same, the dishes were the same, and even Maisie's clothes were the same.

Seth said, "It does."

Ethan's expression became a little pained. Then, he took a deep breath and raised his glass. His Adam's apple bobbed as he said, "Mais, let's… Let's end on a nice note."

Maisie pinched her thigh hard. She hated that she was weak enough that her tears just started flowing. She couldn't hold them back at all.

Ethan grabbed a few tissues and handed them to her. "Here. Dry your tears."

She tried hard not to sound like she was going to wail. "You shouldn't be so nice to me now, Ethan. Aren't you afraid I'll refuse to leave you again?"

He faltered before pressing the tissues into her hand. She threw them at him.

Ethan said, "I've already told Seth that the assets under our name, including the house and cash, will all be yours. I'll also give you half of the company's shares. You won't have to worry about money for the rest of your life."

Maisie didn't say anything.

Ethan added, "You can have Coco, too."

Coco was a stray dog they'd adopted when they were still living in the basement. It had only been about two or three months old at the time. Now, it was already 15 years old. It was in poor health and could only lie on the floor all day. It was hard for it to even walk.

They both knew its life was ending, just like their marriage and relationship.

"If there's anything else that you want, you can tell Seth about it. I'll give you anything I have," Ethan said.

Maisie sneered. "I want Felicia's life. Will you give it to me?"

As soon as the words were out, a coquettish voice rang out, "Who wants my life?"

Maisie looked up to see Felicia Green. She wore an expensive-looking outfit and was draped in jewelry. She looked… exactly like Maisie.

Chapter 7

Seth had asked Maisie why she could tolerate all of Ethan's past flings but not Felicia. It was because she couldn't understand it.

Ethan's past flings had included sexy and innocent women, but he'd never been serious about them. As long as he didn't want to marry them, she could force herself to bear with them.

Felicia was different, though. She was Maisie's twin sister.

This was what Maisie couldn't understand. She and Felicia looked identical. Why was it that Ethan insisted on having Felicia?

She was disgusted by the sight of Ethan and Felicia being affectionate with each other before her. Suddenly, a glass of juice appeared before her. "You should drink this. Don't drink any alcohol."

Maisie laughed derisively. "Your cousin-in-law has changed, Seth. Why do you keep trying to boss me around?"

He pursed his lips and took her whiskey glass away.

"Give that to me." She held out a hand.

He didn't move.

She repeated, "Give it to me."

Seth watched her for a while before nodding. "Fine. I'll just carry you home if you get drunk." He glanced at her body. "You're not all that heavy, anyway."

Maisie acted like she didn't hear him. "Ethan."

She filled her glass before frowning. Then, she grabbed the dispenser from Seth. There was a large amount of whiskey in it, but she downed it.

After that, she flung the dispenser onto the floor, shattering it. "I agree to get a divorce, Ethan. From today onward—no, from this moment onward—we're over."

She turned and left. To her surprise, she ran into someone at the door, almost falling. Seth hurriedly caught her.

She turned to look at his seat and asked, "Can you teleport or something?"

He didn't answer. Instead, he said, "Watch out."

The newcomer was apologetic. "Sorry for being late, Maisie."

The whiskey was getting to Maisie, so she couldn't see who the newcomer was. She remembered calling Ethan's best friend, Jeremy Lloyd, before arriving at the bistro, though.

Jeremy was Ethan's junior in college and had started the company with him. Now, he was the company's deputy CEO and one of Ethan's best friends.

Maisie felt lightheaded, almost as if she were standing on a cloud. "Oh, you're here…"

Jeremy chuckled. "I wouldn't dare stand you up, Maisie."

Her smile widened, and she held out a hand. "Come on. Lend me a hand."

Jeremy didn't think much of this. He was about to hold her hand, but she was tugged backward before their hands could touch.

She staggered backward, feeling like she'd fallen against a wall. It hurt, and her head spun. "Why's the room shrinking? The wall was there, wasn't it? What is it doing here now?"

Jeremy could tell she was drunk. He knew Seth and said, "Hi, Seth."

Seth nodded and frowned as he leaned back slightly to hold on to Maisie.

"Why's Maisie so drunk, Seth?" Jeremy asked.

"You know what, Jeremy?" Maisie looked up from Seth's arms with a grin. "Your best friend's new wife is over there."

She pointed in Ethan and Felicia's direction.

Jeremy was flabbergasted when he saw Felicia. Was he seeing double?

He asked, "What's going on here, Ethan? Are you playing 'Find the Difference' or something?"

Ethan didn't look too pleased. "What are you doing here?"

Jeremy was confused by that. "Didn't you and Maisie ask me to be here? She kept telling me to hurry up, too."

"Maisie called you?"

"Yeah." Jeremy could tell something was up but didn't know what. He scratched his head in confusion. "I can't tell which Maisie is the one who called me, though."

Seth had no idea what Maisie was up to, so he helped her stand up. "Wake up, Maisie."

She squinted, her face red. "What's up?"

Seth asked, "Did you ask Jeremy to come here?"

"Jeremy… Oh, right. Yeah, I did." She turned and fell into Jeremy's arms. Then, she said happily, "You wanted me to call my man over, didn't you, Ethan? He's here now."

Chapter 8

Ethan's expression shifted. He pushed Felicia away and shot to his feet, dragging Maisie to him. "What the hell are you doing, Maisie?"

She struggled to break free. "It hurts. Let me go…"

"You'd better make yourself clear. What the hell do you mean?"

Maisie laughed again. "You wanted me to introduce you to my new man, so I did. Now, you're mad. You're so hard to please, Ethan…"

Ethan's expression changed drastically, and he dragged Maisie out with him.

Jeremy hurriedly said, "Don't be like this, Ethan. Maisie can't handle your strength…"

Ethan stopped and turned to look at him. "I'll settle the score with you later."

Jeremy was baffled. "What in the world is going on with you two? Why are you being so weird?"

He wanted to run after them to get some answers, but Seth stopped him. He asked, "Have they gotten into a fight, Seth?"

"Yeah, so don't go over. Let them handle this themselves."

"Ethan doesn't look right, though. I've never seen him like that before. It's scary."

Seth smiled faintly. "Don't worry. He wouldn't harm a hair on Maisie's head even if he were to make Earth explode."

…

Maisie struggled to keep up with Ethan. He was basically dragging her behind him. She couldn't walk anymore when they reached the bistro's entrance, so she grabbed hold of the pillars beside it, refusing to let go.

Ethan had no choice but to stop. "You'd better explain yourself, Maisie. What's going on between you and Jeremy?"

She was still out of it. "Don't you already know the answer? Why are you still asking me?"

He let out an exasperated laugh. "You're still lying to me.

"What makes you think that?"

"There's nothing between you two," he said confidently. "I saw how lost he was earlier—he obviously knows nothing about this."

Maisie looked at him and snorted. "You know better than me what men are like, Ethan. It's always more fun to sleep with your buddy's wife, isn't it? I…"

She couldn't talk anymore. The whiskey had done her in.

Suddenly, she was swept off her feet. Before she even realized what was going on, Ethan had lifted her into his arms.

She flailed like a fish out of water. "What are you doing, Ethan? Where are you taking me?"

"You want to be a slut, don't you? I'll take you to a brothel so you can be satisfied there."

"Let me go! You're an asshole, Ethan!"

He didn't say anything. Instead, he threw her into the backseat of the car before locking the doors. When he started the car, a pair of arms wrapped themselves around his neck from behind.

Maisie didn't have any strength, so it was more like she was hugging him from behind and resting on his shoulder. She kept her arms around his neck and said, "If you dare do anything to me, I'll bite you…"

He kissed her hard, and it hurt. Before she could bite him, he did it first. Then, she felt him pull her to the driver's seat.

She didn't know how he'd done it, but he'd lifted and placed her between his chest and the wheel. She was straddling him. They'd been together for so many years that they knew each other's bodies like the backs of their hands.

Maisie suddenly got the urge to do something nasty, so she ground herself against his groin, immediately feeling it form a tent in his pants.

She laughed and cocked her head. Then, she looked into his eyes and said, "Look at how shameless you are, Ethan."

He breathed heavily and gripped her waist tightly, pushing her down onto him. "You wanted to bite me, didn't you? Come on, then. I'm waiting."